A BOOK by a University of East London (UEL) lecturer which explores the life experiences of young people in east London will be published next month.

Growing Up Bad, by UEL criminology lecturer Dr Anthony Gunter, is based on an ethnographic study of people between 13 and 21 years old in east London.

It focuses on home life, school, ethnicity and gender and has been described as providing a “rare insight into the lives of youth growing up in Newham, Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.”

Dr Gunter said: “The East End is an amazing place for the majority of young people.

“I wanted to present another side to the youth in east London, one that was different from the general media portrayal of stigmatised and marginalised young black men.

“Most of them are not murderers or gun touting drug dealers.

“The book highlights the East End as a creative hub for young people.

“East London is a real vibrant mix of people and energy, especially young people from diverse backgrounds and there’s a lot to celebrate here. It is the birth place of important contemporary musical forms such as drum and bass and rave culture.”

Growing Up Bad is published on February 4.

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