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It isn't a surprise to many young people
or adults: There are people throughout society who refuse to go near
youth, to the point where they move away, lobby against, and vote
against anything positively affecting young people, with the idea that
those actions will keep youth away from them.
These actions may be symptoms of a
social condition called ephebiphobia.
Ephebiphobia is the fear of youth.
In the United Kingdom ephebiphobia is also called
paedophobia.
This term was coined 10 years ago to capture the
society-wide panic that has gripped media, politicians, and even
schools. It is
generally based in negative stereotypes and bad experiences from
childhood, and is
perpetuated by the way popular media portrays young people.
Ephebiphobia is part of a series of
age-based fear that includes
-
Pediaphobia - The fear of infants
and/or young children
-
Ephebiphobia - The fear of youth
-
Gerontophobia - The fear
of elders/seniors
These fears often lead to
discrimination. Any discrimination based on age is called ageism;
discrimination against youth specifically is called
adultism.
POINTS TO PONDER
The fear of youth
is not a recent phenomenon: a
cover title of Newsweek Magazine in 1954 read, "Let's Face It: Our
Teenagers Are Out of Control." However, ephebiphobia is alive
more than ever right now. In 2002, author
Mike Males wrote,
"Ephebiphobia... is a full-blown
media panic. Images of “ordinary” teenagers besieging grown-up havens
are everywhere... Today’s ephebiphobia is the latest installment of a
history of bogus moral panics targeting unpopular subgroups to obscure
an unsettling reality: Our worst social crisis is middle-Americans own
misdirected fear."
RESOURCES
The following resources are websites and
publications that can help young people and adults challenge
ephebiphobia by educating young people and adults about its effects.
Websites
ZNet Youth Watch
One of the most comprehensive resources
online to promote young peoples' power and fight against ageist
attitudes and preconceptions.
Publications
Anti-young women sentiment growing in
Canada
A powerful essay assessing the nature of anti-feminism and male
domination throughout Canada.
Are Youth At-Risk?
In the article a 4-H cooperative extension
agent expounds on the failures of youth involvement initiatives
throughout the US.
An excerpt from Mike Males' Scapegoat Generation
This book is widely regarded as the most authoritative and
comprehensive research against
The New Demons: Ordinary Teens
by Mike Males, April 21, 2002
Age Bias Is Not Just for the Elderly
A History of Youth "Rebellion"
Bias: Common Sense or Discrimination?
Crimson & Gray Online Issue about Youth Discrimination
Age Discrimination Against Youth
"Detoxifying Schools."
-
P. Gough in Phi Delta
Kappan, March 1, 2000.
"Beyond
ephebiphobia: problem adults or problem youths? (Fear of
adolescents)."
Kirk Astroth in Phi
Delta Kappan, January 1, 1994.
No Ephebiphobia Here!
Wendy Grønnestad-Damur &
L. Pratch for the Edmonton Public Library.
Hurt:
Inside the World of Today's Teenagers (Youth, Family, and Culture)
By C. Clark.
Childhood is changing, but "paedophobia"
makes things worse
By the Institute for
Public Policy Research, 22 October 2006. Details the release of a
major report studying ephebiphobia, or paedophobia, across European
nations.
The Roots of Paedophobia
By Steve Waiton. This
blog responds to the IPPR report, and expands by offering a unique
analysis.
Paedophobia in the uncyclopedia
Offers a variety of different
perspectives about the fear of youth.
Pedophobia: The Anti-Child Bias of
Children's Advocacy Groups.
By Keith Axxon. This is a
1999 from the ASFAR zine.
Do It
Right! Best Practices for Serving Young Adults in School and Public
Libraries
By P. Jones, S.
Shoemaker, & M Chelton. There is a great concern about ephebiphobia in
public libraries. This book deals with that concern and offers a
variety of strategies.
Gangs, Crime and Community Safety:
Perceptions and Experiences in Multicultural Sydney
A study of how society
and media perpetuates negative perceptions about youth and crime from
the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia.
Measurement of the Extent of Youth Crime
in Scotland
A study from the Scottish
government exploring popular perceptions of youth and crime.
Beyond Villains and Victims: Some
Thoughts on Youth and Violence in Canada
A study from the Ontario
Women's Justice Network that connects ephebiphobia and sexism.
Beyond Ephebiphobia: Overcoming the Fear of Middle & High School
Students; A Program for Public Librarians.
A program at the Macatawa
(MI) Public Library.
"Studios caught in
teen-age dilemmas Multiplex issues"
An article detailing how
ephebiphobia affects movie theaters from the Worcester (MA) Telegram &
Gazette, July 20, 2001.
"Fear of Youth"
An article from the
Seattle Weekly about how ephebiphobia manifested itself in the city's
dance ordinance from February 29, 1999.
"The
Politicians Fear of Youth Culture"
An article from The
(London, UK) Independent, April 7, 2005.
"Lies, Damn Lies, and 'Youth Risk'
Surveys"
By Mike Males. An article
from Youth Today in April 2001.
For additional resources see the
Wikipedia page on ephebiphobia.
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