I, as a Fault-Condemnation of Being and Power Dynamics in the Parent-Child Interaction

Bibliographic Data

ID5900088
AuthorsRose Moreau Raguenes (0000-0003-2740-3216, CY Cergy Paris Université, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume10
Issue3
Pages54
Publication date2025-03-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLanguages (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2226-471X • E-ISSN: 2226-471X
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/languages10030054
OpenAlexW4408618646
LanguageEN
References cited15

This article explores the power dynamics underlying verbal abuse within the parent-child interaction. Through a reception-based approach, it focuses on condemnation acts of being (e.g., you are a good for nothing) directed by abusive parents towards their children and reported by the latter in anonymous testimonies published on the Francophone Instagram account Parents toxiques; a sample of ten testimonies is examined. The analyses conducted show that (i) the ontological assertion of power over the other is constructed from the predicative level, with processes that concern their being in its entirety and present condemnation as an objective reality. (ii) The condemnation of being draws its pragmatic force from its legitimisation-by relying on norms presented as self-evident and universal and by highlighting the harm caused by the other. (iii) As a speaker, constructing the other's being as at fault involves, to varying degrees, essentialising and downgrading them as well as conflating their intrinsic worth with one's beliefs and needs. In conclusion, the notion of condemnation acts of being-along with its descriptors-provides an effective framework that can be applied to reports and direct observations to help various professionals identify and assess transgressions and/or dysfunctions in authority relationships

Dynamics (music · Fault (geology · Physics · Power (physics · Seismology · Child Therapy and Development · Early Childhood Education and Development · Psychology · Social Representations and Identity · Geology

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