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Preppers and Survivalists are commonly described as people who believe in abrupt, imposing and near-in-time disasters and who are actively and practically preparing to survive this imminent apocalypse. This paper examines how the body, and the closely connected analytical categories of gender and sexuality, are used to define survivalism. In other words, how does corporeality structure survivalism–who gets to be a survivalist and who does not? In an attempt to answer these questions the paper turns to a theoretical framework that combines the notion of trans-corporeality with the performance of gender, sexuality and embodiment in virtual digital space. To bring focus the paper specifically concentrates on a recent online discussion about “if, how, and to what extent one, as a survivalist, should or would help a woman with small children alone in a forest with no survival equipment after TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It)”(Swedish Survivalist Forum, 2013). This particular discussion is relevant since it, as we shall see, puts analytical categories, such as gender and sexuality up front, pointing to their retained importance as objects of study. The results show a desire to protect the body from change–change that often emanates from other bodies. As such, the desire to remain bodily untouched or unaffected emerges as a foundation for survivalism.

1 Preppers and Survivalists are commonly described as people who believe in abrupt, imposing and near-in-time disasters and who are actively and practically preparing to survive this imminent apocalypse. Preparing to survive, in this context, usually focuses on collecting gadgets for …