Amor as a cultural style. Self-poiesis and emotional strategies among young people in Bubaque, Guinea-Bissau

Abstract

This article explores the construction and strategic use of emotions among the youth in Bubaque, Guinea Bissau, through a cultural lens. It begins by critiquing the traditional anthropological approach to emotions, which often assumes a stable and coherent cultural context. Instead, the paper argues for recognizing social environments as fluid and dynamic, challenging the applicability of Foucauldian discourse analysis in these contexts. Drawing on James Ferguson's concept of "cultural style" and Judith Butler's de-essentialization of identity, the article suggests that emotions should be understood not as a societal ventriloquism of the individual body but as tools for individual agency. It advocates for a shift from viewing emotions as embedded within authoritative discourses to considering them as performative acts that allow for the expression of individual autonomy. This perspective reintroduces the individual into the anthropology of emotions, promoting a complex, multi-vocal, and fluid understanding of the self, and positioning emotional categories as resources for social actors rather than hegemonic constructs.