Mónica Lacerda: Porous Bodies and Queer Dreams: Reclaiming Non-Rational Knowledge

 

Advisor/tutor: Marina Vishmidt
Arnhem, June 2018

Abstract

Using intersectional feminism as a lens, this thesis seeks to highlight the different ways in which writing, and the search for one’s own words, can empower queer feminist subjectivity. Departing from the work of queer and feminist theorists, activists and scientists, the author dives into the work of poets to explore creative ways of reclaiming non-rational ways of making and sharing knowledge. All arguments made and all references included in this thesis take a stance by naming oppressive structures and erasure mechanisms, while investigating inclusive language, queer erotic desire, non-normative care and healing practices, and a collective, non-authoritarian take on the unconscious. The research behind this thesis aims to reclaim a space to reconnect with the self and the Other. In this process, the author evokes tools for imagining but also enacting a queer feminist ethics of care, as part of an inclusive artistic practice.