Genesis of animalist subjectivities: emotions, bodies and relationships inter-species

Abstract

This article addresses the configuration of the ethical-political subjectivity of anti-speciesist animalisms in Ecuador. Emotions and the body in this constitution are taken as explanatory sociological variables. The analytical framework used has as a theoretical umbrella the sociology of emotions in collective action and the studies of the late Foucault on the process of ethical-political subjectivation. This research is part of the field of Critical Animal Studies. This article’s research methodology is qualitative. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with anti-speciesist actors. This article is made up of two sections. The first section, “Early relationships with non-human animals”, explains mechanisms that operate as catalysts of sensitivity towards non-human animals, such as 1) daily relationships, 2) relationships of animal defense and protection, and 3) experiences of loss. The second section, “Primary subjective traumatic experiences with non-human animals”, deals with moments of emotional breakdown in early childhood. These promote the affective soil of the animalistic subject's constitution, such as experiences with high affective load for subjects in slaughterhouses as well as in bullrings.