In this article I strengthen and develop the theoretical platform for my concept of little public spheres (Hickey-Moody Citation2013, Citation2014, Citation2015). I do so to present the concept as a tool for theorists who want to consider the political significance of marginalized youth. The concept of little publics is a theoretical frame I developed (Citation2013, Citation2014, Citation2015) to show how the acts, styles, and life choices of young people are civic actions that have, or can have, political significance (Hebdige Citation1979; Bennett Citation1999). Reading young people’s acts as an expression of their opinion, as youth voice, little publics shows how voice is made from the materiality of action. I begin this article with a definition of how I use little public spheres. I situate the concept in a history of scholarship on the public sphere, intimate and globalizing publics, public pedagogy and youth voice. I articulate how and why I have developed the concept to think through youth voice and youth agency. I offer a critical reflection on my earlier writings on this topic, which were similarly developed to understand young people’s arts practice as a mode of civic participation, and, I suggest, my previous work has not sufficiently mobilized the theoretical framework I attempted to build. Here I add nuance to the theoretical framework with a view to the concept “travelling” across cultural studies, educational studies, sociology, politics, or disciplines concerned with young lives. The article closes with suggestions for how the concept of little public spheres might be taken up by those interested in youth citizenship, civics, and publics.