Politics, philosophy, culture: interviews and other writings

What was important in relations between children and adults was that childhood became a common area of interest for parents, educational institutions, and public health. Children's sexuality became both a target and an instrument of power which resulted in the sexual misery of children and adolescents. The object was not to forbid but to use childhood sexuality as a network of power over kids. Children consequently became oppressed by the very ones who pretended to liberate them.

source: Article 'Politics, philosophy, culture: Interviews and other writings' by Michel Foucault; From the book 'Sexual morality and the law' by M. Foucault, G. Hocquenghem & J. Danet; Routledge, London; Quote used in the article 'Interrogating the Essential: Moral Baselines on Adult-Child Sex' by Richard Yuill (independent researcher); Thymos, Journal of Boyhood Studies, Vol. 4, No. 2; Special Issue: Boys' Sexuality and Age of Consent; Fall 2010; Book Foucault et al.: 1988