(Un)Thinking Otherness: The Entanglement of and in Rahel Hutmacher’s Animal Stories

Difference, or “Otherness” to the dominant paradigm, has long posed a challenge to societies. Human expectations of conformity and preferences for homogeneity frequently result in the marginalization of Others, who are subjected to discriminatory thoughts, speech, and practices. Animal figures are often poster children for Otherness, utilized in philosophical discourse as the ultimate Other through and against which the human species is defined, but also used in political and social discourse to justify the allocation or withdrawal of protections and rights. The concept of the animal shows the clear ethical distinction that determines the binary value and status of life in a society. While