Youth and the Social Link: From Stigma to Competence

Abstract

'Youth in rupture: dupes or prophets?', this was the title of a number of the journal Autrement, in the late 70's. 'Youth in rupture: beyond stigmatization, what mediations?', this was the title of a seminar of the Congress "Violence: from reflection to action". Even thirty years away, the formula sounds like a known refrain, the lyrics of the songs are no longer identical. It is not a simple repetition, but a recurrence of the question of young people in society. In order to problematize this theme and the changes that have taken place, we must ask ourselves about several aspects that will be developed in this article: "youth and youth violence", definitions of concepts such as "youth" and "incivility", the image of youth through media stigmatization, or the role of mediation of public actors such as the police and local authorities... Not to mention young people. They are often recognized as competent actors.