Affective critique

Routledge eBooks 2026 Book chapter

View at publisher
Authors: Anika Thym
DOI: 10.4324/9781003566045-8
Cited by: 0

Abstract

This chapter analyses how both negative emotions (disgust at supremacy) and positive emotions (desire for caring relationships) function as forms of eutopian critique and transformation. Moving beyond oppositional models of resistance, it demonstrates how critique can emerge through attraction to good feelings in caring relationships rather than heroic opposition to domination. The analysis shows how disgust with competitive masculinity and prioritisation of family relationships can create “discrete” forms of critique that gradually dissolve destructive dynamics by expanding spaces where different ways of relating can flourish.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Feminism Gender and Intersectionality Gender and Feminist Studies Utopian Dystopian and Speculative Fiction

Publication details

Journal / source
Routledge eBooks
Pages
96–107
Publication date
14 January 2026
Language
EN
Document type
Book chapter