Who are Youth? What is Childhood?

In the NPR podcast Are Children a marginalized group?, host Brittany Luse challenges the listener to consider a viewpoint I had never considered. Seeing children as a marginalized group sounded crazy to me at first. When we think about children, we see them as a group, young people under 18 growing, learning, and gaining their place in the world through experience and knowledge. Luse brings to the listener's attention the reminder that young people are controlled and have decisions made for them on their behalf. Kids on the podcast explained their disdain for the system because adults make decisions that won't affect themselves but affect the world that younger people will one day inherit. This stems from the belief that children do not have the structural knowledge to make informed decisions because they have not "lived" enough to decide for themselves adequately. It is often believed that adults know best because "they've been down that road before." This mentality doesn't leave room for negotiation or expressing young people's beliefs and thoughts on important matters that affect them. Many factors impact these stereotypes, and younger people who already belong to another marginalized group in one way or another face double the prejudice.

In the article Understanding Adultism by John Bell, Bell explains the definition of Adultism and how, at its core, adults accept the treatment of young people because of the belief that "that's the way you treat kids." Young people are often underestimated, and their skills, knowledge, and opinions are deemed unworthy to be heard. Adults have adopted the notion that they are entitled to control and discipline young people as they deem fit. As written in the article and seen in many places, young people are often followed in stores or looked at as if they are up to no good for the simple fact that they are young. This article gives a great example of the domino effect that Adultism causes, that "mistreatment is passed down the line of physical power." In our places and interactions with young people, we can nurture and foster environments where their opinions and thoughts are heard and encouraged to grow and develop.

The article Denaturalizing Adolescence by Nancy Lesko challenges the notion that young people are strongly influenced by their peers. In comparison, adolescents are more likely to fall victim to peer pressure and adhere to their norms. As a result of young people being peer-oriented, it is believed that this causes them to be prone to gangs and proves that they are "untrustful." Young people of color are often labeled as "dangerous" when they appear to be in groups and are frequently targeted by law enforcement for appearing "suspicious" or "up to something." It is believed that young people are less likely to have individualized thoughts and merely succumb to whatever is popular at that moment or what their friends see as cool and accept it with no problem. Lesko critiques the view that adolescence is a time of "coming of age" and identity crisis. Their hormones are blamed for the fact that they act out and are irrational and impulsive.    

Memory: Growing up in a Latino household, the main thing that I heard constantly was that my parents were trying to do what was right for me because they knew best. I was a young girl with A LOT to say; I constantly spoke my mind and tried to make myself heard. My constant outbursts got me in trouble because I was to be seen and not heard; I had a problem of wanting to have a seat at the table. Being shut down killed my curiosity and diminished my confidence when I wasn't heard and sent away because I wasn't "supposed" to be there. Adults teach what they were taught, but it's a constant cycle of belittling younger people because they are not at the age where they can be taken seriously.