"Think of the children" (also "What about the children?") is acliché that evolved into arhetorical tactic. In the literal sense, it refers tochildren's rights (as in discussions ofchild labor). In debate, it is aplea for pity that is used as anappeal to emotion, and therefore may become alogical fallacy.
Art, Argument, and Advocacy (2002) argued that the appeal substitutesemotion forreason in debate.[1]Ethicist Jack Marshall wrote in 2005 that the phrase's popularity stems from its capacity to stuntrationality, particularly discourse onmorals.[2] "Think of the children" has been invoked bycensorship proponents to shield children from perceived danger.[3][4]Community, Space and Online Censorship (2009) argued that classifying children in aninfantile manner, as innocents in need of protection, is a form of obsession over the concept of purity.[3] A 2011 article in theJournal for Cultural Research observed that the phrase grew out of amoral panic.[5]
It was an exhortation in the 1964Disney filmMary Poppins, when the character of Mrs. Banks pleaded with her departingnanny not to quit and to "think of the children!"[6] The phrase was popularized as asatiric reference on the animated television programThe Simpsons in 1996,[7][8] when characterHelen Lovejoy pleaded variations of "Will someone please think of the children?"[9][10][11] multiple times during a contentious debate by citizens of the fictional town ofSpringfield.[9][12][13]
In the 2012Georgia State University Law Review, Charles J. Ten Brink called Lovejoy's use of "Think of the children" a successfulparody.[9] The appeal's subsequent use in society was often the subject of mockery.[4] After its popularization onThe Simpsons, an appeal to the welfare of children has been called "Lovejoy's Law",[11] the "Lovejoy argument", the "Mrs. Lovejoy fallacy",[14] the "Helen Lovejoy defence", "Helen Lovejoy syndrome",[15] the "Lovejoy Trap",[16] and "think-of-the-children-ism".[17][18]
In 2018, authorNassim Nicholas Taleb, coined the term 'pedophrasty' for an argument "involving children to prop up a rationalization ... Often done with the aid of pictures".[19]
Think of the children ... freed of the crushing burden of dangerous and demeaning work.
"Think of the children" has been used in its literal sense to advocate for the rights of children.[21][22][23] Early usage during the 20th century included writings in 1914 by theNational Child Labor Committee criticizingchild labor standards in the United States.[21] U.S. PresidentBill Clinton used the phrase in a 1999 speech to theInternational Labour Organization,[20] asking his audience to imagine a significant reduction in child labor: "Think of the children ... freed of the crushing burden of dangerous and demeaning work, given back those irreplaceable hours of childhood for learning and playing and living."[20]
The phrase's literal use extends into the 21st century, with Sara Boyce of the Children's Law Centre inNorthern Ireland drawing on it to advocate for the legal rights of the region's children.[22] The 2008 bookChild Labour in a Globalized World used the phrase to call attention to the role ofdebt bondage in child labor.[24] Sara Dillon ofSuffolk University Law School used the phrase "What about the children" in her 2009 book,International Children's Rights, to focus on child-labor program conditions.[25]Benjamin Powell used the phrase differently in his book,Out of Poverty: Sweatshops in the Global Economy, writing that in the absence of child labor some youth facedstarvation.[26] In a 2010 book onhuman rights,Children's Rights and Human Development, childpsychiatristBruce D. Perry used the phrase "think of the children" to urge clinicians to incorporate a process sensitive to developmental stages when counseling youth.[23]
In their 2002 book,Art, Argument, and Advocacy: Mastering Parliamentary Debate, John Meany and Kate Shuster called the use of the phrase "Think of the children" in debate a type oflogical fallacy and anappeal to emotion.[1] According to the authors, a debater may use the phrase toemotionally sway members of the audience and avoidlogical discussion.[1] They provide an example: "I know this national missile defense plan has its detractors, but won't someoneplease think of the children?"[1] Their assessment was echoed by Margie Borschke in an article for the journalMedia International Australia incorporating Culture and Policy, with Borschke calling its use arhetorical tactic.[27]
Ethicist Jack Marshall described "Think of the children!" as a tactic used in an attempt to end discussion by invoking an unanswerable argument.[2] According to Marshall, the strategy succeeds in preventing rational debate.[2] He called its use anunethical manner of obfuscating debate, misdirectingempathy towards an object which may not have been the focus of the original argument.[2] Marshall wrote that although the phrase's use may have a positive intention, it evokesirrationality when repeatedly used by both sides of a debate.[2] He concluded that the phrase can transform the observance of regulations into an ethical quandary, cautioning society to avoid using "Think of the children!" as a final argument.[2]
