Vulnerability as a conflicted affective landscape: implication for political sociology

This article reconceptualizes vulnerability as a relational and epistemic condition situated at the intersection of affect, knowledge, and institutional recognition. Drawing on Linda Zerilli’s notion of “knowing by feeling,” it argues that vulnerability is not merely a state of fragility but a mode of judgment and sense-making. Based on biographical interviews with French women reflecting on negative childbirth experiences, the analysis reveals how embodied emotions become sites of critique, contesting institutional silences and hierarchies of recognition. The findings show how vulnerability exposes tensions between safety, care, and dignity, offering a conceptual lens for rethinking justice and legitimacy in institutional contexts.