Have you noticed more cats riding in strollers lately? Or bumper stickers that read, “I love my granddogs”? You are not imagining it. More ...
Have you noticed more cats riding in strollers lately? Or bumper stickers that read, “I love my granddogs”? You are not imagining it. More people are investing serious time, money and attention in their pets.
It looks an awful lot like parenting, but of pets, not people.
Can this kind of caregiving toward animals really be considered parenting? Or is something else going on here?
I am an anthropologist who studies human-animal interactions, a field known as anthrozoology. I want to better understand the behaviour of pet parenting by people from the perspective of evolutionary science. After all, cultural norms and evolutionary biology both suggest people should focus on raising their own children, not animals of a completely different species
Child-free people
The current moment is unique in human history. Many societies, including the United States, are experiencing major changes in how people live, work and socialise. Fertility rates are low, and people have more flexibility in how they choose to live their lives.
These factors can lead people to further their education and value defining themselves as an individual over family obligations. With basics taken care of, people can focus on higher-order psychological needs like feelings of achievement and a sense of purpose.
The scene is set for people to actively choose to focus on pets instead of...
