Rebecca Adami: Childism, Intersectionality and the Rights of the Child
Reviewed by Prof. Dr. Manfred Liebel, 2025-04-24
Rebecca Adami: Childism, Intersectionality and the Rights of the Child. The Myth of a Happy Childhood. Routledge (New York) 2024. 208 pages. ISBN 978-1-032-63619-1. 168,35 EUR.
There is a detailed German review for this work. Read here
Topic
When we speak of children and adults or childhood and (more rarely) adulthood, we use terms that refer to each other. They would make no sense without their opposite terms. However, in social reality as we experience it and try to shape it, it is not just a matter of equivalence or difference, but of a relationship of inequality, of subordination and superiority. Adults may have the best intentions when they exercise power over children, but for children it is unpleasant and can violate their human dignity. The term adultism has become established for this unequal power relationship, understood as a criticism of this power relationship. The term childism is increasingly used alongside the term adultism, not always with the same meaning. In this book, it is used in the sense of prejudices that belittle and offend children. Other forms of inequality and discrimination, which are referred to, for example, as racism, sexism or ableism, are addressed there, too. The term intersectionality has been coined to describe this multidimensionality of inequalities and their discriminatory consequences for the people affected. This also raises the question of the extent to which human rights, and in the case of children, children's rights, are affected and, as is usually assumed, violated by these unequal power relations.
Background and author
The book under review here ties in with the debate on discrimination against minorities or socially disadvantaged population groups. Insofar as children are taken into consideration, this debate is conducted primarily in social and educational childhood research, but also, to a limited extent, in law. The author is primarily guided by a research approach developed in the early 2000s by psychotherapist Elizabeth Young-Bruehl in the United States. In this context, she adopted the term childism, which was introduced in the mid-1970s by psychiatrists Chester Pierce and Gail Allen. They understood childism as the automatic assumption of an adult's superiority over a child. Similarly, Young-Bruehl uses this term in the sense of negative prejudices about children and their consequences for the child's experience.
Rebecca Adami, the author of this book, is Associate Professor in the Department of Education at Stockholm University and Research Associate at SOAS University of London, Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy.
Aim of the book
The author presents her book as the first study to comprehensively develop the concept of childism to analyze age-based discrimination against children. In her words: ‘It presents a critical theory to help comprehend intersecting prejudice against children and to examine the weak implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and in what ways violations against children can be analyzed through the intersections of racist, sexist and ableist discrimination. The book further offers scholars a new perspective when studying structural forms of discrimination and oppression against children and provides professionals with a new vocabulary on prejudice targeting children when assessing theory, policy and practice on ‘child-friendly’ and ‘child-centered’ initiatives that overlook the need to protect children against discrimination.’ (Introduction)
The author begins her book with the dedication: ‘To every child who did not make it through childhood’.
Contents and structure
The book is divided into eight chapters. In Chapter 1 (‘Critical child rights theory: Power, discrimination, and epistemic injustice’), the author uses critical child rights research to examine the reasons why the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has so far hardly been implemented at all – especially not for socially disadvantaged children. She focuses on the inherent contradictions or paradoxes of children's rights. Equality before the law promised to children ultimately only benefits them in an unequal way. She sees this as being mainly rooted in the unequal political power between adults and children and the disregard or ‘epistemic injustice’ towards children.
In this chapter, the author also presents her understanding of the terms adultism and childism. According to her, adultism is ‘the power structure by which adults hold oppressive power over children’ (p. 13). This is upheld by childism: ‘Childism more broadly refers to age-related prejudice, discrimination or antagonism directed against someone who is between 0 and 18 years based on the belief that adults are superior. Childism characterizes persons as defined by their lack of adult abilities and as inferior to adults with such abilities. On this basis, children are assigned or denied certain perceived abilities, skills or character traits. Childist beliefs are the ideas that rationalize discriminatory treatment of children who are viewed as serving the interests of adults rather than as human beings with interests and rights of their own. Childist behaviors are paternalistic adult interventions that cause children psychological and physical harm. Childist discourse refers to actions, as well as written or spoken discourse, that degrade children to mere instrumental means or burdens for adults (instead of valued for their own merit), thus diminishing children's proud sense of self.’ (p. 13) Here, the author emphasizes that childism can certainly be meant in a ‘benevolent’ way (benevolent childism).
In Chapter 2 (‘Childism: To study the unbearable in the everyday’), the author uses examples from the daily lives of children to show how they are hindered and suffer because of various types of prejudice. In particular, she critically examines interpretations and applications of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child that are based solely on the perspective of adults, such as the restrictive understanding of the principle of ‘evolving capacities’ or the inadequate participation of children in court proceedings and legislation, which also includes the denial of the right to vote. In this chapter, she also explains her understanding of intersectional analysis as the indispensable basis for the theory of adultism and childism.
