Imaginaries, subjects, anuses, and animals

Some philosophical reflections on the pandemic, three years later

Abstract

Who, during the lockdown, had the privilege of identifying with the slogan "I'm staying home" that was rampant on social media and TV in Italy? How have race, class, gender, and sexuality influenced our exposure to the virus? In addition to accelerating ongoing political processes, epidemics have always highlighted social inequalities and hierarchies. In particular, the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed how turbocapitalism is a factor of differential vulnerability of our bodies and our planet, and has once again highlighted that bare life is not life outside of politics, but life stripped of political protection. In dialogue with three authoritative philosophical reactions to the outbreak of the pandemic (Cavarero, Agamben, Preciado), the article reflects on how the health crisis has confirmed the need for critical thinking and political struggle.

Keywords: lockdown, bodies, vulnerability, care, class, gender and sexuality.