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Children and Sexuality

What do children know about sexuality? Do they know anything? What should they know? Recent research points out that even young children between six and twelve years old relate to the topic of sex and sexuality on an everyday basis.

My interest in young children and sexuality concerns so-called "normal" sexuality. Theoretically, my research is part of Sexuality Studies, the research field which emphasizes social and cultural understandings of sexuality. A key concept and research topic is pedophilication and the normalization of the pedophilic gaze.

My key proposition is that the pedophilic gaze has become a norm, on the basis of which children’s and adults’ worlds are ordered and structured in practice. I focus on and unpack this topic in my forthcoming book: Children, Sexuality and Visual Culture: Enacting the Pedophilic Gaze (Palgrave).

Publications

Cover of publication ''
Anna Sparrman (2015)
Seeing (with) the 'sexy' body: young children's visual enactment of sexuality

Children, sexuality and sexualization , s.123-140

Cover of publication ''
Anna Sparrman (2014)
Access and gatekeeping in researching children's sexuality: Mess in ethics and methods

Sexuality & Culture , Vol.18 , s.291-309 Continue to DOI

Organisation

Silhouettes of several children in the sunset

Child Studies (TEMAB)

Education and research at Child Studies is about childhood and family with a focus on interaction and language, children's culture and consumption, and childhood over time and space, all to better see the perspectives of children and young people.
Temahuset Temabuilding

Department of Thematic Studies (TEMA)

In an increasingly complicated world, there is a need for researchers that can handle both breadth and depth, and can collaborate across disciplinary borders. Major societal questions are studied from an interdisciplinary perspective at TEMA.
Studenthuset on Campus Valla in Linköping

About LiU

Linköping University, LiU, offers innovative education and boundary-crossing research. The students are among the most desirable in the labour market and international rankings consistently place LiU as a leading global university.

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