Representations of transnational childhoods and childhoods abroad in Lithuanian media discourse
ENThe Lithuanian population has been highly mobile since joining the EU. Consequently, life across borders has become a common experience for many children and young people from Lithuania. This article first examines the extent to which Lithuanian media (2006–2021) captures the experiences of Lithuanian children living abroad and of those who remain in Lithuania when their parents emigrate. It then focuses on a subsample of news items which portray mobile and transnational childhoods as “vulnerable” and in need of protection, building on the concepts of “family troubles” and “troubling families” (McCarthy et al., 2013). The findings reveal that the constructions of childhoods in the migration context are grounded in two powerful imaginaries – one linked with migration and the other tied to the notion of family. The increasing diversity of family forms challenges the strong imaginary of the national-bound single household family unit as the norm and reveals the media’s power in defining “good families” and “appropriate” childhoods. Keywords: media discourse, transnational childhoods, childhoods abroad, family troubles, troubling families. [From the publication]
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