Troubling Youth
By Anna Hickey-Moody, Scott Brook & Peter Kelly
Chelsea Bridge Rockers
The field of youth studies has consistently grappled with two interconnected themes: young people as "problems" and the challenges they face. These themes have been institutionally reinforced through policy discourses and funding models that simultaneously institutionalize and attempt to mitigate these so-called "problems." This chapter critically examines the cultural construction of "problem youth," juxtaposed with an exploration of the real material challenges young people face in contemporary society, such as economic precarity, environmental crises, and the existential threats posed by climate change. While acknowledging these material realities, this chapter also considers how youth arts education and cultural spaces create opportunities to challenge and transform these problematic constructions. These spaces, while fraught with their own challenges, often serve as sites of resistance and contestation, allowing young people to articulate and negotiate their identities. Through an interdisciplinary lens incorporating cultural studies, sociology, and education theory, this chapter highlights the dual role of youth arts as both a re-inscription and a disruption of dominant narratives about young people.
The Cultural Construction of "Problem Youth"
The post-war period witnessed the emergence of the "problem youth" narrative, driven largely by the rise of a consumer economy and the cultural infrastructures that supported it. As Osgerby (2004) notes, the invention of the term "teenager" during the 1950s and 1960s reflected marketers’ recognition of youth as a distinct consumer demographic. This "youthquake" marked a shift in cultural perception, wherein young people became both a marketable force and a source of anxiety.
In the educational context, ethical concerns about young people's morality predate the consumer economy, extending back to the mid-19th century with the establishment of public education systems. Reformers such as David Stow emphasized the moral training of working-class children, proposing innovations such as playgrounds as spaces for ethical observation and intervention (Hunter, 1988). Stow's insistence that "true character and dispositions are best developed at play" highlights how surveillance and moral regulation were central to early educational reforms (Stow, 1850, qtd. in Hunter, 1988, p. 35). Ian Hunter (1988) extends this argument, showing how creative and cultural education became technologies for ethical development. Activities such as poetry writing and performance were designed to encourage students to express their "true selves" while subjecting them to pedagogical techniques of self-reflection and correction. These technologies, foundational to the creation of public education systems in the UK and Australia, institutionalized a model of creativity as both an expression of individuality and a mechanism of governance.
Youth Governance and Moral Panics
The moral regulation of youth extends beyond education into the broader cultural sphere, where media discourses frequently position young people as sources of societal disruption. The concept of "moral panic," first articulated by Jock Young (1971) and later developed by Stanley Cohen (1972), captures the media's role in amplifying youth deviance. Moral panics, Cohen argues, arise when "a condition, episode, person, or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests" (1972, p. 9). For example, the 1950s moral panics around Mods and Rockers reflect the cultural anxieties about youth countercultures and their perceived challenge to traditional values (Cohen, 1972). Similarly, in contemporary Australia, racialized moral panics target Aboriginal and Sudanese youth, framing them as deviant and dangerous through media narratives (Blagg, 2008; Windle, 2008). These discourses not only stigmatize specific youth demographics but also reinforce hegemonic power structures by positioning young people as "folk devils" to be controlled through policing and public policy.
Contemporary Challenges Facing Youth
While young people are often constructed as problematic, they face genuine material challenges that are frequently overlooked in these narratives. Unprecedented levels of inflation, the rising cost of living, and the escalating expense of education restrict their opportunities and exacerbate social inequality. Furthermore, the looming threats of climate change and biodiversity loss amplify feelings of existential dread, particularly among younger generations who will inherit these crises. The compounding pressures of economic precarity and environmental degradation necessitate a shift in how society understands and supports young people. This requires moving beyond deficit-oriented frameworks that pathologize youth behaviour to recognize the structural conditions shaping their lives.
Youth Arts: Re-inscription and Resistance
Youth arts spaces present a paradoxical site within these dynamics. On one hand, they often reproduce the very systems of governance they seek to critique. For instance, public arts funding is frequently tied to policy imperatives that frame arts programs as tools for addressing "youth at risk" (Giroux, 1999). On the other hand, these spaces can provide young people with the means to challenge and subvert dominant narratives about their identities.
Hughes Mearns’s experimental creative writing classes at Columbia University in the early 20th century exemplify the potential of arts education to foster agency and critical engagement. Mearns (1925) observed that peer-based creative exchanges allowed students to confront and critique each other's work, creating a pedagogical space where authority was decentralized, and student voices were foregrounded.
In the contemporary context, youth arts programs often adopt a similar ethos, emphasizing collaboration, self-expression, and critical reflection. These programs can serve as counter-hegemonic spaces where young people negotiate their identities and articulate alternative visions of the world.
Identity, Representation, and Cultural Production
Cultural studies provides a framework for understanding how youth arts engage with broader questions of identity and representation. Stuart Hall’s (1997) concept of representation as both a process of depiction and a site of meaning-making underscores the importance of examining how youth are represented within and through cultural production.
Hall's constructivist approach emphasizes the shared, collective nature of meaning-making, which is particularly relevant in the context of youth arts. Whether through music, film, or performance, young people use cultural production as a means of articulating their experiences and challenging societal norms. This process is not without its contradictions; as Bell Hooks (1992) notes, "the issue is not freeing ourselves from representations but being enlightened witnesses to them."
Conclusion: The Potential of Youth Arts
Youth arts occupy a liminal space where the governance of "problem youth" intersects with the potential for resistance and transformation. While these spaces are not immune to the pressures of institutionalization and surveillance, they also offer young people a platform for critical engagement and creative self-expression. By recognizing and amplifying the voices of young people, youth arts can serve as a powerful counter-narrative to the deficit-oriented frameworks that dominate youth studies and public discourse.
Bibliography
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Giroux, H. A. (1999). Pedagogy and the Politics of Hope: Theory, Culture, and Schooling. Westview Press.
Hall, S. (1997). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. Sage.
Hunter, I. (1988). Culture and Government: The Emergence of Literary Education. Macmillan.
Mearns, H. (1925). Creative Youth: How a School Environment Set Free the Creative Spirit. Doubleday.
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Windle, J. (2008). The Racialisation of African Youth in Australia. Social Identities, 14(5), 553-566