ABSTRACT
Scholars such as Gabrielle Owen have discerned the primary queer resonances associated with the concept of adolescence, in that it is an aspect of human identity positioned outside of the confines of adulthood. Adolescence is often approached as a moment of budding promise, a time of becoming, that necessitates particular intervention to assure that its trajectory complies with normative expectations/standards of human growth and development. Adolescence has become so naturalized that many people assume that it has always existed, and that there has always been a distinct group of people that can be categorized as “adolescents” or “teens.” However, adolescence and common synonyms such as teenagerhood and young adulthood are relatively conceptualizations. Although Western human development was dichotomously divided into childhood and adulthood, immense changes in industry, family, and education eventually led to both the emergence of a distinct youth culture and the increasing recognition of adolescence as a developmental stage.