In his 2015 syndicated article "Think Of The Children",Michael Reagan criticized the phrase's use by politicians.[28] According to Reagan, politicians needed to stop using children as tools when arguing for favored governmental programs.[28] He called the tactic an illogical argument, an act of desperation by those who felt they had a weaker case with reason-based arguments.[28] Noting that it has been used byDemocrats andRepublicans alike in the United States,[28] Reagan called the tactic "obvious political BS".[28]
TheJournal for Cultural Research published an article in 2010 by Debra Ferreday,[29] which was republished in the 2011 bookHope and Feminist Theory.[5] According to Ferreday, media use of "Won't someone think of the children!" had become common in a climate ofmoral panic.[5] She suggested that the phrase was becoming so common that it could become anotherGodwin's law.[5]
In a 2011 article for the journalPost Script, Andrew Scahill wrote about the power of children in rhetoric to create an untenable stance for an opposing viewpoint.[30] According to Scahill, an individual arguing "for the children" makes it extremely difficult for an opponent to hold a "not for the children" position.[30]Cassandra Wilkinson discussed the impact of "think of the children" rhetoric in a 2011 article forIPA Review.[31] Wilkinson cited research byNo Fear: Growing Up in a Risk-Averse Society author Tim Gill that hypersensitivity in defending children from potential harm has the adverse effect of contributing to the inability of youth to own their choices and react to dangerous situations.[32] In theNew Statesman,Laurie Penny characterized the tactic as a political belief system and called it "think-of-the-children-ism".[17]
Elizabeth Bruenig wrote in a 2014 article forFirst Things thatmoralizing with the phrase was commonly seen in discussions ofsexuality,[18] attributing this to society's increasing perception of morality as afeminine domain.[18] Bruenig also cited the labeling ofNBC's refusal to broadcast a movie trailer aboutabortion as "think-of-the-children-ism".[18] The argument is also routinely used in discussions arounddrug use anddrug policy.[33]
Scott Beattie wrote in his 2009 book,Community, Space and Online Censorship, that the question "Will no one think of the children?" was often raised by individuals advocatingcensorship out of a concern that youth might view material deemed inappropriate.[3] According to Beattie, youngsters were cast as potential casualties of online sexual predators to increase regulation of theInternet; characterizing children asinfantile evoked a concept of innocence which was a form of obsession over the concept of purity.[3]
ForMake magazine,Cory Doctorow wrote in a 2011 article that "Won't someone think of the children?!" was used by irrational individuals to support arguments about the dangers to youth of the "Four Horsemen of the Infocalypse": "pirates",terrorists,organized crime, andchild pornographers.[34] According to Doctorow, the phrase was used to stifle discussion of underlying issues and haltrational analysis.[34] He observed its frequent use when society was determining an appropriate approach to thelegal aspects of computing.[34]
In his 2013 book,Fervid Filmmaking, Mike Watt discussed the history ofcensorship relative to theUnited Kingdom'sObscene Publications Act 1959 and noted that films banned during that period became known as "video nasties".[35] Watt called a current interpretation of such censorship the "Think of the Children" characterization.[35] Brian M. Reed wrote in his book,Nobody's Business (also published that year), that the phrase was devoid of substance and could be replaced for comic effect with "How many kittens must die?"[36]
ForReason in 2015, journalistBrendan O'Neill wrote thatMarjorie Heins'Not in Front of the Children: Indecency, Censorship, and the Innocence of Youth cited the centuries-long use by governments of the prevention of "harm to minors" as an excuse to increase censorship and control.[37] According to O'Neill, the use of "Won't somebody please think of the children?" in contemporary culture had greatly increased and was a means of exertingmoral authority withemotional blackmail.[37]
According to Kathryn Laity, early use of the phrase may have stemmed from its appearance in the 1964Walt Disney Pictures filmMary Poppins.[6] In an opening scene, the character of Mrs. Banks pleads with her nanny not to quit by begging her to "think of the children!".[6] Laity wrote that the popular use of the phrase evokes strong feelings in those who object to ananny state,[6] pointing out the conflict in the United States between the country's conservatism (derived from thePuritans) and its desire to usesex in advertising.[6]
Before the phrase's exposure inThe Simpsons, most Americans first became accustomed to it during the 1980s in a charity commercial withSally Struthers forChristian Children's Fund. At the end of the commercial Struthers pleaded with the viewers, "Won't somebody please think of the children?" It was also used inJohn Huston's 1982 filmAnnie, spoken byEleanor Roosevelt as Annie sings "Tomorrow" toFranklin D. Roosevelt at the White House in order to getOliver Warbucks' begrudging support forNew Deal policies he opposes.
