| dc.description.abstract | This chapter examines what insights critical legal scholarship and critical childhood studies can offer each other, with a focus on three themes: fluidity, violence, and human faces. It is argued, first, that neither legality nor the child are matters of fact. Law, rather than ever being “respected” or “violated,” operates through competing interpretations. “Children,” rather than being a pregiven group, are largely creations of law, whose supposedly natural characteristics could diminish if age norms were to be dismantled. Second, law and childhood alike inflict, legitimize, and conceal violence against people of all ages, especially those from disempowered groups. Lastly, the human faces of law include anyone, of any age, who uses concepts of legality, while the human faces of childhood include “adults” who are legally described, treated, or self-identify as “children.” Combined, these insights challenge conventional wisdom while providing a richer and more critical understanding of both law and childhood. | en_US |
