When the masculine migrate from importance to impotence: the politics and erotics of political power in Liosa's the feast of the goat and Sembene's Xala

Michel Foucault’s identification of the body as the principal target of power and feminist concerns with the political implications of sexual pleasure and eroticism have helped illuminate the Complex relationship between political power and sexuality. Following Achille Mbembe’s submission that power...

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Main Author: Ngoshi, Hazel T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Unisa Press 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11408/1196
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author Ngoshi, Hazel T.
author_facet Ngoshi, Hazel T.
author_sort Ngoshi, Hazel T.
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description Michel Foucault’s identification of the body as the principal target of power and feminist concerns with the political implications of sexual pleasure and eroticism have helped illuminate the Complex relationship between political power and sexuality. Following Achille Mbembe’s submission that power can be eroticised, this article explores what I term Trujillo's eroticisation of tyrannical power over Dominicans in Llosa's The Feast of the Goat. Trujillo deploys his sexuality to emasculate subordinates and occupy a privileged subject position. The article delineates how the sexualised political control over women's bodies inspires the construction of Trujillo’s subjectivity and how in the- final moments of his reign his dysfunctional;phallus destabilises that subjectivity. The discussion also unravels how both the planned tyranycide by disenchanted Trujilliscas and Uranita’s remembering of Trujillo's totalitarian regime are to some extent inspired by sexualised concerns. The paper critiques the implications of Trujillo's eroticised rule for nationalism and gender. Drawing on parallels from Sembene's Xa/o, the article argues that the sexual dysfunctions suffered by Trujillo and El Hadji are a direct outcome of their excesses. I conclude that hr from confirming the political power derived from sexual domination, Trujillo's and El Hadji’s embarrassing sexual experiences complicate and subvert that power.
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spelling ir-11408-11962022-06-27T13:49:06Z When the masculine migrate from importance to impotence: the politics and erotics of political power in Liosa's the feast of the goat and Sembene's Xala Ngoshi, Hazel T. Sexuality, subjectivity, dysfunctional phallus, political power, eroticism Michel Foucault’s identification of the body as the principal target of power and feminist concerns with the political implications of sexual pleasure and eroticism have helped illuminate the Complex relationship between political power and sexuality. Following Achille Mbembe’s submission that power can be eroticised, this article explores what I term Trujillo's eroticisation of tyrannical power over Dominicans in Llosa's The Feast of the Goat. Trujillo deploys his sexuality to emasculate subordinates and occupy a privileged subject position. The article delineates how the sexualised political control over women's bodies inspires the construction of Trujillo’s subjectivity and how in the- final moments of his reign his dysfunctional;phallus destabilises that subjectivity. The discussion also unravels how both the planned tyranycide by disenchanted Trujilliscas and Uranita’s remembering of Trujillo's totalitarian regime are to some extent inspired by sexualised concerns. The paper critiques the implications of Trujillo's eroticised rule for nationalism and gender. Drawing on parallels from Sembene's Xa/o, the article argues that the sexual dysfunctions suffered by Trujillo and El Hadji are a direct outcome of their excesses. I conclude that hr from confirming the political power derived from sexual domination, Trujillo's and El Hadji’s embarrassing sexual experiences complicate and subvert that power. 2016-05-04T11:09:47Z 2016-05-04T11:09:47Z 2009 Article 0256-6060 http://hdl.handle.net/11408/1196 en Unisa Latin American Report;Vol. 1, No. 2; p.87-99 open Unisa Press
spellingShingle Sexuality, subjectivity, dysfunctional phallus, political power, eroticism
Ngoshi, Hazel T.
When the masculine migrate from importance to impotence: the politics and erotics of political power in Liosa's the feast of the goat and Sembene's Xala
title When the masculine migrate from importance to impotence: the politics and erotics of political power in Liosa's the feast of the goat and Sembene's Xala
title_full When the masculine migrate from importance to impotence: the politics and erotics of political power in Liosa's the feast of the goat and Sembene's Xala
title_fullStr When the masculine migrate from importance to impotence: the politics and erotics of political power in Liosa's the feast of the goat and Sembene's Xala
title_full_unstemmed When the masculine migrate from importance to impotence: the politics and erotics of political power in Liosa's the feast of the goat and Sembene's Xala
title_short When the masculine migrate from importance to impotence: the politics and erotics of political power in Liosa's the feast of the goat and Sembene's Xala
title_sort when the masculine migrate from importance to impotence: the politics and erotics of political power in liosa's the feast of the goat and sembene's xala
topic Sexuality, subjectivity, dysfunctional phallus, political power, eroticism
url http://hdl.handle.net/11408/1196
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