Fugitives from the Human

Lesbian, Queer, and Animal Entanglements

Abstract

The article explores the intersections between queer theory, tortillera theories, and animal studies to problematize the category of “the human” as a hierarchical and oppressive device. First, from the perspective of animal studies, it analyzes how the human-animal dichotomy has operated as a mechanism for the hierarchical distribution of forms of life. In dialogue with the contributions of  Myra Hird, and Carla Frecerro, the article argues that animalization has historically functioned as a mechanism of exclusion for dissident sexualities—paradoxically positioned both in the realm of the animal and in that of the unnatural. Second, drawing on the works of Paul B. Preciado, Monique Wittig, Vir Cano, and Martina Davidson, the article contends that lesbianism is not a humanism but rather an animalism that dismantles gender binarism and destabilizes the very category of humanity. Finally, it introduces the notion of a “tortillera becoming of veganism,” foregrounding the poetic-political experiences of dissident and tortillera activisms that not only reject the category of the human but also reclaim animality as a form of resistance against the cisheteropatriarchal and speciesist system.