The Dominion of Youth

Cynthia Comacchio

Description

Adolescence, like childhood, is more than a biologically defined life stage: it is also a sociohistorical construction. The meaning and experience of adolescence are reformulated according to societal needs, evolving scientific precepts, and national aspirations relative to historic conditions. Although adolescence was by no means a “discovery” of the early twentieth century, it did assume an identifiably modern form during the years between the Great War and 1950.

The Dominion of Youth: Adolescence and the Making of Modern Canada, 1920 to 1950 captures what it meant for young Canadians to inhabit this liminal stage of life within the context of a young nation caught up in the self-formation and historic transformation that would make modern Canada. Because the young at this time were seen paradoxically as both the hope of the nation and the source of its possible degeneration, new policies and institutions were developed to deal with the “problem of youth.” This history considers how young Canadians made the transition to adulthood during a period that was “developmental”—both for youth and for a nation also working toward individuation. During the years considered here, those who occupied this “dominion” of youth would see their experiences more clearly demarcated by generation and culture than ever before. With this book, Cynthia Comacchio offers the first detailed study of adolescence in early-twentieth-century Canada and demonstrates how young Canadians of the period became the nation’s first modern teenagers.

Sujets

• Sociology
• History of Canada
• History

Informations

• Publié par: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
• Date de parution: 08 octobre 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781554580798
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

The Dominion of Youth

Adolescence and the Making of a Modern Canada 1920–1950

Studies in Childhood and Family in Canada

Studies in Childhood and Family in Canadais a multidisciplinary series devoted to new perspectives on these subjects as they evolve. The series features studies that focus on the intersections of age, class, race, gender, and region as they contribute to a Canadian understanding of childhood and family, both historically and currently.

Series Editor Cynthia Comacchio Department of History Wilfrid Laurier University

Manuscripts to be sent to Brian Henderson, Director Wilfrid Laurier University Press 75 University Avenue West Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3C5

The Dominion of Youth

Adolescence and the Making of a Modern Canada 1920–1950

Cynthia R. Comacchio

Studies in Childhood and Family in Canada

This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences through the Aid to Scholarly Publications Programme, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program for our publishing activities.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Comacchio, Cynthia R., 1957- The dominion of youth : adolescence and the making of modern Canada, 1920–1950 / Cynthia R. Comacchio

(Studies in childhood and family in Canada) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-88920-488-1 ISBN-10: 0-88920-488-8

1. Teenagers—Canada—History—20th century. 2. Teenagers—Canada—Social life and customs. I. Title. II. Series

HQ799.C3C64 2006

306.2350971’09042

© 2006 Wilfrid Laurier University Press Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3C5 www.wlupress.wlu.ca

C2006-902348-4

Cover design by Pam Woodland. Front cover photograph: Girl skaters from the Old Orchard Skating Club, Toronto, c. 1920. William James, photographer. City of Toronto Archives, SC 244-1367. With permission of the City of Toronto Archives. Text design by Kathy Joslin.

Every reasonable effort has been made to acquire permission for copyright material used in this text, and to acknowledge all such indebtedness accurately. Any errors and omissions called to the publisher’s attention will be corrected in future printings.

Printed in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.

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Table of Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Introduction:Young Canada. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In Theory:The “Problem of Modern Youth”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In the Home:Intergenerational Relations

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In Love:Dating and Mating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

At School:The Culture of “Modern High”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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17

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On the Job:Training and Earning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

At Play:Fads, Fashions, and Fun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

At the Club:Youth Organizations189. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conclusion:Youth’s Dominion211. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

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Preface

June 15, 1970

Dear Diary: Well, now I’m 13, I’m a teenager at last. I don’t feel older yet. I’ll feel more grown up in the fall when high school starts. That will be exciting. . . . I want things to change fast.

I have kept this old diary, with its gilded pink vinyl cover and its tiny padlock, through many years, moves, and life changes. Now and again I come across it; reading the careful scribbles, I am reminded that, at various times during the course of adolescence, the girl who wanted “things to change fast” would find herself wanting them to change back to their familiar form. That is the nature of “becoming adult.” Where adolescence is concerned, there is probably as much looking backwards as forwards, as much a sense of exceptionality as commonal- ity with peers, of aloneness as generational belonging, of being “a kid” as of being “grown up.” The thirteen-year-old diarist could not have known, on the verge of stepping into high school, that looking backwards would become her life’s work, and adolescence itself a consuming historical interest. I became interested in the history of childhood and motherhood as a nerv- ous new mother eager to know the “how-to” of scientific childrearing. Once my daughter reached the teen years, I found myself feeling as ignorant about par- enting a “not-child-not-yet-adult” as I had when she was a fragile newborn. Coming of age in the late twentieth century, as my children did, was a complex and anxiety-provoking matter, and not only for them and for their parents. It

