In the name of 'childhood innocence' : a discursive exploration of the moral panic associated with childhood and sexuality

This essay critically examines how moral panics are used as a political strategy for maintaining the hegemony of the nuclear family, the sanctity of heterosexual relationships and the heteronormative social order. It focuses on the moral panic associated with children and sexuality, particularly that which manifested around non-heterosexual subjectivities. The discussion is based on a discursive analysis of media representations of the moral panics that occurred in Australia during the period 2004 to 2006 around the following issues: a Play School episode, the Learn to Include booklets, and the We’re Here resource. The hegemonic discourses around childhood innocence, sexuality and the construction of the homosexual as a folk devil are explored.