A postmodern exploration of the discourse(s) of childhood and how they produce the active child's body: A case study of Toronto Parks and Recreation documents.

摘要

This postmodern exploration of the discourse(s) of childhood and how these discourse(s) produce the active child's body seeks to fill a gap in the research on children and sport which has been based on traditional developmental assumptions about children. Document analysis of staff training manuals for the Toronto Department of Parks and Recreation reveals the myth that children's recreation ought to be competitive sport and the myth that sport develops children into 'good' adults. These myths are conveyed and produced by the discourses of patriarchy, capitalism, the cure for social problems discourse and the discourse of development. Children's bodies are also marked by power relations in terms of age, ability, gender, race, and social class, and these Parks and Recreation documents mark children's bodies in ways which privilege the dominant male, white, middle class body. These power relations also organize and constrain children's recreational experiences in the Parks and Recreation programmes. The concluding chapter suggests avenues for resistance and liberation by children through recreational activities.