Dreamers, Queer Kids, and American Culture Wars: Centering Young People in Identity Politics
-
Alison Gash
and
Daniel Tichenor
Abstract
Children routinely sit at the center of American culture wars, as parents, officials, and other adults battle over what kids learn in the classroom, which bathrooms they can use, whether they must wear masks or get vaccines, what sports teams they can join, and which schools they can attend. In Democracy’s Child, we describe the crucial reciprocal relationship that exists between children and politics: young people are constituted by their political environs, but liberal democratic politics in turn are shaped and influenced by their young constituents. In this article we ask: what happens when the youngest voices in the most contentious policy battles take the reins – with a specific focus on youth leaders who are challenged by multiple identity-based structural barriers. We train a spotlight on how two youth-led movements – gay straight or gender-sexuality alliances (GSAs) and Dreamers – influenced the rights of LGBTQIA+ people and immigrants amidst opposition from adult adversaries and allies.
© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- The Forum: Fall 2023 Issue Introduction
- Articles
- When are Identities Politically Consequential? Identifying Conditions of Descriptive, Substantive, and Allied Group Identity
- Religious Group Affect and Support for First Amendment Liberties
- Exceptional Times for an Exceptional People: How the Prosperity Gospel, Christian Nationalism, and Race Affect Americans’ Economic Attitudes and Behavior
- Who Cares About Caregiving?: Identity and Caregiving Policy Perspectives
- Legacies of Militarism: Ascriptive Republicanism and the Origins of America’s Contemporary Gun Culture
- Dreamers, Queer Kids, and American Culture Wars: Centering Young People in Identity Politics
- Politics and Popular Culture: Stretching Imaginaries and Filling in Holes
- Book Reviews
- Kaitlin N. Sidorsky and Wendy J. Schiller: Inequality Across State Lines: How Policymakers Have Failed Domestic Violence Victims in the United States
- Manuel P. Teodoro, Samantha Zuhlke and David Switzer: The Profits of Distrust: Citizen-Consumers, Drinking Water, and the Crisis of Confidence in American Government
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- The Forum: Fall 2023 Issue Introduction
- Articles
- When are Identities Politically Consequential? Identifying Conditions of Descriptive, Substantive, and Allied Group Identity
- Religious Group Affect and Support for First Amendment Liberties
- Exceptional Times for an Exceptional People: How the Prosperity Gospel, Christian Nationalism, and Race Affect Americans’ Economic Attitudes and Behavior
- Who Cares About Caregiving?: Identity and Caregiving Policy Perspectives
- Legacies of Militarism: Ascriptive Republicanism and the Origins of America’s Contemporary Gun Culture
- Dreamers, Queer Kids, and American Culture Wars: Centering Young People in Identity Politics
- Politics and Popular Culture: Stretching Imaginaries and Filling in Holes
- Book Reviews
- Kaitlin N. Sidorsky and Wendy J. Schiller: Inequality Across State Lines: How Policymakers Have Failed Domestic Violence Victims in the United States
- Manuel P. Teodoro, Samantha Zuhlke and David Switzer: The Profits of Distrust: Citizen-Consumers, Drinking Water, and the Crisis of Confidence in American Government
