A sex-critical reading of the homosexual sex acts depicted in Inxeba
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Date
Authors
Du Plessis, Rory
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Pretoria, Department of Visual Arts
Abstract
In this paper, I aim to analyse the homosexual sex acts depicted in the film,
Inxeba (Trengove 2017). The analysis is informed by Lisa Downing’s ‘sex-critical’
approach that deems that ‘all forms of sexuality should be equally susceptible
to critical thinking about the normative or otherwise ideologies they uphold’
(Downing 2013:95). The findings of the analysis underscore that the film displays
a phallocentric scripting of the sex act: the practices and sequence of sexual
acts that privilege the erect, penetrating penis. In cognisance of this point, the
sex scenes under discussion can be critiqued for perpetuating a narrow
phallocentric ideal of sex that runs parallel to hetero-patriarchal norms. To offer
an alternative expression of homosexual sex acts, Alphonso Lingis’s writings
on sexuality and sexual desire provide a springboard to explore erotic caresses
and couplings that encompass the entire male body. To this end, Lingis’s work
is presented as a means to queer homosexual sex from hetero-patriarchal and
phallocentric scriptings. The paper concludes by using Lingis’s theories to
imagine an alternative sex scene in Inxeba that illuminates queer eroticism and
pleasure outside of penile penetrative sex.
Description
Keywords
Erogenous zones, Homosexuality, Inxeba (Trengove 2017), Alphonso Lingis, Sexuality, Sexual desire
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
Du Plessis, R. 2018, 'A sex-critical reading of the homosexual
sex acts depicted in Inxeba', Image and Text, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 1-13.