Abstract This paper use life narrative methods to analyse two public speeches of youth activist Emma González as examples of how youth testimony gains traction at times of cultural crisis. Drawing on the work of Leigh Gilmore, we ask, how did González become an ‘adequate witness’ at a time when the testimony of women and children, particularly those from racial and sexual minority groups, are so often ‘tainted’ or discredited in the public sphere? What role did the (en)acting of silence play in González’s testimony? We argue that González entered into the public sphere at a moment when such testimony was sought and when child subjects have particular cachet. González was able to draw on a plethora of recognizable methods, testimonial genres and literary traditions to gain a voice in a cultural landscape that was conducive to her narration; despite this, the reception of her voice has not always been positive. We draw attention to the role of the youth subject within testimonial networks and to a cultural context wherein such subjects are asked to be both knowing and innocent in speaking from experience.

中文翻译：

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艾玛·冈萨雷斯，《沉默与青春的见证》

摘要 本文使用生活叙事方法分析青年活动家艾玛·冈萨雷斯 (Emma González) 的两次公开演讲，作为青年证词在文化危机时期如何获得牵引力的例子。借鉴 Leigh Gilmore 的工作，我们问，在妇女和儿童，特别是来自种族和性少数群体的妇女和儿童的证词在社会中如此频繁地被“玷污”或名誉扫地的时候，冈萨雷斯如何成为“充分的证人”？公共区域？在冈萨雷斯的证词中，沉默的（en）表现起了什么作用？我们认为，冈萨雷斯是在寻求此类证词以及儿童主体具有特殊声望的时刻进入公共领域的。冈萨雷斯能够利用大量公认的方法、证词体裁和文学传统，在有利于她的叙述的文化景观中获得发言权；尽管如此，对她的声音的接受并不总是积极的。我们提请注意青年主体在推荐网络中的作用以及文化背景，其中要求这些主体在从经验中发言时既知情又无辜。