Between Agency and Abuse

Book excerpt: This book tackles the theme of childhood sexuality, through the examination of its representation in media, namely art. The discussion surrounds the sometimes-subtle differences between art and pornography. Child pornography definitions are discussed and put into perspective through elaboration on the history and establishment of what we term as 'childhood', looking at the concepts of childhood innocence, agency and adultism. The representation of children is analysed through the platform of art, namely photography and painting, choosing images that have provoked and upset in the recent past. The specific situations are considered and the discussion is placed within the context of children's rights, using the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and its Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography as tools to do so. This text offers a multidisciplinary perspective on the taboo of childhood sexuality, anchoring the argument in the discipline of childhood studies, through the use of analytical methods from the field of visual anthropology.