Youth Mentorship as Neoliberal Subject Formation

This paper critically analyzes how youth mentorship discourse in North America supports hegemonic and normative values of patriarchy, gender role expectations, and negative youth stereotypes. Utilizing critical discourse analysis, I identify and make explicit the additional agendas present in youth mentorship programs. Through an examination of the language and rhetorical devices used to promote youth mentorship programs, multiple elements of discourse are identified as supporting the inculcation of youth with neoliberal values such as competition, entrepreneurism, and self-regulation. The implications of this analysis suggest the continual and increasing presence of neoliberal and corporate capitalistic values in the once publicly funded welfare state.