Bodies in Childhood and Youth Studies: An Introduction

The body has become a central focus of empirical and theoretical work in childhood and youth studies across a range of disciplines including sociology, cultural studies, anthropology, psychology and media studies. The central aim of new developments in theory and research has been to locate the body as an active force in social relations, rather than a ‘blank slate’ upon which societal inequalities are inscribed. Despite recent conceptual advancements in studies of childhood and youth, in popular discourse, the body is often identified as the site of social or cultural “problems,” such as in the sexualization of children and young people, social media use, and poor body image. In contrast, feminist and poststructural theories of embodiment place the body and embodied experience at the forefront of analysis to highlight the active relations between bodies and the social world. Building on these developments, this chapter provides an overview of how the body is conceptualized in the study of childhood and youth, and introduces emerging research in this field that is further explored throughout this section of the handbook.