Childhood Flashcards
What is the liberal argument for explaining childhood?
‘cult of childhood’ emerged with capitalist societies in the sixteenth century
Who is the evidence for the liberal argument for childhood?
Philippe Aries (1960)
What did Aries argue?
childhood did not exist in feudal societies.
children were ‘mini-adults’ and faced equal punishment for crimes
second part of Aries argument
a culture of childhood was socially constructed because:
emergence of schools and child specific fashion
Who analysed Aries?
Lloyd de Mause (1974)
What did Mause argue?
‘march of progress’ of improvement in the conditions of childhood
the 1889 Prevention of Cruelty Act.
child-centred families
what did post modernists argue about childhood?
childhood as a social construct is disappearing because technology removes the information hierarchy that establishes a boundary between childhood and adulthood.
Who is the evidence for the post-modernist argument of childhood?
Neil Postman (1994)
What did Postman argue?
information hierarchy of literacy- boundary between childhood and adulthood.
new information technologies like television, reduce the ‘information hierarchy’ as they do not require high levels of literacy skills to access
What did Postman argue furthermore?
adult authority decreases and the innocence of childhood is removed.
This means children and adults share the same norms, values, and behaviours, reducing the requirement of education and socialisation to construct children into adults.
Who is the analysis for the post-modernist theory in explaining childhood?
Sue Palmer (2010)
What did Palmer argue?
technological and cultural changes have created a ‘toxic childhood’
social media and junk food, damages the emotional and physical health of children
What research supports Palmer and what did it find?
PISA research (2018) that found the UK ranked 68th out of 71 countries in terms of educational wellbeing
What is the radical feminist argument?
childhood is defined by a gerontocracy in which adults have growing power over children and inequalities between children are increasing.
Who is the evidence for radical feminists?
Shulamith Firestone (1970)
What did Firestone argue?
the patriarchy oppresses children because they are dependent upon their family.
can include neglect, abuse, as well as control over space, time, and bodies.
Further analysis for radical feminism
ONS statistics (2016) found 20% of children experience physical abuse, and 90% of child abusers are family members
