Reading the writing in the margins: dysfunction, disjunction, disgust, and the bodies of others

Intersex's representation as “border case,” explored via six fictional treatments of unusually sexed bodies, echoes the ways “atypical” and “marginal” sex and sexuality receive attention to defer focus on that never queried because it seems so ordinary. Across the novels, the purported othernes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Theology & sexuality
Main Author: Cornwall, Susannah ca. 20./21. Jh. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group [2018]
In: Theology & sexuality
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Intersexuality / Literature / Judaism / Islam / Christianity
RelBib Classification:BH Judaism
BJ Islam
CA Christianity
CD Christianity and Culture
NCF Sexual ethics
Further subjects:B Intersex
B Islam
B Disgust
B Judaism
B Novels
B Christianity
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Summary:Intersex's representation as “border case,” explored via six fictional treatments of unusually sexed bodies, echoes the ways “atypical” and “marginal” sex and sexuality receive attention to defer focus on that never queried because it seems so ordinary. Across the novels, the purported otherness of the intersex character highlights the dysfunctionality of those around them. In this way, dysfunction, disjunction, and disgust exist across the relationships and dynamics surrounding the scapegoated identity and are a means to avoid the hard work of critical self-reflection on the parts of those who do not usually deem themselves “other.” If the supporting characters in all these novels are guilty of failing fully to explore their own marginality, the same has frequently happened with religious bodies' attitudes to intersex, and this is discussed with reference to accounts of intersex in Judaism and Islam, and tensions surrounding the casting out of sexual “violators” in one Christian tradition.
ISSN:1745-5170
Contains:Enthalten in: Theology & sexuality
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/13558358.2018.1463642