RAS Social ScienceСоциологические исследования Sotsialogicheski issledovania

  • ISSN (Print) 0132-1625
  • ISSN (Online) 3034-6010

“Thank You for the Kidney!”: Power and Consumption in Organ Theft Legends

PII
S0869-54150000392-4-1
DOI
10.7868/S50000392-4-1
Publication type
Article
Status
Published
Authors
Volume/ Edition
Volume / Issue 6
Pages
22-42
Abstract
The article discusses so called organ theft legends and baby-parts stories. While there are a number of substantial works on the issue in Western folklore studies, it has been barely researched in Russia. The plot line under consideration is likely to be familiar to the reader: a person is kidnapped or killed in order to obtain organs or tissues for transplantation. What may be considered as certain “symbolic reference points” sustaining the dissemination of organ theft legends are the notions of power and social-economic dominance of some social groups, nations, or states over others, as well as collective fears of the “risk society” which metonymically turn the loss of individual identity into the loss of control over the own body.
Keywords
cannibalism, organ transplantation, organ theft, contemporary legends, conspiracy narratives
Date of publication
19.10.2025
Year of publication
2025
Number of purchasers
1
Views
661

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At the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

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Scientific Electronic Library