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was, and remains, a dominant social issue. Teenagers are seen to inhabit a world in which established values and their related customs are disintegrating, families are fragmenting, and parents and other elders are disregarded in favour of the peer group. This increasingly “wired” and media-saturated postmodern culture is considered to be fundamentally different than that of any previous genera- tion—and eminently more dangerous. The young appear intent on “acting out” the worst fears of adult onlookers, as horribly manifested in the murder of four- teen-year-old Reena Virk in Victoria, British Columbia, and the high school shootings in Columbine, Colorado, among other acts of violence made all the more shocking in view of the youth of those involved. Most of the victims, and all of the perpetrators, were teenagers. What does this say about our world? More to the point, what does it portend about our future? In reading the contemporary literature on adolescence, I felt compelled to delve into its precedents. What I uncovered were a few simple but salient themes and issues that call into question the newness of contemporary adolescent cul- ture, as well as the unprecedented nature of public concerns about teenagers. The first of these might well appear obvious: adolescence is a socio-historic event as much as a personal experience. It changes over time to reflect its par- ticular context, while maintaining certain cross-generational continuities that hinge on the usual variables of gender, class and race, and religion and culture. Although the focus varies, another “modern” theme is the tendency of society to project its every current anxiety onto the younger generation, citizens of the future. In the early twentieth century, as the eyes of so-called modern experts became fixed upon the young, certain long-lasting theories about the nature and meaning of adolescence were formulated. Once the Great War had passed and the “modern age” had truly arrived, the modern teenager emerged amidst the “new day’s” intensive developments in technology, medicine, psychology, edu- cation, cultural anthropology, family sociology, and any number of other “scien- tific advances” and “modern innovations.” This creature, initially seen in a positive light as being more modern than its parents, quickly took on a certain resemblance to Frankenstein’s infamous monster. Although it was not unlike its creators, both parents and the larger society, its very modernity made it a terror to behold: undisciplined, ungovern- able, and ever challenging the “norm,” hence threatening the future. This grow- ing apprehension about the younger generation came to be classified—and still is—as the “youth problem.” This book is about the ideas, policies, and projects that were devised, during the years from the end of one world war to the end of another, in hopes of ensuring the making of a certain type of modern young Canadian. It is also about the everyday experiences of growing up in what was itself a young Canada undertaking a parallel journey of transformation. The problems associated with a long-term, often unwieldy and always exas- perating project such as this one are borne not only by the historical actors but also by the historian trying to make sense of it all, not to mention the historian’s hapless family, friends, and colleagues. While the work may be an individual

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effort, the related aggravations tend to be shared by all within reach, with or without their consent. With much appreciation and even more apology, then, I acknowledge all the moral support, encouragement, and technical, scholarly, and collegial assistance so kindly supplied by so many: Neil Sutherland, who pio- neered family history in this country and continues, with much enthusiasm, ener- gy, and generosity, to guide those who follow, myself included; my colleague Suzanne Zeller, who heard too much about all this and still made herself available for sustaining doses of coffee and cake; the good people at Wilfrid Laurier University Press, especially Sandra Woolfrey, Brian Henderson, Jacqueline Larson, Carroll Klein, and Leslie Macredie, all of whom remained remarkably straight- faced for all the years that it took to get the manuscript to them. And I very much appreciate the skill and imagination of Pam Woodland, who designed the cover. Among other friends and colleagues who offered consistent encouragement, I thank also Terry Crowley and Jamie Snell, University of Guelph; Terry Copp, Wilfrid Laurier University; and the late Gerry Stortz, St. Jerome’s University. A number of capable graduate student researchers gave much-appreciated assis- tance through the years, especially D.J. MacPherson, Inge Sanmiya, Alessandra Iozzo, and Laura Quirk. I am very grateful for the funding provided by grants and fellowships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Federation of Canada; the AMS-Hannah Institute for the History of Medicine; and the Office of Research, Wilfrid Laurier University, and especially for the support of Dr. Barry McPherson, former Dean of Research. As always, I must thank my parents, Bruno and Maria Comacchio, and my sister and brother-in-law, Linda and Murray Calanchie, for helping me to raise my children while also “raising” this book. I feel strongly the ineffectiveness of trying to express what this means in the context of my life and the lives of my daughter and son. Stefanie, now twenty-three, and Evan, just leaving adoles- cence as this project comes to pass, pretty much came of age with it, this demanding, ever-present, un-human life form, also a “monster ” of sorts, to extend the Frankenstein analogy. This might have been an interesting experience for them; it was more likely another thing to suffer through at a time when they had compelling projects of their own to take up. I am grateful for their patience and endurance, and for becoming such wonderful young adults, probably in spite of it all. Newcomers to our circle have been obliged to “live with it” as well. I thankfully acknowledge the supportive roles undertaken by my son-in-law, Long Ly, and my friend Murray Tucker. Finally, I dedicate this one, with much love and constant amazement, to the “rising generation,” as represented close to my heart by my grandson, Alexander Bruno Ly:ti voglio tanto bene, carino mio.