WHO ARE YOUTH? WHAT IS CHILDHOOD?

    Nancy Lesko's Denaturalizing Adolescence and John Bell's Understanding Adultism explore their perspectives on young people, challenging common ideas and stereotypes about adolescence. One of the most prevalent stereotypes they address is the notion that adolescence is merely a transitional stage of life or the term “coming of age.” This view implies that adolescents are not fully formed individuals and, therefore, not ready to be taken seriously. This stereotype also negatively impacts gender perceptions, as white male characteristics are often seen as "mature" and glorified, while feminine traits are undervalued or even feared. There was an actual fear of the feminization of young boys. John Bell also discusses the stigma that adolescents need to be controlled. The societal belief that young people must be guided to grow up "correctly" undermines their right to make their own choices and decisions. In the podcast “Are Children a Marginalized Group,” we hear from real children discussing how they feel about being controlled and overly monitored. One child even said, “But the decisions they're making aren't going to affect them. It's going to affect us. And so the idea that we have no say in it, but we're going to have to just live with it is awful.” So, despite "coming of age" and maturing into adulthood, they are not able to make the basic decisions that affect their lives.

  

 Lesko also talks about another stereotype, that adolescents are "controlled by hormones and therefore dangerously out of control." This perspective dismisses natural emotions as merely biological factors, which can be dangerous because it overlooks other issues that might be affecting a young person's life. It can overlook major or minor mental health issues in a person's life. Additionally, this stereotype disproportionately affects individuals from marginalized communities, who may be unjustly viewed as dangerous or unstable. I cannot help but think of women in this context, considering how often teenage girls are labeled as dramatic or bratty simply for having emotions. As well as male adolescents who show emotions are made out to be "feminized" like having emotions is such negative thing. This feels like an excuse to not listen, and ignore all the problems young people face.

  

 The third stereotype Lesko critiques is the idea that adolescents are easily influenced by peers. The article talked about how adolescents would rather be popular than have good grades. This belief suggests that young people lack the ability to think critically, stand up for themselves, and make sound judgments. Lesko points out that this view fails to recognize the other social dynamics at play, where adolescents navigate relationships. This also only looks at peer relations from a negative point of view insinuating that adolescents are uncontrollable and make poor decisions. This theory also does not take in to consideration if a person in influenced by family or other environmental elements. So many factors can influence a person in both positive and negative ways, to say it is all peer pressure is trying to cancel out all other factors a person faces.

Memory: As a young adolescent, I was often called a drama queen and would have emotional meltdowns. My parents, like many adults, dismissed these feelings as "being a girl" and "being a hormonal teenager." It was not until college, when I started going to therapy, that I was formally diagnosed with GAD (generalized anxiety disorder). During my teenage years, I often felt alone and crazy, and I was gaslighted by many people when I had real mental health issues. I believe that if someone in my life had treated me as an adult, maybe my "tantrums" would have occurred less frequently, and perhaps many issues I faced growing up would have been resolved if I had been taken seriously.