For my new blog post, I will be discussing Judith Butler and her thoughts of our bodies vulnerability. Butler argues that “the body is a social phenomenon: it is exposed to others, vulnerable by definition” and I will use other passages from her writing to analyse this concept.
This is my understanding and my opinions on the term vulnerable in this context, looking at it as an emotional way. The author describes our body as our responsibility and questions if we are responsible for others or only ourselves. If I had to answer that question, I would say that we are not responsible for others, but we are responsible for our actions that may affect others. I personally strongly believe that showing people gratitude and respect is essential for all sorts of relations I have. Whether it’s a professional, friend or family, showing kindness could be impactful on someone’s day. So, in that sense, we are responsible for the attitude we present ourselves with, but we are not responsible on how others interpret our actions.
Understanding it in a physical context, vulnerability can come, mean and look like different ways. Physical vulnerability depends on the mental situation of the being. The way we feel vulnerable and why can be different for everyone. Thinking about vulnerability in intimate relations, what your partner is comfortable with could be different than what you are comfortable with, but by allowing yourself to be vulnerably open to the togetherness creates a deeper connection of interdependency between two people in a relationship. Talking about vulnerability in terms of physical aggression, we can return to the thought of responsibility for our actions. When choosing to physically hurt somebody, you are putting that person in a vulnerable situation where you are not only responsible for yourself, but for the other you are hurting.
Judith butler when talking about vulnerability, she also explains how someone’s vulnerability is not reduced by injury and how “there are no invulnerable bodies.” This passage from her writing makes me think about fear and how fear also makes us vulnerable. In previous classes, we have discussed the culture of fear and how that affects society. We talked about 9/11 and the way society remembers it because of how vulnerable America was during and after the attack. The attack was responsible for thousands of lives and caused so much sadness for the nation. The group responsible for the attack, was also the ones responsible for the lives lost and that goes back to the question of who we are responsible for with our actions.
In a nation attack what would be the people’s response? It depends on who is interpreting it. Butler says, “Interpretation does not emerge as the spontaneous act of a single mind, but as a consequence of a certain field of intelligibility that helps to form and frame our responsiveness.” The quote to me means that from previous experiences and memories, certain things impact us differently, just how we are each vulnerable by different things. The cultural memory of the attack, as we mentioned in class, is based on the main narrative of the event and how most people remember it by.
As a summary of this post, I discussed how vulnerable our bodies can be due to physical and emotional reasons, I also discussed the topic of responsibility and how we are not responsible for others feelings but we are responsible for the way we treat others, and I discussed the 9/11 terrorist attack and how the people responsible for it are also responsible for the vulnerability America was left
I really liked how you had a definition for vulnerability for both physical and emotional! I too agree with the terms “we are responsible for our own” because it’s true, the way others see us is not up to us because they are not us. Also how you added that vulnerability is not only ourselves but as a nation really made me think, because this is also very true.
When the wildfire happened and consumed my hometown everyone was very sad and still are, but the vulnerability is not only emotions and mental health but also exposure to poverty. Lytton has always suffered poverty but now the residents who lived in town are not only experiencing it but living it, they are vulnerable too a lot. Whether it be financial stability, the environment or finding a temporary place until their houses get rebuilt.
All the natural disasters happening lately are not only affecting where people live, but also mentally. From the wildfires to massive floods, hard winds and power outages, it creates everyone to be vulnerable. Then brings to question is vulnerability a feeling? or is it perhaps another word to describe situations as other words do? That alone is for us to know and not know because words cannot have one single definition they are much more complicated than that, but yet simple enough to understand and use.
-Riannon
Hi Bruna! I enjoyed your vlog as usual! I really agree with your thought that we are not responsible for others, but we are responsible for our actions that may affect others. As I can see in the text, we are basically not responsible for others. But when you do something to others, you have to take responsibility for it.
As a simple example, if I and my friends are just classmates, I’m not responsible for anything. But if I’m a tutor with money from a friend, I have to take responsibility for his grades. I’m not 100% sure this is the right example or not, but when we do something to others need to value “responsibility”.