My watch list
my.bionity.com  
Login  

Fear of youth



Part of of articles on
Discrimination
General forms

Racism · Sexism · Ageism
Religious intolerance · Xenophobia

Specific forms
Social

Ableism · Adultism · Biphobia · Classism
Elitism · Ephebiphobia · Gerontophobia
Heightism · Heterosexism · Homophobia
Lesbophobia · Lookism · Misandry
Misogyny · Pediaphobia · Sizeism
Transphobia

Manifestations

Slavery · Racial profiling · Lynching
Hate speech · Hate crime
Genocide (examples) · Ethnocide
Ethnic cleansing · Pogrom · Race war
Religious persecution · Gay bashing
Blood libel · Paternalism
Police brutality

Movements
Policies

Discriminatory
Race / Religion / Sex segregation
Apartheid · Redlining · Internment

Anti-discriminatory
Emancipation · Civil rights
Desegregation · Integration
Equal opportunity

Counter-discriminatory
Affirmative action · Racial quota
Reservation (India) · Reparation
Forced busing
Employment equity (Canada)

Law

Discriminatory
Anti-miscegenation · Anti-immigration
Alien and Sedition Acts · Jim Crow laws
Black codes · Apartheid laws
Ketuanan Melayu · Nuremberg Laws

Anti-discriminatory
Anti-discrimination acts
Anti-discrimination law
14th Amendment · Crime of apartheid

Other forms

Nepotism · Cronyism · Colorism
Linguicism · Ethnocentrism · Triumphalism
Adultcentrism · Gynocentrism
Androcentrism · Economic

Related topics

Bigotry · Prejudice · Supremacism
Intolerance · Tolerance · Diversity
Multiculturalism · Oppression
Political correctness
Reverse discrimination · Eugenics
Racialism ·

Discrimination Portal

This box: view  talk  edit

The psychological and social fear of youth is called ephebiphobia.

Contents

Etymology and usage

Coinage

The word ephebiphobia is formed from Greek 'ephebos' έφηβος = teenager, underage adolescent and 'fobos' φόβος = fear, phobia.

Coinage is attributed to a 1994 article by Kirk Astroth published in Phi Delta Kappan.[1] Today, common usage occurs internationally by sociologists, government agencies, and youth advocacy organizations that define ephebiphobia as an abnormal or irrational and persistent fear and/or loathing of teenagers or adolescence.[2][3]

Similar terms

The term paedophobia has gained popular acceptance in Europe to describe the aforementioned "fear of youth".[4][5] Pediaphobia is the fear of infants and children. Using this term to categorize fear of youth may dismiss the unique social position that youth occupy. Hebephobia (from Greek 'hebe' (ήβη) = youth) has also been proposed; however, no verifiable evidence is available to support that claim. Similar terms include adultism, which is a predisposition towards adults that is biased against children and youth, and ageism, which describes discrimination against any person because of their age.

Impacts

The effects of ephebiphobia appear to cause damage throughout society. At least one major economist has proposed that the fear of youth can have grave effects on the economic health of nations.[6] A growing number of researchers report that the fear of youth affects the health of democracy, reporting that the consequential vilification of youth has in the past, and continues to presently undermine public,[7] social, political,[8] and cultural[9] participation among current and future generations.

Many social programs and social critics view ephebiphobia as a condemning force against youth throughout society, particularly when coupled with racism as it affects urban law enforcement,[10][11] schooling,[12] and media around the world[13][14] The effects of sexism are similarly reported to be amplified by ephebiphobia.[15]

As it effects young people themselves, ephebiphobia has been recognized as a barrier towards successful academic achievement,[16] a barrier to successful social intervention programs,[17] and as an indicator of the ineptitude of many adults to be successful parents.[18]

Academics acknowledge the force of ephebiphobia in the commercial[19] and governmental[20] sectors of society, where this fear of youth has been extensively exploited for financial gain. This is elaborated on by social critics who claim that popular media exacerbated society's fear of youth.[21][22][23] That notion is supported by newspaper reports of the fear of youth as a driver of social policy.[24][25] A number of observers have indicated the deliberate perpetuation of mass social ephebiphobia in order to elicit particular public and social responses.[26]



See also

  • Fear of children
  • Adultism
  • Ageism
  • Adultcentrism
  • Youth rights
  • Jack Thompson
  • National Youth Rights Association
  • Americans for a Society Free from Age Restrictions
  • Moral panic
  • Mass hysteria
  • Herding instinct
  • Social control
  • Youth culture
  • Youth voice
  • List of youth subcultures
  • Generation gap
  • In loco parentis
  • Holt, J. (1964) How Children Fail. New York: Delta.
  • Llewellyn, G. (n.d.) The Teenage Liberation Handbook: how to quit school and get a real life and education.

