Troublemakers: Young People as Unruly Activists in an Anti-Trans US School Context
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| Title: | Troublemakers: Young People as Unruly Activists in an Anti-Trans US School Context |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Sally Campbell Pirie (ORCID |
| Source: | Education, Citizenship and Social Justice. 2026 21(1):18-41. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 24 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Descriptive |
| Education Level: | Secondary Education Junior High Schools Middle Schools |
| Descriptors: | Secondary School Students, Secondary School Teachers, Administrators, Parents, Transgender People, Gender Identity, Activism, Community Action, Violence, Safety, Gender Discrimination, Student Reaction, Teacher Response, Expectation, Values Education, Middle Schools, Religious Factors, Social Influences, Change Agents |
| DOI: | 10.1177/17461979241242000 |
| ISSN: | 1746-1979 1746-1987 |
| Abstract: | This piece of comics-based research (CBR) tells the story of young people's activism and adult lassitude in progressive US communities where the transgender and nonbinary youth had seemed well supported, but were in fact targeted by school staff at two middle-grade schools. While there ensued various forms of protest and activism, adults encouraged children to engage in adult-curated, docile forms, such as making chalk art on the sidewalk in front of the middle school, or writing letters to administration. Many young people refused these forms and instead used "unruly" forms of activism. These included defacing school spaces and other means of disrupting institutional functioning. They saw adult-curated docile activism as a frustratingly inert treatment. Even in such a clear situation, many adults seemed still more uncomfortable with unruly activism, cast as "troublemaking" than with adult transgressions, and refused to see the children as anything other than improper. This comic describes children's unruly activism in the context of adult violence and adult-curated docile activism as a form of control--and reflects on adult discomfort as a fulcrum of complex power. Reflections on reframing all child "misbehavior" as radical action conclude the comic narrative. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1499369 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This piece of comics-based research (CBR) tells the story of young people's activism and adult lassitude in progressive US communities where the transgender and nonbinary youth had seemed well supported, but were in fact targeted by school staff at two middle-grade schools. While there ensued various forms of protest and activism, adults encouraged children to engage in adult-curated, docile forms, such as making chalk art on the sidewalk in front of the middle school, or writing letters to administration. Many young people refused these forms and instead used "unruly" forms of activism. These included defacing school spaces and other means of disrupting institutional functioning. They saw adult-curated docile activism as a frustratingly inert treatment. Even in such a clear situation, many adults seemed still more uncomfortable with unruly activism, cast as "troublemaking" than with adult transgressions, and refused to see the children as anything other than improper. This comic describes children's unruly activism in the context of adult violence and adult-curated docile activism as a form of control--and reflects on adult discomfort as a fulcrum of complex power. Reflections on reframing all child "misbehavior" as radical action conclude the comic narrative. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1746-1979 1746-1987 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/17461979241242000 |
