Pahud, Stéphanie

(Re)reading bodies with care - 2021.


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The present contribution, which combines the perspectives of (socio)linguistics and the ethics of care, explores a metaphorical use of the verb “to read”: it is based on the premise that “our bodies are to be read.” It discusses the hypothesis that reading the human body with care can give us the opportunity not only to meet others “attentively” and “in solidarity,” while respecting their vulnerabilities, but also to recognize ourselves in this intersubjective dynamic of reading, to work toward a better version of our own bodies—to empower us—and to make our voice better heard. This essay intends to show that, although our bodies are exposed to the norms circulating in our lives, they can be viewed as ways of resisting these norms. Speaking of them with care offers us the possibility of moving from the limiting fantasy of “speaking well” to the liberating fantasy of “speaking righteously.”