Chihuahuas – are they, in fact, bonsai wolves?

David Redmalm, ABD, who is a PhD Student in Sociology at Örebro University, Sweden, and who specializes in the implications of pet-keeping, presents his paper ‘Holy bonsai wolves: Chihuahuas and the Paris Hilton syndrome’ in the International Journal of Cultural Studies, January 2014 vol. 17 no. 1, pp. 93-109.

“[…] The article argues that the Chihuahua is a holy anomaly: a creature which can be used in myths and rituals to temporarily alleviate the tension-filled binary oppositions and stereotypes inherent in a particular culture, in order to celebrate and reinforce that culture’s categories and social order. The Chihuahua – or the bonsai wolf – transcends two binary oppositions fundamental to contemporary westerners: subject/object and nature/culture.[…] “

Also see, from the same author, his dissertation entitled: ‘An Animal Without an Animal Within‘ (122 pages, slow download, .pdf) which features the photographic artwork ‘Chihuahua on Cheeseburgers‘ by William Hundley (page 63).