Growing Up in the Culture Wars
Identity and Generational Conflict
Jennie Bristow author Ellie Lee author
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Polity Press
Publishing:23rd Oct '26
£17.99
This title is due to be published on 23rd October, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
This paperback is available in another edition too:
- Hardback£55.00(9781509567058)
Many criticisms of young people in the West excoriate a self-obsessed, 'snowflake' generation and the indulgent parents and teachers who enable them, cowed by fears of upsetting or alienating the kids. But, as sociologists Jennie Bristow and Ellie Lee show, pressure to affirm young people's views of themselves is applied by wider political and cultural dynamics, which corrode organic adult–child relationships. Consequently, young people's ability to develop a rounded, grounded sense of themselves suffers – as does their relationship with the adults who care for them.
The obsession with personal identity incites teenagers and emerging adults to short-circuit the dynamic process of growing up by adopting fashionable badges of self-presentation. But these stymie young people’s access to the intimate intergenerational relationships that have historically provided the basis for development into maturity. Older people often find themselves positioned defensively on 'the wrong side of history', while young people's insecurity is intensified by an aggressive focus on the present.
How can we restore strong ties between the generations? In this sensitive, optimistic and ambitiously broad intervention, Bristow and Lee advocate a cultural narrative that supports adults' authority to say 'no' to our children, with love.
"A refreshing and unflinching analysis of the challenges of growing up in this post-Covid polarised world – and one that doesn't blame either the young people themselves or the scapegoat of technology for the world they face."
Timandra Harkness, author of Technology Is Not the Problem: Why We Surrender Our Data in the Personalised Century
"This book is a fascinating, original examination of the fraying bonds between generations. It doesn't hesitate to lay the blame where it belongs but avoids facile alarmism. A must-read for anyone concerned by the fact that something has gone awry with the institutions responsible for forming the next generation."
Helen Joyce, author of Trans: Gender Identity and the New Battle for Women's Rights
"Culture wars surge and recede, but the fundamentals of raising children endure. When ideology colonises not just the parent–child relationship but the very bonds between generations, it is young people who inevitably pay the price. Growing Up in the Culture Wars cuts through the noise to recover what genuinely matters – and shows how good parenting can rise above fashionable identitarianism."
Keith Hayward, author of Infantilised: How Our Culture Killed Adulthood
"A brilliant study of coming of age amid the culture wars. Bristow and Lee show how shifting politics, fractured institutions, and changing paths of socialisation reshape a generation's sense of self and future. Rigorously researched and sympathetically argued, the book synthesises numerous social trends and is full of illuminating observations that reframe familiar debates. Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand contemporary young people and the world they are growing up in."
Tiffany Jenkins, author of Strangers and Intimates: The Rise and Fall of Private Life
"This is a smart, expansive analysis of growing up, with insights and talking points on every page. Bristow and Lee engage unflinchingly with some of the hardest issues our society faces. Their book draws richly on sociology and other frameworks, highlighting the relevance of atomisation, cultural flashpoints and identity in what it means to be part of a family today. It's a clear, thoughtful and thought-provoking read, which I highly recommend."
Matilda Gosling, author of Teenagers: The Evidence Base
ISBN: 9781509567065
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
252 pages