Reproduction Beyond Hu/Man Extinction: Detoxifying Care in Latin American Anthropocene Fictions
Anxieties around failed parenting are linked to humanity’s failed stewardship of the planet in many recent Anthropocene narratives, yet the figure of the biological human child, as *the* signifier of futurity draws attention to the difficulty of imagining the future in non-heteronormative, non-Weste...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Lectito Journals
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Feminist Encounters: A Journal of Critical Studies in Culture and Politics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.lectitopublishing.nl/download/reproduction-beyond-hu-man-extinction-detoxifying-care-in-latin-american-anthropocene-fictions-9743.pdf |
| _version_ | 1828132504593235968 |
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| author | Allison Eleanor Mackey |
| author_facet | Allison Eleanor Mackey |
| author_sort | Allison Eleanor Mackey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Anxieties around failed parenting are linked to humanity’s failed stewardship of the planet in many recent Anthropocene narratives, yet the figure of the biological human child, as *the* signifier of futurity draws attention to the difficulty of imagining the future in non-heteronormative, non-Western, and non-anthropocentric terms. Reproduction is nothing if not a replication of self, of forms of life that are like us. In order to recuperate an alternative model of care from its anthropocentric lineage, I examine how Anacristina Rossi’s feminist sci-fi story ‘Abel’ and Samantha Schweblin’s gothic horror novella <i>Distancia de Rescate</i> (2014) perform radical critiques of the idea of reproductive bodies, while at the same time opening out to signal non-binary possibilities of life, offering species-level critique while at the same time remaining rooted in local geographies. These stories embrace the negative implications of Anthropocene thinking, challenging, reflecting, and perpetuating anxieties around sexual difference and the possibility of human extinction, without relying on essentialised mandates about femininity, childbearing and care giving. They engage with what Claire Colebrook calls ‘figural extinction’ as a way to signal the possibility of moving away from historically toxic androcentric, capitalist and anthropocentric visions of care, and toward an ethic of non/human connection. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T17:05:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7704006f54064e07a3a41f574340fd48 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2468-4414 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T17:05:50Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | Lectito Journals |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Feminist Encounters: A Journal of Critical Studies in Culture and Politics |
| spelling | doaj.art-7704006f54064e07a3a41f574340fd482022-12-22T04:13:02ZengLectito JournalsFeminist Encounters: A Journal of Critical Studies in Culture and Politics2468-44142021-03-015110.20897/femenc/9743Reproduction Beyond Hu/Man Extinction: Detoxifying Care in Latin American Anthropocene FictionsAllison Eleanor Mackey0Universidad de la República, URUGUAY; University of the Free State, SOUTH AFRICAAnxieties around failed parenting are linked to humanity’s failed stewardship of the planet in many recent Anthropocene narratives, yet the figure of the biological human child, as *the* signifier of futurity draws attention to the difficulty of imagining the future in non-heteronormative, non-Western, and non-anthropocentric terms. Reproduction is nothing if not a replication of self, of forms of life that are like us. In order to recuperate an alternative model of care from its anthropocentric lineage, I examine how Anacristina Rossi’s feminist sci-fi story ‘Abel’ and Samantha Schweblin’s gothic horror novella <i>Distancia de Rescate</i> (2014) perform radical critiques of the idea of reproductive bodies, while at the same time opening out to signal non-binary possibilities of life, offering species-level critique while at the same time remaining rooted in local geographies. These stories embrace the negative implications of Anthropocene thinking, challenging, reflecting, and perpetuating anxieties around sexual difference and the possibility of human extinction, without relying on essentialised mandates about femininity, childbearing and care giving. They engage with what Claire Colebrook calls ‘figural extinction’ as a way to signal the possibility of moving away from historically toxic androcentric, capitalist and anthropocentric visions of care, and toward an ethic of non/human connection.https://www.lectitopublishing.nl/download/reproduction-beyond-hu-man-extinction-detoxifying-care-in-latin-american-anthropocene-fictions-9743.pdfAnthropocene narrativesfeminist posthumanismmaterialist eco-criticismgender and extinctionLatin American eco-fiction |
| spellingShingle | Allison Eleanor Mackey Reproduction Beyond Hu/Man Extinction: Detoxifying Care in Latin American Anthropocene Fictions Feminist Encounters: A Journal of Critical Studies in Culture and Politics Anthropocene narratives feminist posthumanism materialist eco-criticism gender and extinction Latin American eco-fiction |
| title | Reproduction Beyond Hu/Man Extinction: Detoxifying Care in Latin American Anthropocene Fictions |
| title_full | Reproduction Beyond Hu/Man Extinction: Detoxifying Care in Latin American Anthropocene Fictions |
| title_fullStr | Reproduction Beyond Hu/Man Extinction: Detoxifying Care in Latin American Anthropocene Fictions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reproduction Beyond Hu/Man Extinction: Detoxifying Care in Latin American Anthropocene Fictions |
| title_short | Reproduction Beyond Hu/Man Extinction: Detoxifying Care in Latin American Anthropocene Fictions |
| title_sort | reproduction beyond hu man extinction detoxifying care in latin american anthropocene fictions |
| topic | Anthropocene narratives feminist posthumanism materialist eco-criticism gender and extinction Latin American eco-fiction |
| url | https://www.lectitopublishing.nl/download/reproduction-beyond-hu-man-extinction-detoxifying-care-in-latin-american-anthropocene-fictions-9743.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT allisoneleanormackey reproductionbeyondhumanextinctiondetoxifyingcareinlatinamericananthropocenefictions |