Articles with keyword: cross-dressing

Bodies that matter; Re- (ad)dressing the canon in Euripides’ the bacchae
Marietta Kosma marietta.kosma@ell.ox.ac.uk

ELECTRYONE 

2021
Volume 7, Issue 2

 | pp.

50-66

Abstract:

A queer reading of Euripides’ the Baccahe, a tragedy of the fifth century BC. This paper addresses the ways in which female bodies escape the confines of their oikos, of the polis, of reproductive futurism and ultimately of an essentialized identity, while attaining an alternative identification. Narratives of violence, commodification and objectification of the body are exposed through the dialectic of the gaze. The notion of performativity of the body comes to the forefront as it is directly connected to the exposition of a queer identity. The definitional boundaries of the body are explored through queer studies, feminism, psychoanalysis and phenomenology. The possibility for same-sex desire emerges, exposing the complexity of female sexuality. The transformation of Agave to a radical subject through subversive acts of agency is revealed. This paper signals at the creation of a space for the recognition of queer kinship challenging reproductive futurism. I propose a number of avenues for further research, particularly in developing linkages between the various strands of the sparagmos and queer futurity.