The Sexual Independence of Youth and the Moral Panic of Adults

Abstract

After presenting the historical transformations of youth and the context of sexuality, this paper deals with the way adolescence has become a period of preparation for sexuality. Sexual youth today represents a period of private autonomy no longer ruled over by adults. A repercussion of this ending of direct control over the young is an outburst of anxiety among adults. An analysis of the consumption and perception of pornography raises the question of what makes up this adult moral panic. It forms part of a highly gendered notion of each role in the affective process, and helps to maintain gender asymmetry in love.

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