Summary
Contents
This book provides a clear, focused road map to the study of the body in society. It defines, explains and applies core topics relating to the human body demonstrating how we approach it as a social phenomenon.
Each concept: Includes an easy to understand definition; Provides real-world examples; Gives suggestions for further reading; Is carefully cross-referenced to other related concepts
Written to meet the needs of the modern student this book offers the basic materials, tools and guidance needed study and write about the body.
Youth and Children
Youth and Children
Definition As noted under Ageing and Childhood, under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, childhood is defined as spanning the period from birth to 18 years of age. Whether all people between those ages are children – in the sense of being vulnerable and lacking agency – is debatable. Many in the social sciences prefer to use the term ‘youth’ to avoid the infantilizing connotations that are conveyed by the term childhood.
Here, the distinction is made rather between children and youth in terms of their bodily attributes, and contingent or historical notions of childhood as a comparative life stage are discussed more fully elsewhere (see Ageing and Childhood). Here we will look at the several key concepts ...