BODIES AS RESISTANCE: MICHAEL FOUCAULT"™S NOTION OF HETEROTOPY

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss about the body as a heterotopic space. Its theoretical basis is French Discourse Analysis, focusing on Foucault"™s reflections. First, Foucault"™s (2009) notion of heterotopy is presented, and, afterwards, we propose an understanding of the body as a heterotopic space as far as it works as an important instrument of resistance to the ways of objectifying it. In order to illustrate our reflection, our corpus is constituted by the analysis of three comic strips created by the cartoonist Laerte Coutinho, taken from the series titled "Silicone Blues". These comics presents a character that is very similar, considering his discourses and practices, to crossdressers subjects. These images were used to illustrate and improve the discussion about the relation between the crossdresser subject"™s body, for example, and heterotopy. The effects of meaning observed on our research points to the body as a space for fighting, a place of discursive inscriptions that emanates from a constant conflict among the crossdressing subjects and the different power relationships that cross the construction of their subjectivity. It is high hoped that, with this research, we can contribute to Discourse Analysis reflections about the body, power and subject, besides collaborating to the understanding of the crossdresser culture in Brazil.