The distributed body

In this commentary, I draw on Annemarie Mol’s work to ponder the implications of multiple ontologies of the body that are enacted in research as well as in domains such as athletics. I highlight the work of consumption scholars who have been demonstrating the relational entanglements of human bodies various other-than-human bodies and materialities, revealing a more distributed performance of the body and the self. I note the possibilities of reading Belk’s oeuvre through the lens of multiple ontologies and enactments. In doing so, I question the linear and uni-directional evolution from “heavier” to “lighter” ontologies of the self in consumer research that Thompson’s commentary seems to imply. I finally highlight the politics of ontological enactments and their implications for bodily wellness and autonomy.