"Think of the children" was popularized largely by characterHelen Lovejoy, wife ofReverend Lovejoy, on the television programThe Simpsons.[9][10][11] Lovejoy (who first appeared in 1990)[38][39] repeatedly exclaimed, "Think of the children!" in several episodes of the series.[11][40][41] She first used the phrase in the episode "Much Apu About Nothing" byDavid X. Cohen, which aired in 1996, imploring the city mayor to keep bears from crossing thewildland–urban interface.[7][8][42] Lovejoy's exhortation became increasingly overwrought with each subsequent use.[42]
The Simpsons writerBill Oakley said in the 2005DVD commentary on the episode that the motivation for the phrase on the show was to emphasize how "think of the children" was used in debate; irrelevant, it sidetracked discussion from the original issues.[8] Lovejoy used variations of the phrase, including "Oh, won't somebody please think of the children"[7][12] and "What about the children",[9][43] shrieking it most often when residents of thefictional town ofSpringfield debated a contentious problem or argued aboutpolitics[12][13] and logic failed.[15] Lovejoy's comic use of the phrase onThe Simpsons[12]satirized its use in public discourse.[11]
After the popularization of the phrase onThe Simpsons, its use in society was often ridiculed, and came to be referred to as "Lovejoy's Law" in internet culture as early as 2006, probably independently coined several times.[4] In theToronto Star, journalist Edward Keenan defined "Lovejoy's Law" as a warning that the phrase is a probable diversion from a weak logical stance, writing that true empathy toward children involved rational argument rather than manipulation.[11] In an article forIreland'sSunday Independent, Carol Hunt called the use of the phrase in political debate the "Helen Lovejoy defence" and wrote that it is also known as the "Helen Lovejoy syndrome". According to Hunt, it is often invoked in reference tohypothetical children rather than real children affected by a problem.[15]
In aGeorgia State University Law Review article,Michigan State University College of Law professor Charles J. Ten Brink wrote that Helen Lovejoy's signature phrase was an adept and effectiveparody.[9] According toThe Canberra Times, the phrase's 2009 use to supportInternet censorship by theDepartment of Communications of thegovernment of Australia was evocative of Helen Lovejoy.[43]
In his book,The Myth of Evil, Phillip A. Cole wrote that Helen Lovejoy's plea assumed that children were pure, unadulterated potential casualties who required constant defense from danger.[44] Cole contrasted this notion with characterBart Simpson, who prefers creating disorder to conformity and adherence to regulations.[44] According to Cole, this exemplifies the dual perception of children by society: guileless potential prey and malevolent entities to be distrusted.[44] Cole wrote that throughout history, the child has represented humanity's savage past and its optimistic future.[44] Jo Johnson contributed a chapter, "Won't Somebody Think of the Children?", to the bookMediating Moms, in which she analyzed the phrase's use in animated media (includingThe Simpsons).[45] According to Johnson, the phrase was a key example of popular cultural depictions of mothers as neurotic and filled with anxiety about moral values.[45]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Think of the children!
The Simpsons character Helen Lovejoy popularized this phrase.