The following three chapters are dedicated to three essential pillars of intersectional analysis. In chapter 3 (‘Childism and racism intersecting: On a perceived natural inequality’), the author makes clear that children grow up under very different conditions and focuses in particular on the social disadvantage and discrimination of ‘children of color’. In Chapter 4 (‘Childism and sexism intersecting: On emancipation versus protection’), she deals with the trivialization and depoliticization of domestic violence and sexual abuse of children. She also develops her concept of ‘child-equity’ and ‘transformative equality’, which goes beyond mere formal ‘age equality’. In Chapter 5 (‘Childism and ableism intersecting: On a perceived lack of abilities’), the author discusses how categorizing children as ‘disabled’ and interacting with them is based on questionable notions of development and normativity and is enforced by adults with power.
In Chapter 6 (‘Challenging adultism’), the author takes up two central postulates of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: firstly, how to do justice to the ‘best interest of the child’ (in German usually translated as ‘Kindeswohl’); secondly, how to implement the ‘right to be heard’ in such a way that children actually gain significant influence on political decisions. In her examination of the implementation of these postulates, which has so far been determined more by the interests of adults, the author develops thoughts on participation that goes beyond ‘tokenism’, is representative and really meets the interests of children.
In chapter 7 (‘Justice in childhood’), the author addresses both the question of intragenerational and intergenerational justice. She presents some practical suggestions for strengthening the weight of children in relation to the power of adults in the sense of ‘age equality’ and for giving more weight to the interests of future generations in political decision-making.
In the final, rather brief chapter 8 (‘Discussion: Anti-childist policy and practice’), the author reflects on how the most important human rights conventions can be read intersectionally with a view to children and what measures could be taken to combat the multiple discrimination against children.
The book concludes with a glossary of the most important terms and an index of the topics and persons mentioned.
Discussion
Age-based discrimination against children has been a neglected topic so far, both in childhood studies and in public and political life. In German-speaking countries, the problem has only recently been addressed in a few publications, which mostly draw on the concept of adultism (see https://www.socialnet.de/rezensionen/30384.php; https://kinderrechte-konkret.de/jugend/was-ist-adultismus/deutsch/).
The book by Rebecca Adami has the merit of combining the discussion of the problem of age-based discrimination with an intersectional perspective. This reveals the complexity of the discrimination experienced by children, in terms of its causes as well as its serious consequences. It also shows that not all children are affected by this discrimination in the same way, but especially those who are already socially disadvantaged and particularly marginalized. Although class-specific reasons for discrimination are only marginally considered in her understanding of intersectionality, the author rightly complains that too little is being done to protect children who face multiple disadvantages from discrimination.
The book also commendably draws attention to the shortcomings and inconsistencies in the discourse and practice of children's rights. Since its adoption in 1989, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has helped to raise awareness of the injustices committed against children and has inspired many initiatives to improve their situation. However, little consideration is still given to the fact that the children's rights enshrined in this convention have largely remained a construct in the hands of adults. In her legal analysis, Rebecca Adami primarily examines the liberal legal construction of ‘formal equality,’ which she argues fails to take sufficient account of the age-specific characteristics of children. As an alternative, she develops a concept of ‘substantial equality’ or ‘child equity’ to enable children to really exercise their rights. By backing up her intersectional analyses with concrete examples from the lives of children who face multiple forms of discrimination, her legal critique gains additional plausibility.
In my opinion, the question of why adultism or age-based discrimination against children persists so stubbornly even in ‘modern’ societies that see themselves as enlightened and democratic is not answered satisfactorily in the book. When the author refers to the persistence of prejudices in the sense of her understanding of childism, the question arises as to whether these prejudices are not themselves rooted in the structures and reproduction mechanisms of a society based on exploitation and utilization and thus also on the devaluation and domination of people. It would therefore be necessary to go beyond a psychological perspective limited to personal attitudes and relationships and to look at larger structural contexts. This is certainly easier said than done, but it is indispensable if the interlocking forms of discrimination and violence against children are to be permanently eradicated.
The author challenges adultism and wants to eliminate it in all its forms. At the end of the book, she makes some concrete proposals for doing so, which even extend to the creation of certain institutions and the financing of measures. However, although she cites the example of a 10-year-old boy in Canada who, together with his schoolmates, founded an organization called ‘Free the Children’, the possible role of young people in overcoming adultism remains underexposed. In my opinion, this is because, despite her assurance that she does not see children as ‘passive victims’ of their circumstances (p. 29), the author tends to underestimate the ability and motivation of young people to act and resist and only trusts herself as a scientist to show possible ways out.
Summary
Rebecca Adami has presented a study that impressively demonstrates how the complex system of power over children can make childhood a torment. She has also plausibly shown that children's rights can only be an instrument for liberation from discrimination if their limitations and contradictions are considered and, above all, if children themselves can dispose of them. However, the question remains as to how the reproduction of adultism can be structurally undermined and what role young people, who are particularly affected by discrimination and violence, can play in this.
Review by
Prof. Dr. Manfred Liebel
Prof. a.D. für Soziologie an der Technischen Universität Berlin, Unabhängiger Kindheits- und Kinderrechtsforscher
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