JonBenet and make-believe game

"But if the boundary between innocence and impurity, child and adult, became blurred in both cases, JonBenet's notoriety as an object of public fascinatino revealed a dark and seamy element in American culture." (B&S, p. 135)

Our culture is quick to blame youth for irresponsible behaviors. But our culture does not appear ready to accept responsibility for having brought children up in an atmosphere that fosters insecurity among youth and instills the need in youth to compete at an adult level for love, attention and acceptance. Clearly, our media puts glamour on a pedestal to the extent that young girls in our culture try to emulate superstars and sex symbols instead of being content with themselves as they are. Even many young children's Disney DVDs of today place the emphasis on glamour and sexualty.

We cannot expect girls to not be promiscuous and insecure in their teenage years if these are the only examples that have been presented to them. Children need wholesome examples to follow. Children need to feel safe and comfortable with themselves at each stage of their development.

Adolescence as a Construct

How does approaching adolescence as a construct change the way we treat and understand adolescence? What are the positive and negatives associated with our approaching adolescence this way? Will this approach cause us overlook individual needs or embrace them?

From TCMSR:

The social, historical, and political approach to the study of youth emphasizes that the meaning of youth like the meaning of democracy itself is in playand is struggled over by different groups with competing material and ideological intersts. The social construction of adolescence is of prime importance to those involved in and concerned about middle school.