Pets as children: an ethnographic approach to pet birthday parties

Abstract (English)

The ethnographic study of dog birthday parties attended by individuals who self-identify as “pet moms and dads” revealed processes of differentiation and subjectivation that transform pets into subjects with the capacity to be affiliated. The language of care allows us to identify the growing demand (and supply) for specialized services such as “pet confectioneries”, which prepare artisanal food that mimics cakes and sweets permitted for animal consumption, as well as the elaboration of parties to celebrate the passing of the life of loved ones. The commitment to holding commemorative parties denotes a personalisation and individualisation of the animals, who become subjects. Using the theoretical-methodological framework of feminist anthropology, we sought to understand the meanings and practices mobilized in the universe of interlocution of the research, which reveal changes, continuities and redefinitions of social conventions relating to gender, family and kinship.