Infantilization is the prolonged treatment of someone as if they are much younger than they really are.
Racism
Infantilization is an important concept that was pivotal to maintaining slavery - children of enslaved women would also be enslaved because both belonged to the master. Africans were considered ‘child races’, resulting in subsequent infantilization.
When black men respond negatively to “boy,” the negative response is caused by infantilization. Infantilization plays a role in implicit bias, which is a modern effect caused by subjugation, primarily economically, by failing to honor the work and creativity of subjugated populations. Infantilization can be used by propaganda to remove factual contributions from subjugated communities. This is done by individuals who would rather believe what fits within their belief system than truly hear information that may counter existing beliefs.
Ableism
Disabled individuals can be infantilized in their interactions with able-bodied and/or
neurotypical people. That can occur alongside other
paternalistic behaviours and denies individuals their autonomy. Infantilization is more commonly experienced by people who are visually disabled (e.g., people who are visually impaired).
Another specific disability often infantilized is
autism, which is viewed as a children's disorder, with many autism organizations being run by neurotypical parents of autistic children and most charities dedicated to autism focusing on children. The extreme focus on children essentially denies the existence of autistic adults within public consciousness, leading to many people unknowingly discriminating against autistic adults.
Ageism
Older adults
Infantilization can happen to older adults which leads to denying them autonomy in their care, such as through being excessively controlled or being addressed with
baby talk, as if they were a child incapable of understanding complex topics. This leads to a reduced quality of care. From a patient's perspective, this is seen as disrespectful and patronizing. Infantilization can also occur as an aspect of intimate partner violence, as some abusive partners substitute physical violence for psychological abuse to maintain their power.
Youth
When used in reference to
, the term typically suggests that teenagers and their potential are underestimated in modern society. It can also be used to describe adolescents being regarded as though they are younger than their actual age.
Infantilization may also refer to a process when a child is being treated in a manner appropriate only for younger children.
is a notable critic of the treatment of youth and adolescents, suggesting that many public policymakers and neuroscientists utilize myths about the teenage brain in order to disenfranchise and ultimately infantilize them.
Property law
In
property law, infantilization is defined as "the restriction of an individual’s or group’s autonomy based on the failure to recognize and respect their full capacity to reason."
When infantilization is coupled with property takeover, the result is a
dignity taking.
There are several examples of dignity takings, including
wage theft from undocumented workers in which the power imbalance allows employers to rob workers of their agency and avenues for redress;
the dispossession of property from African Americans in the
South Carolina sea islands by predatory tax buyers, who routinely infantilized their victims by overwhelming them with paperwork and timelines to accelerate foreclosures;
and the unequal division of matrimonial property in southern
Nigeria after divorce that assumes women are less capable of managing property and thus infantilizes them.
Sexism
Adult women are frequently referred to as
, a term that is inherently infantilizing due to its association with children and adolescents.
Infantilization is such a common feature of sexism that it is one of five dimensions of sexual harassment in a Gender Experiences Questionnaire.
Humanitarian aid can infantilize women who are displaced from their homes by depicting them simply as innocent victims, not as capable individuals with agency. Women refugees may also be depicted as helpless and unwanted.
Fictional female characters have been depicted as "overtly girly" and criticized as contributing to the infantilization of women.
See also
