3. Tripartite Nightmares and Feminist Dreams Glorifying the Grotesque

Abstract

With the proliferation of what we call “cultural noise” in the age of the internet, it can be daunting for feminists (and, indeed, anyone) to avoid the persistent pull of neoliberal individualism. The capitalist, white supremacist, patriarchal tripartite state (bell hooks 2018) strips us of our power by attributing negative moral value to those that they deem a threat to systems of oppression; they label us “the grotesque”. Given this background, this paper asks: How can we begin to deconstruct these social norms without first learning to identify how the grotesque operates? Like Mikhail Bakhtin argues, the grotesque is not solely located in the body, but rather, defined as anything that has been deemed “gross” by social powers. In this paper, we plot out potential strategies for feminist reclamation of the grotesque, pulling on the works of adrienne maree brown, bell hooks, Sara Ahmed, and more. Through a dialogic intersectional approach, we explore a variety of topics: drag, filmmaking, butch/femme lesbian dynamics, the queer and disabled villain, stand-up comedy, physical and digital protest, and religion. This paper aims to explore how feminists have reclaimed the grotesque and what needs to continue being done in the future. Alongside the paper, there is also a digitized version of a zine, which works to represent this discussion through material creation. We ultimately argue that to imagine a feminist future involves turning the nightmares of the tripartite state and turning them into dreams of reclamation and redefinition.