A Glimpse into Neuroqueer Youth #Hashtags and Posts: A Rights-Based Critical Discourse Analysis of Power, Discourse, Value, and Identity from Neuroqueer Youths’ Online Assertions
dc.contributor.author | Prince, Kira | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2024-08-29T14:16:08Z | |
dc.date.available | 2024-08-29T14:16:08Z | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10464/18770 | |
dc.description.abstract | Neuroqueer (neurodivergent and queer) youth internationally face significant challenges, including violence, harassment, and marginalization, both individually and systemically. This treatment “Others” them, complicating their perceived level of humanness within society, while often undermining their fundamental rights. Despite the formal documentation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (United Nations, 1989), youth rights, particularly within the neuroqueer intersection, remain relatively unexplored in research. Through a critical discourse analysis using critical disability studies, specifically adopting Fairclough’s (1995) three-dimensional model, this qualitative study examined 24 social media posts, investigating how neuroqueer youth assert themselves, and reviewing the implications of their representations, including the connections to their rights, specifically participation rights. It highlighted how discursive practices and hegemonic power dynamics shape the lives and rights of these youth, particularly in the realms of power, participation, identity, and value. The data revealed four prominent themes: intersectionality; harm, abuse, and trauma; protection; and youth liberation and power. These themes emphasized the significance of intersectionality and social positioning in shaping the social experiences of neuroqueer youth, the presence of harm, abuse, and trauma at both systemic and individual levels, the need to safeguard and validate their essential needs and existences, and the call for (neuroqueer) youth liberation through the recognition of their agency and humanity. This study holds the potential to advocate for the rights and value of neuroqueer youth, promoting their active participation in shaping their own lives and discourse, affirming and including their identity/identities, agency, and capacities, and illuminating the impact of discourse and power dynamics that impact their participation, safety, and perceived worth through the perpetuation of adultism, heteronormativity, and neurotypicality. Drawing from existing literature, several recommendations emerge for fostering a safer, more inclusive world for neuroqueer youth in institutional, familial, and interpersonal spheres. | en_US |
dc.language.iso | eng | en_US |
dc.publisher | Brock University | en_US |
dc.subject | discourse | en_US |
dc.subject | youth | en_US |
dc.subject | neuroqueer | en_US |
dc.subject | value | en_US |
dc.subject | identity | en_US |
dc.title | A Glimpse into Neuroqueer Youth #Hashtags and Posts: A Rights-Based Critical Discourse Analysis of Power, Discourse, Value, and Identity from Neuroqueer Youths’ Online Assertions | en_US |
dc.type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation | en_US |
dc.degree.name | M.A. Child and Youth Studies | en_US |
dc.degree.level | Masters | en_US |
dc.contributor.department | Department of Child and Youth Studies | en_US |
dc.degree.discipline | Faculty of Social Sciences | en_US |
refterms.dateFOA | 2024-08-29T14:16:10Z |