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Poison, bad hearts and vampires: the fear of contamination and the regulation of social relationships in a Rio de Janeiro favela

Lazoroska, Daniela LU (2020) p.147-159
Abstract
This article analyzes instances of refusal to eat or drink due to the fear of poisoning and contamination amongst favela youth in Brazil. These particular occurrences of refusal shed light on refusal’s potency as a way of managing complex social entanglements and instrumental in asserting agency. Considering that interlocutors had come of age without many formal institutions present, they needed people. This artful skill had a flip side, for the proximity of people and the intensity of relationships could at times drain them and their emotional, social and economic resources. Discourses around poison, bad hearts and vampires thus emerge as aids towards the regulation of exchange involved in social relationships. Control, refusal and... (More)
This article analyzes instances of refusal to eat or drink due to the fear of poisoning and contamination amongst favela youth in Brazil. These particular occurrences of refusal shed light on refusal’s potency as a way of managing complex social entanglements and instrumental in asserting agency. Considering that interlocutors had come of age without many formal institutions present, they needed people. This artful skill had a flip side, for the proximity of people and the intensity of relationships could at times drain them and their emotional, social and economic resources. Discourses around poison, bad hearts and vampires thus emerge as aids towards the regulation of exchange involved in social relationships. Control, refusal and defiance are action, carving out space in the midst of entangled social relations, fears and unmet needs. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
food, eating, ethnography, danger, agency, favela, body
host publication
Food Identities at Home and on the Move : Explorations at the Intersection of Dwelling and Belonging - Explorations at the Intersection of Dwelling and Belonging
editor
Matta, Raul
pages
147 - 159
publisher
Bloomsbury Academic
ISBN
978-1-3501-2231-4
978-1-3501-2232-1
DOI
10.5040/9781350122345.0019
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c6d660e2-108a-42d7-9af5-91338175300d
date added to LUP
2019-11-27 18:34:20
date last changed
2023-08-30 11:23:21
@inbook{c6d660e2-108a-42d7-9af5-91338175300d,
  abstract     = {{This article analyzes instances of refusal to eat or drink due to the fear of poisoning and contamination amongst favela youth in Brazil. These particular occurrences of refusal shed light on refusal’s potency as a way of managing complex social entanglements and instrumental in asserting agency. Considering that interlocutors had come of age without many formal institutions present, they needed people. This artful skill had a flip side, for the proximity of people and the intensity of relationships could at times drain them and their emotional, social and economic resources. Discourses around poison, bad hearts and vampires thus emerge as aids towards the regulation of exchange involved in social relationships. Control, refusal and defiance are action, carving out space in the midst of entangled social relations, fears and unmet needs.}},
  author       = {{Lazoroska, Daniela}},
  booktitle    = {{Food Identities at Home and on the Move : Explorations at the Intersection of Dwelling and Belonging}},
  editor       = {{Matta, Raul}},
  isbn         = {{978-1-3501-2231-4}},
  keywords     = {{food; eating; ethnography; danger; agency; favela; body}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{147--159}},
  publisher    = {{Bloomsbury Academic}},
  title        = {{Poison, bad hearts and vampires: the fear of contamination and the regulation of social relationships in a Rio de Janeiro favela}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781350122345.0019}},
  doi          = {{10.5040/9781350122345.0019}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}