15.5.20 Kristeva, racism and contamination anxiety
‘Modern pathologies such as racism and xenophobia, for instance, are in one way or another functions of abjection. Racism is a privileged example in Kristeva, in that it constitutes perversion of political subjectivity in its denial of necessary 'castration' demanded by the social contract: racism projects the foreign rather than accept it as a necessary component of the political body of the state. Racism is also a liminal area of society demanding a political analysis that takes the need for a radical non-phallic and anti-patriarchal stance towards issues of violence and rejection. In its most consistent form, patriarchy is a closely knit system with converging values in religion, politics and the social sphere.
In Kristeva's cultural history, there is a direct relation between the fragmentation of these values, and patriarchy's disintegration into perverted forms such as fascism, racism and religious orthodoxy. The pathologies linked to it are those of psychotic forms of narcissism and abjection. Incapable of containing the maternal, patriarchy institutes its own grains of disintegration. In Powers of Horror, the immediate relation between the abjected maternal body and paternal fragility is highlighted. The representations of the unconscious are conditioned by history and ideology, reinforcing certain so called 'archaic' fantasies of evil and dark feminine forces.’ (Sjoholm, 2005, p106)
Racism as a form of contamination anxiety.
‘patriarchy is a closely knit system with converging values in religion, politics and the social sphere’.
‘evil and dark feminine forces’ !
Sjoholm, C. (2005) Kristeva and the political Available at: file:///C:/Users/TEMP/Downloads/1005927.pdf (Accessed 5 May 2020)
In Kristeva's cultural history, there is a direct relation between the fragmentation of these values, and patriarchy's disintegration into perverted forms such as fascism, racism and religious orthodoxy. The pathologies linked to it are those of psychotic forms of narcissism and abjection. Incapable of containing the maternal, patriarchy institutes its own grains of disintegration. In Powers of Horror, the immediate relation between the abjected maternal body and paternal fragility is highlighted. The representations of the unconscious are conditioned by history and ideology, reinforcing certain so called 'archaic' fantasies of evil and dark feminine forces.’ (Sjoholm, 2005, p106)
Racism as a form of contamination anxiety.
‘patriarchy is a closely knit system with converging values in religion, politics and the social sphere’.
‘evil and dark feminine forces’ !
Sjoholm, C. (2005) Kristeva and the political Available at: file:///C:/Users/TEMP/Downloads/1005927.pdf (Accessed 5 May 2020)