Jane Caputi

THE SEXUAL POLITICS OF MURDER

In mainstream discussion, violent crimes against women frequently are presented as inexplicable and their perpetrators as social deviants. Feminists have argued for an awareness of the sexually political and conformist nature of such crimes and have invented the word gynocide to name the range of systematic violence against women by men. I look at the issues raised by three recent manifestations of gynocide in the United States: the battering of Hedda Nussbaum and murder of Lisa Steinberg by Joel Steinberg, the execution of serial killer Ted Bundy, and a series of murders of “prestigeless” women.

Take back what doesn't belong to me: sexual violence, resistance and the "transmission of affect"

Abstract In sexual abuse, an intrinsic part of the trauma is the emotional residue of anger, shame, impotence, and pain that can continue to haunt and occupy the victim. Teresa Brennans theory of the transmission of affect and hierarchical “dumping” suggests that the masculine subject is constructed through transferring his negative emotions to a feminized other; she is both burdened with his toxic affect and depleted of her vital energies. This process characterizes sexual abuse, including rape, battery, and incest. The victim feels possessed, consumed, trashed, drained, and “dirtied.” As ecological feminist theory suggests, this process is mirrored in masculine-identified abuse of the feminine-identified elemental environment. The testimony of many survivors of sexual abuse reveals that healing from toxic dumping and the ensuing disconnection induced by sexual violence can be enabled in two linked ways. First of all, survivors can refuse to take on the unwanted affect. Moreover, they can energetically affirm and reconnect with elemental forces in the self and in the world.

Charting the Flow: The Construction of Meaning through Juxtaposition in Media Texts:

Contradictions between juxtaposed segments of television flow are not necessarily systematic in the sense of being willfully or consciously planned by programmers or sponsors (though on occasion one suspects conscious planning). However, they occur regularly, if individually, throughout the course of television programming. Almost everyone can cite particularly striking examples .—Mimi White (1987, 158)

The Naked Goddess: Pornography and the Sacred:

Abstract In this article it is argued that contemporary forms of pornography represent an assault upon important sacred traditions which venerated female generative power and saw sexuality as a means of participating in the divine. The pornographic representations of the feminine in Western culture are part of systems of domination which not only support the abuse of women but also the colonization of peoples and the exploitation of nature. A celebration of the sexual cosmologies, which can still be found in cultural performances and ritual acts, is a means of countering this domination. So too is the process of speaking from the vulva; reclaiming the female genitals as a source of intelligent power that both manifest in and signify the creative forces that animate the universe.

The metaphors of radiation: Or, why a beautiful woman is like a nuclear power plant

Abstract There exists in contemporary North American culture an abundance of metaphorical references to nuclear technology. These metaphors participate in an overall “nuclearization” of life. Here I analyze nuclear metaphors from a feminist viewpoint, specifically: slang terms and everyday images—nuclear fashion; images that link nuclear technology to sexuality—“nuclear fashion”; and images that mythicize/divinize nuclear technology—“nuclear fundamentalism.” I critique not only the ways in which these metaphors support the nuclearist status quo, but also the ways in which they are based in patriarchal ideology and conclude by suggesting ways that feminists can develop a strategy of “psychic activisim,” using word and image power to counteract patriarchal/nuclearist reality. I examine three specific metaphors, the Gossip, Gorgon, and Crone as well as the transformative potential of gynocentric nuclear metaphor found in the theoretical writings of Native American women.