Comacchio, Cynthia. “‘The Rising Generation’: Laying Claims to the Health of Adolescents in English Canada, 1920-70.” Canadian Bulletin of Medical History 19, no.1 (2002): 139-178.

In this article, Cynthia Comacchio discusses the beginning of doctors recognizing adolescence as its own category, and the health of this sub-group of people. It goes along with the medicalization of childhood and the increasing interest in child welfare during this time period. This includes an interest in mental health, which relates to Gerald Thomson’s article about Josephine Dauphinee and her segregated classrooms for those with disabilities.

One of the most interesting aspects of this article is the discussion about sexual education for adolescents. Venereal disease, or as we now refer to them, sexually transmitted infections, are described in this article as “the greatest single public health problem of modern times.” (147). Is this because of a changing moral code in North America? Were more young people having sex than ever before, and with more than just one partner? This would be an interesting subject to explore. This new time of adolescence could be used as a time to educate; even though adolescence was not considered a proper time to have sex during this time period. As Comacchio states, “[a]dolescence was understood, paradoxically, as both a period of sexual maturation – and often discussed only as such – and one of sexual limbo.” (146).

I was surprised to discover that this article also relates to my research paper topic of gendered curriculum in Canada. The author explores the idea that “domestic science” was seen as the best form of schooling for girls. This very much relates to Home Economics and its focus on education for girls only. This article also contributes to our overall understanding of age as a category, which is something we have been exploring in class for the last two months.