Alexander, Nita, Petray, Theresa, and McDowall, Ailie (2025) ‘It’s not a future issue, it’s a now issue’: young climate activists’ changing habitus in the face of climate change. Journal of Youth Studies, 33 (2).

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Abstract

Young people traditionally face social expectations about how they should behave according to their position in society. However, these expectations can clash with the realities of a rapidly changing world. This study uses Bourdieu’s concept of hysteresis to explore how young activists in Boorloo (Perth, Western Australia) navigate the climate crisis. Hysteresis describes the misalignment of one’s internalised disposition and behaviours (their habitus) with the external world and is a useful tool to explain how young people respond to climate change and the associated environmental crises. We argue that young people today experience hysteresis because they are expected to patiently and silently wait and learn while decisions continue to be made that further harm the planet and increase the crisis. This disconnect, however, allows the development of a new set of norms and behaviours, that is, a new habitus; a habitus that is generational while also being radical and ecological.

Item ID:	89410
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1469-9680
Keywords:	climate change; activism; young people; generational sociology; radical habitus; ecological habitus
Copyright Information:	© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Date Deposited:	05 Feb 2026 02:13
FoR Codes:	44 HUMAN SOCIETY > 4410 Sociology > 441004 Social change @ 50% 44 HUMAN SOCIETY > 4408 Political science > 440805 Environmental politics @ 25% 44 HUMAN SOCIETY > 4410 Sociology > 441015 Sociology of the life course @ 25%
SEO Codes:	19 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND NATURAL HAZARDS > 1901 Adaptation to climate change > 190103 Social impacts of climate change and variability @ 50% 19 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND NATURAL HAZARDS > 1902 Environmental policy, legislation and standards > 190203 Environmental education and awareness @ 50%
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