Young children, gender and the heterosexual matrix

Bibliographic Data

ID2931908
AuthorsCarrie Paechter (0000-0003-3050-5571, Goldsmiths University of London, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume38
Issue2
Pages277-291
Publication date2017-03-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDiscourse Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0159-6306 • E-ISSN: 1469-3739
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01596306.2015.1105785
OpenAlexW2256866096
LanguageEN
Citations received18
References cited39

In this paper I consider the adult focus of current mainstream gender theory. I relate this to how the concept of the \nheterosexual matrix originates in a social contract which excludes children from civil society. I argue that this exclusion is problematic both for theoretical reasons and from the perspective of children themselves. I start by discussing the nature of the heterosexual matrix and its foundations. I consider the implications for participation which arise from being named as a child, how that affects children’s attempts to claim participation in civil society, and how this is related to children’s naming of themselves as gendered. I then briefly consider the possibility that, because of their exclusion, children might also be considered to be exempt from the heterosexual matrix. However, I argue, there is considerable evidence that children are actively sexual beings who also work hard to claim inclusion in local practices of heterosexuality. I end by suggesting that there are three key reasons for this: that the discourses of normative sexuality provide children with a language to express sexual feelings; that self-insertion in the heterosexual matrix is a way for children to claim rights to participation; and that taking up heterosexual formations is a means whereby children can experience the power of naming themselves as part of the social world

Developmental psychology · Feeling · Heterosexuality · Human sexuality · Inclusion–exclusion principle · Mainstream · Normative · Political science · Politics · Social exclusion · Sociology · Children's Rights and Participation · Foucault, Power, and Ethics · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology