D. Fuss - Essentially speaking PDF

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Essentially speaking – diana fuss Essentialism is commonly understood as a belief in the real true essence of the things – invariable and fixed properties which define the whatness of an entity – seeks to locate/contain the subject within a fixed set of differences. Essentialism is defined in opposition to difference, but difference is constructed not innate – constructionism. But essentialism/constructionism are deeply c-implicated with each other. Lesbian/gay theory: question of identity politics within political organization in the gay movement gay essence is needed to mobilize/legitimize gay activism, emergence of a long-repressed collective identity. Other gay theory perceives gay essence as given essence or universal gay identity and emphasized the theory of the process that gay subject is produced not naturally but discursively. Focalization - effort to deessentialize sexuality and historicize homosexuality as modern invention. Central to controversy over the invention theory of homosexuality is identity politics - tendency to base overs politics on a sense of personal identity. Blacks, Jews, gays – identity politics has been taken up by gay community to build cohesive group and political action. Identity and essence are not the same. Identity has history of its own. Gay and lesbian as group do not share the same concerns. Lesbian theory is less available to question the idea of a lesbian essence, gay male theorists instead endorsed the constructionist theories and wait to develop analyses of historical construction of sexualities. This difference could express the fact that lesbian are in more precarious and insecure position than gay men. Strict connection between identity and politics – in lesbian subjects it is important to discover her true identity before being able to elaborate a fitting politics for her personality. Idea of hidden inner identity that is repressed and one that society does not allow to surface defining an identity, finding an identity. Struggles of lesbian in a fragile position both because identity constantly changes, not fixed, and elusive state of politics. Identity politics is always reactionary, rage, the personal is political – attracted many groups of people who were making allied by mainstream society – lived experience could be shared with others, but it’s rest like that. Personal/political are not the same. A person possesses an essence which determines his identity, but identity does not work as substitute for essence. Derrida – deconstruction of identity as self-presence. Identity as difference – subject is always divided, exclusion of other, repudiation of no in-identity. Lacan – identity as matter of language for the construction of self. New theories – subject has multiple identities, that after compete and fight one-another/or identities are political constructions. Historically provisional replaceable – difference is seen as matter of sex, race, religion, fear that after we deconstruct identity, we will find nothing stable or secure to base politics on. There is no stable female identity, but we must resist attempts to replace identity with something rise. But there must be a sense of identity, even if fictious identity as unstable and disruptive – failure of identity - this could lead to more mature identity politics by militating against the tendencies to erase in the attempt to produce stable political subjects. But being identity vague and imprecise – basing identity vagueness in politics that should be stable could be a problem, and essentialists theory of identity is not a secure foundation for politics. Politics in our minds represents something unquestioned of power/privilege. We don’t actually know what politic is – uncertainty – politic is plural, it embodies difference and identity is singular. The theorists that claim homosexuality to be a social construct don’t understand that they are dehumanizing lived experience of the gay community. Constructionism. Homosexuality is not an eternal category, but a socially variant construction, western homosexuals appeared with the rise of industrial capitalism. Constructionists agree that homosexuality was a late phenomenon in western culture. Constructionism allows us to analyse heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality as classifications, historically contingent categories. So this concept gives us the

strongest theoretical position and now sexuality is produced. THE RISK OF ESSENCE – essentialism is essential to social constructionism. Feminist essentialism – pure original femininity, female essence, universal female oppression, essentialism can be seen in feminism itself. In the aim to conjunct a group even when the aim of the group is to demonstrate difference inside the category of women. Constructionism – built in opposition to essentialism. Essence is itself a historical construction. Refusal of essence – constructionists want to demonstrate that everything we perceive as “natural” like man and woman in reality is a fruit of a discursive work – production of differences. So they reject the idea of essential/natural givens that precedes social determination. -

Essentialist: the natural has the raw material and starting point for the practice of law/social. Ex. The natural distinction male/female caused social difference. Natural replaced by social. Constructionist – natural il a construction of the social. Natural is produced by social.

Essentialism – man woman conceived to be stable objects, unchangeable, predictable. But these two categories are not stable or universal. The problem is that essentialism thinks that concepts are moved from the past to the present as unaltered without being replaced or developed, just as it was before. Constructionism – man/woman are constructed, produced across discoveries. But constructionism/essentialism cannot be independent. Social constructionists tend to pluralize categories – woman/women, to privilege heterogeneity and highlight important differences. This pluralization marks an end to generalization typical of essentialism, but at the same time marks a connectivity – essentializing process in constructionism. And vice versa, there is no essence in essentialism – that essence as irreducible must have been constructed to be that way. Aristotle/Locke – nominal essentialism, real essence. Real – irreducible/unchanging. Nominal – linguistic convenience, classificatory, categorization. This difference real/nominal essence is what now is called essentialism/constructionism. Lacan symbolic language (construction of the self. Lacan is more anti-essentialist than Freud, Lacan criticizes Freud) is what feminist to entry into subjectivity law society. For not distinguishing the penis, anatomical organ and the phallus as a symbol. Lacan the phallus is a signifier, mark of social difference, but the bar between these two is not completely divided. Yes the phallus is conceived as metaphor, symbol, not a natural difference, but this very symbol is referred to the object it symbolizes. (penis) this attempt to be anti-essentialist contains an essentialist logic. Most radical constructionism can be done only by using a hidden essentialism. Essence is a sign, this constantly subjected to change. Elusive and fluid. Deconstruction of essentialise doesn’t put it to rest, rather it raises discussion to a more sophisticated level....