Who Gets to Be a Child? Clinical and Cultural Reflections on Racism, White Infantilization, and Kyle Rittenhouse

This paper began from the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse and my disturbing reaction to his testimony. In an attempt to understand my response, I examine both adultification bias, where black youth are seen as older than their age and more threatening than their white peers, and Whiteness from a psychoanalytic lens. Using psychoanalytic theory, social psychology, ethnography research, cultural examples, and my own self-reflections, I suggest a new term, White Infantilization, that describes how white youth are viewed as innocent and young far beyond when they should be and the costs associated with this. I use two case examples, featuring a black and white teen, where themes of adultification bias and White Infantilization are prominent, to explore the relevance of these ideas for current clinical practice.