References

  1. ^ Gough, P. (2000) "Detoxifying Schools." Phi Delta Kappan. March 1, 2000.
  2. ^ Astroth, K. (1994) Beyond ephebiphobia: problem adults or problem youths? (fear of adolescents). Phi Delta Kappan. January 1, 1994.
  3. ^ Clark, C. (2004) Hurt: Inside the World of Today's Teenagers (Youth, Family, and Culture). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
  4. ^ Childhood is changing, but "paedophobia" makes things worse Institute for Public Policy Research. 22 October 2006.
  5. ^ Waiton, S. (2006) The Roots of Paedophobia. Online.
  6. ^ Gray, D. (1999) Negroponte: Europe's Net development held back by fear of youth, risk taking CNN. September 15, 1999.
  7. ^ Jones, P., Shoemaker, S. Chelton, M. (2001) Do It Right! Best Practices for Serving Young Adults in School and Public Libraries New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers.
  8. ^ Lawrence Grossberg, (2005) Caught In The Crossfire: Kids, Politics, And America's Future (Cultural Politics & the Promise of Democracy) New York: Paradigm Publishers
  9. ^ Giroux, H. (2004) Take Back High Education: Race, Youth, and the Crisis of Democracy in the post-Civil Rights Era New York: Palgrave
  10. ^ Males, M. (2002) "The New Demons: Ordinary teens". Los Angeles Times. April 21, 2002.
  11. ^ Youth Media Council. (2005) Reclaiming Meaning, Echoing Justice. Oakland, CA: Author.
  12. ^ Kozol, J. (2005) The Shame of a Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America. New York: Three Rivers Press.
  13. ^ Collins, J. (2002). Gangs, Crime and Community Safety: Perceptions and Experiences in Multicultural Sydney Sydney: University of Technology.
  14. ^ Scottish Executive (2006) Measurement of the Extent of Youth Crime in Scotland.
  15. ^ Bromwich, R.J. (2002) Beyond Villains and Victims: Some Thoughts on Youth and Violence in Canada Toronto, ON: Women's Justice Network.
  16. ^ Butts, P.M. (2000) Beyond Ephebiphobia: Overcoming the Fear of Middle & High School Students; A Program for Public Librarians. Macatawa, MI: Macatawa Public Library.
  17. ^ Astroth, K. (1994) Beyond ephebiphobia: problem adults or problem youths? (fear of adolescents). Phi Delta Kappan. January 1, 1994.
  18. ^ Coontz, S. (1999) The Way We Really Are: Coming to Terms With America's Changing Families. New York: Basic Books.
  19. ^ Palladino, G. (1997) Teenagers: An American History. New York: Basic Books.
  20. ^ Giroux, H. (2003) The Abandoned Generation: Democracy beyond the culture of fear. New York: Palgrave.
  21. ^ "Studios caught in teen-age dilemmas Multiplex issues," Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA), July 20, 2001.
  22. ^ Shary, T. (2002). Generation Multiplex: The Image of Youth in Contemporary American Cinema. Austin: University of Texas Press. p.4.
  23. ^ Giroux, H. (1999) The Mouse that Roared: Disney and the End of Innocence. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
  24. ^ Parrish, G. (1999). "Fear of Youth", Seattle Weekly. February 29, 1999.
  25. ^ Street-Porter, J. (2005) "The Politicians Fear of Youth Culture", The Independent April 7, 2005.
  26. ^ Males, M. (2001) "Lies, Damn Lies, and 'Youth Risk' Surveys" Youth Today. April 2001

Related publications

  • (n.d.) Youth Liberation, Z magazine online.
  • Three Types of Youth Liberation - by Sven Bonnichsen
  • Pro-Youth - A firm text against ageism towards teenagers, presenting a case of ageism committed by a jury.
  • Everyone deserves to be given a chance - An essay against ageism towards teenagers, written by a Canadian adolescent.
  • "Are We Down On Our Kids?" - A Review of Caught in the Crossfire: Kids, Politics, and America’s Future by Lawrence Grossberg in Endeavours magazine that diagnoses cultural ephebiphobia in the U.S.
  • Ayotte, W. (1986) As Soon as You're Born They Make You Feel Small: Self Determination for Children.
  • Chicago Anarchist Youth Federation (n.d.) Schoolstoppers Textbook.
  • Cullen, S. (1991) Children in Society: a libertarian critique. London: Freedom Press.
  • Goodman, P. (1964) Compulsory Mis-education and The Community of Scholars. New York: Vintage Books.
  • Illich, I. (1970) Deschooling Society. New York: Harrow Books.
  • Holt, J. (1972) Freedom and Beyond. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co.
  • Miller, A. (1990) For Your Own Good: Hidden cruelty in child-rearing and the roots of violence. 3rd edition. New York: Noonday Press.
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Fear_of_youth". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
Your browser is not current. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 does not support some functions on Chemie.DE