Disability Justice and Animal Advocacy in Audrey Schulman’s Theory of Bastards

Abstract

Audrey Schulman’s speculative fiction Theory of Bastards (2018) juxtaposes the lifestyle of a peaceful, matriarchal community of bonobo apes with a human culture engaged in technological warfare, violence, and environmental destruction, thereby demonstrating the fallacy of assuming the superiority of human social structures. Schulman’s protagonist has experienced since the age of twelve severe and debilitating endometriosis (endo), raising questions about pain, disability, and ableism, suggesting that the human tendency to privilege human social structures and abilities has skewed our perspective regarding our evolutionary advantage. Drawing from Sunaura Taylor’s Beasts of Burden (2017), the article argues that the novel presents the interdependency of humans and nonhumans as key to the long-term survival of humankind by demonstrating the necessity of diverse mental and physical abilities across species.