Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

How childish! Queering ‘youth’ and some other of the mutual challenges of queer and education research

Schmitt, Irina LU orcid (2010) Queer Again? Power, Politics and Ethics International Conference of the Department of English and American Studies and the Research Training Group “Gender as a Category of Knowledge”
Abstract
Queer/ed children and young people inhabit a space that seems nicely delineated by shamed biographies, fearful prospects and ignorance. In mainstream accounts, queer/ed children and young people are often un/represented through invisibility or drama, between exoticism and pity. ‘Children’ and notions of ‘the best interest of the child’ are used to dramatize and limit societal negotiations of sexuality (Pellegrini, 2009). Similarly, the riskiness of ‘youth’ offers space for reflection (Rasmussen, 2006). Within schools, young people are constructed entirely as students and as citizens-to-be, in the future tense (Edelman, 2004; Pellegrini, 2008), as well as in need of protection (Rofes, 2005) . Yet it is the ‘universal’ child who is inscribed... (More)
Queer/ed children and young people inhabit a space that seems nicely delineated by shamed biographies, fearful prospects and ignorance. In mainstream accounts, queer/ed children and young people are often un/represented through invisibility or drama, between exoticism and pity. ‘Children’ and notions of ‘the best interest of the child’ are used to dramatize and limit societal negotiations of sexuality (Pellegrini, 2009). Similarly, the riskiness of ‘youth’ offers space for reflection (Rasmussen, 2006). Within schools, young people are constructed entirely as students and as citizens-to-be, in the future tense (Edelman, 2004; Pellegrini, 2008), as well as in need of protection (Rofes, 2005) . Yet it is the ‘universal’ child who is inscribed in this future (Muñoz, 2007; Pellegrini, 2008). In the societies I am most familiar with, Sweden, Germany and Canada, young people are not full subjects ’right now’, but can only wait for ’the future’ to fully participate in the society they are trained for.

Whithin queer research, children and young people have for a long time played a minor part (Driver, 2008; Epstein, O’Flynn, & Telford, 2009; Halberstam, 2008b; Kosofsky Sedgwick, 1991). With this paper, I will engage the (no) future debate with queer youth and education research, by problematizing the discrepancy between responsibility and solidarity and the task to question our own assumptions of a queer political project (Halberstam, 2008a). How is it possible to balance the obvious need for remedial intervention and the equally important need to question stabilizing notions of ‘children’ and ‘youth’? (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
unpublished
subject
keywords
'the child', queer, education, no future-debate, youth
conference name
Queer Again? Power, Politics and Ethics International Conference of the Department of English and American Studies and the Research Training Group “Gender as a Category of Knowledge”
conference dates
2010-09-23 - 2010-09-25
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4dd91066-af0c-4473-9391-d17a69b3d6e0 (old id 1763814)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 14:40:34
date last changed
2018-11-21 21:21:39
@misc{4dd91066-af0c-4473-9391-d17a69b3d6e0,
  abstract     = {{Queer/ed children and young people inhabit a space that seems nicely delineated by shamed biographies, fearful prospects and ignorance. In mainstream accounts, queer/ed children and young people are often un/represented through invisibility or drama, between exoticism and pity. ‘Children’ and notions of ‘the best interest of the child’ are used to dramatize and limit societal negotiations of sexuality (Pellegrini, 2009). Similarly, the riskiness of ‘youth’ offers space for reflection (Rasmussen, 2006). Within schools, young people are constructed entirely as students and as citizens-to-be, in the future tense (Edelman, 2004; Pellegrini, 2008), as well as in need of protection (Rofes, 2005) . Yet it is the ‘universal’ child who is inscribed in this future (Muñoz, 2007; Pellegrini, 2008). In the societies I am most familiar with, Sweden, Germany and Canada, young people are not full subjects ’right now’, but can only wait for ’the future’ to fully participate in the society they are trained for. <br/><br>
Whithin queer research, children and young people have for a long time played a minor part (Driver, 2008; Epstein, O’Flynn, &amp; Telford, 2009; Halberstam, 2008b; Kosofsky Sedgwick, 1991). With this paper, I will engage the (no) future debate with queer youth and education research, by problematizing the discrepancy between responsibility and solidarity and the task to question our own assumptions of a queer political project (Halberstam, 2008a). How is it possible to balance the obvious need for remedial intervention and the equally important need to question stabilizing notions of ‘children’ and ‘youth’?}},
  author       = {{Schmitt, Irina}},
  keywords     = {{'the child'; queer; education; no future-debate; youth}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  title        = {{How childish! Queering ‘youth’ and some other of the mutual challenges of queer and education research}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}