“We make our own fun”: Reading the politics of youth with(in) community

Abstract

Drawing on recent research that has highlighted both the heterogeneity and agency of youth, this paper reports on how young people experience and negotiate social relations and everyday spaces in a rural community. Taking a case from New Zealand, we consider the sites, activities and social negotiations young people encounter when considering their experiences of ‘community’. These experiences include engagements with the social relations and spaces where young people feel marginalized and/or (sometimes simultaneously) included. We then argue that a ‘politics of youth’ can be read through the strategies young people select while engaging in social relations and activities within ‘community’. We identify three different strategies to illustrate how young people engage with everyday spaces; make their <own fun>; and actively negotiate their diverse positions and experiences of ‘community’.