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Beyond Social Constructionism: A Structural Analysis of the Cultural Significance of the Child Star
Author(s) -
O’Connor Jane
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
children and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.538
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-0860
pISSN - 0951-0605
DOI - 10.1111/j.1099-0860.2008.00169.x
Subject(s) - social constructionism , psychoanalytic theory , sociology , strict constructionism , constructionism , dominance (genetics) , context (archaeology) , mythology , gender studies , psychology , psychoanalysis , epistemology , developmental psychology , social science , history , philosophy , biochemistry , chemistry , archaeology , gene , classics
This article challenges the dominance of social constructionist theories of childhood by presenting a structural analysis of the child star as a recurrent, universal feature in the myths and legends of the world. The article argues that by conceptualising our understanding of children and childhood as being due solely to the socio‐historical context in which they live, an important dimension of childhood may be overlooked. Through looking at media stories about child stars throughout the twentieth century, this article uses a psychoanalytic Jungian framework to explore deeper similarities and patterns in cultural story telling about children over different cras and social contexts.