#childism

because, let’s talk for real, the problem isn’t just direct violence — it’s the dehumanization of children, which feeds prejudice against childhood, childism, and adultism. this logic IS NOT neutral, and it’s one of the most sophisticated ways prejudice gets perpetuated.

“not liking/hating children” reinforces the idea that they’re annoying, dramatic, inconvenient... less human — and therefore easier to discard, silence, or sacrifice for adult comfort.

elisabeth young-bruehl defines childism as prejudice against children as a social group, comparable to racism, sexism, and homophobia. it functions like any other -ism: an ideology that legitimizes treating a group as property, as inferior, or as available for exploitation. she also shows that childism isn’t limited to extreme cases of violence — it shows up in a whole range of practices that aren’t in children’s best interest: neglect, underfunding of schools, the abusive use of medication on children…

saying “i don’t like/i hate children” isn’t an innocent preference or just a phrase — it’s literally the biased expression of a worldview that dehumanizes and diminishes this group. that’s exactly what childism is.

young-bruehl emphasizes that adults who practice childism “all rely upon a societal prejudice against children to justify themselves and legitimate their behavior.” [p.1] a lot of people may not consciously “hate” children or raise a hand to hit them — but the prejudice allows them to tolerate structures that harm children on a massive scale (child poverty, incarceration, violence, abuse, exploitation, neglect, etc.).

rebecca adami uses the concept of childism to analyze adult resistance to actually implementing children’s rights: prejudice against children gets translated into laws, policies, and practices that deny basic freedoms and normalize their subordination. just like a racist can say “i don’t want to see black people getting hurt” while supporting policies that harm them — an adult who “hates children” is, in practice, feeding the cultural climate that makes violence against children thinkable, justifiable, or dismissed.

adami also shows that childism helps us understand how children are exposed to “prejudices, negative attitudes and discriminatory structures in society” — and how this connects to the weak implementation of the un convention on the rights of the child.

the old idea that “children are just mini adults” has been challenged by childhood sociology, and children are now recognized as rights-bearing subjects who deserve to be heard and respected in their choices.

claiming it’s “fine to dislike and/or hate children” means refusing them that status — putting them back in the position of nuisance, of “noisy things,” of objects. which is exactly what critical theory identifies as the core of adultism and childism.

madeline lane-mckinley argues we live in a world that is “deeply against children,” where they’re treated as extensions of the family, the state, or capital — not as autonomous people. she also talks about “adult supremacy” and proposes a politics of solidarity with children, understanding them as comrades in the fight for a better future.

lane-mckinley also points out that the figure of the child has historically been weaponized in service of white supremacy, empire, and political projects that decide which children deserve protection — and which ones can be abandoned to poverty, war, forced migration.

in other words, discourses of hatred and contempt for children participate in the symbolic economy that makes some children’s lives more exposed to violence.

and finally — in ethical and political terms, there is no way to separate “hating” (or “disliking”) children from passive participation in structures that authorize harm against them.

the only position that’s coherent with children’s rights and with critiques of childism is to let go of that hatred and commit to recognition, listening, and active solidarity.

My dad wouldn’t let my brother (autistic) wear a short sleeve shirt to a formal event. After I started arguing with him he said that even though people could pick their clothes as adults, they can’t do that as kids.

He’s literally a teenager. He can pick short or long sleeves and “formalwear rules” are not more important than his comfort.

This is parental abuse, ableism, and childism.

Today children are viewed as property of their parents. If you went up to someone and told them you think children are an oppressed group they would laugh in your face. It’s considered scientific fact that children are less intelligent and more emotional than adults. Because of these “facts”, they are denied the right to vote. They do not have bodily autonomy. They can not own property. They are the most likely victims of rape and abuse. They can not divorce their parents. They are not allowed to participate in government. They are not allowed to open a bank account. They often aren’t allowed in public without their parents. They are not viewed as people.

Through “Focus On The Family”, Dobson lobbied against America ratifying The Convention On The Rights Of The Child that affirms children have a right to having their basic needs met and freedom from violence because beating children was “religious freedom”. He pushed “Parents Rights” laws that treat children as property rather than people and allow more child abuse to occur or continue. He promoted Conversion Torture of LGBTQIA kids which is known to drastically increase suicide risk and cause PTSD (and also 100% does not work at all). He opposed Women’s Rights that help women and children escape domestic violence. We are still suffering under the abusive, heinous movement of Christian Nationalism.