Personas y Perros. La relación humano-perro en la sociedad contemporánea: imágenes, emociones y experiencias

Eduardo Bericat

doi:10.22325/fes/res.2025.251

Authors

Eduardo Bericat University of Seville

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22325/fes/res.2025.251

Keywords:

pets, dogs, human-animal relationships, visual sociology, emotions, lived experiences

Abstract

In recent decades, the number of dogs and pets regarded as family members has increased significantly. Alongside this growth, human-animal relationships and the treatment of pets have undergone notable changes. This article analyzes the social bond between humans and dogs through a socio-iconographic study of photographs depicting “people with dogs.” Twenty visual patterns emerge, highlighting themes of affectivity, interspecies sociability, humanization of dogs, and the animalization of humans. The sociological interpretation of these patterns reveals a radical transformation in the roles assigned to, and the meanings ascribed to, dogs in contemporary societies. The article proposes two hypotheses to explain this shift: the relational hypothesis, pointing to weakened sociability, and the lifestyle hypothesis, reflecting a desire to connect with the natural world.

Author Biography

Eduardo Bericat , University of Seville

Departamento de Sociología. Universidad de Sevilla

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