Ephebiphobia: Encyclopedia II - Ephebiphobia - Definitions

Ephebiphobia - Definitions

Ephebiphobia can manifest in the following main categories :

• the irrational fear of being near, among or in the company of teenagers;
• the prejudice on the grounds of age (ageism) towards teenagers or underage adolescents, or the discrimination derived from this prejudice;
• the fear, prejudice, hatred, intolerance or discrimination referring to love relationships between adults and adolescents, either when it is the manifestation of ephebophilia, of ephebosexuality, or when it is none of them;
• the irrational fear, panic or hysteria, usually through the mass media (see culture of fear), relating to anything concerning the behavioral or social emancipation of underage adolescents (based on the belief that the adolescent's behavior is more appropriate for adults).

The concept encompasses the irrational fear of a wide variety of issues, ranging from teenage sexuality, teenage pregnancy, preteen pregnancy, and teen motherhood, to proposals to change the law and assure more youth rights, like reducing the voting age, the age of majority, the drinking age, the marriageable age, the age of consent, the age of candidacy, eliminating curfew laws or assuring more students rights.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Definitions", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki