Judith Butler and the Ethics and Politic of Bodies: Vulnerability, Precarity, and Open Solidarity

This study commences by engaging with Judith Butler's critical inquiry into the enduring significance of the body amidst the rapid advancements in fields like Neuralink and generative AI. Butler’s early works including Gender Trouble, Bodies that Matter, and Excitable Speech, extensively investigate the ‘resignification’ of oppressive norms and coercive interpellations, a focus that initially seemed to underplay the role of physical embodiment. Since Precarious Life(2004), however, Butler’s scholarship has notably shifted to more explicitly incorporate the bodily dimension. She extends her inquiry beyond the ‘re-signification’ in language and discourse to explore how the body itself can exert influence and drive transformative change in the world. This paper aims to explore contemporary reflections on the body's politics, especially in the context of global events like the pandemic. It examines Butler’s recent works, including What World Is This?, to understand how the body's openness, vulnerability, interdependence, entanglement, and porosity may catalyze transformative shifts towards a more livable world. The paper also examines the unequal distribution of precarity and potential solidarity forms among bodies as a form of resistance. To fulfill these aims, the paper first reviews Butler’s views on bodies during the pandemic, drawing on phenomenologists like Maurice Merleau-Ponty, with a special emphasis on corporal sensory perception, interdependency, and interconnectedness. It then introduces the concept of precarity to deepen the discussion on the body’s politics. Furthermore, it evaluates forms of solidarity, exemplified by movements like #BlackLivesMatter and #NiUnaMenos, to explore how Butler’s theory advocates for an open solidarity that moves beyond identity politics. The study concludes by assessing how Butler’s insights provide timely and profound contributions to the current era of crisis.