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Becoming Abject: Rape as a Weapon of War.

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Published

Standard

Becoming Abject: Rape as a Weapon of War. / Diken, Bulent; Laustsen, Carsten Bagge.
In: Body and Society, Vol. 11, No. 1, 2005, p. 111-128.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

Diken, B & Laustsen, CB 2005, 'Becoming Abject: Rape as a Weapon of War.', Body and Society, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 111-128. https://doi.org/10.1177/1357034X05049853

APA

Diken, B., & Laustsen, C. B. (2005). Becoming Abject: Rape as a Weapon of War. Body and Society, 11(1), 111-128. https://doi.org/10.1177/1357034X05049853

Vancouver

Diken B, Laustsen CB. Becoming Abject: Rape as a Weapon of War. Body and Society. 2005;11(1):111-128. doi: 10.1177/1357034X05049853

Author

Diken, Bulent ; Laustsen, Carsten Bagge. / Becoming Abject: Rape as a Weapon of War. In: Body and Society. 2005 ; Vol. 11, No. 1. pp. 111-128.

Bibtex

@article{7c87de58f77742dfbc6c0089d2156247,
title = "Becoming Abject: Rape as a Weapon of War.",
abstract = "Organized rape has been an integral aspect of warfare for a long time even though classics on warfare have predominantly focused on theorizing {\textquoteleft}regular{\textquoteright} warfare, that is, the situations in which one army encounters another in a battle to conquer or defend a territory. Recently, however, much attention has been paid to asymmetric warfare and, accordingly, to phenomena such as guerrilla tactics, terrorism, hostage taking and a range of identity-related aspects of war such as religious fundamentalism, holy war, ethnic cleansing and war rape. In fact, war rape can be taken as a perfect example of an asymmetric strategy. In war rape the soldier attacks a civilian (not a fellow combatant) and a woman (not another male soldier), and does this only indirectly with the aim of holding or taking a territory. The primary target here is to inflict trauma and through this to destroy family ties and group solidarity within the enemy camp. This article understands war rape as a fundamental way of abandoning subjects: rape is the mark of sovereignty stamped directly on the body, that is, it is essentially a bio-political strategy using (or better, abusing) the distinction between the self and the body. Through an analysis of the way rape was carried out by the predominantly paramilitary Serbian forces on Bosnian soil, this article theorizes a two-fold practice of abjection: through war rape an abject is introduced within the woman{\textquoteright}s body (sperm or forced pregnancy), transforming her into an abject-self rejected by the family, excluded by the community and quite often also the object of a self-hate, sometimes to the point of suicide. This understanding of war rape is developed in the article through a synthesis of the literature on abandonment (Agamben, Schmitt) and abjection (Bataille, Douglas, Kristeva) and concomitantly it is argued that the penetration of the woman{\textquoteright}s body works as a metaphor for the penetration of enemy lines. In addition it is argued that this bio-political strategy, like other forms of sovereignty, operates through the creation of an {\textquoteleft}inclusive exclusion{\textquoteright}. The woman and the community in question are inscribed within the enemy realm of power as those excluded.",
keywords = "abandonment • biopolitics • perversion • rape • religion • shame • social bond • sovereignty • transgression",
author = "Bulent Diken and Laustsen, {Carsten Bagge.}",
year = "2005",
doi = "10.1177/1357034X05049853",
language = "English",
volume = "11",
pages = "111--128",
journal = "Body and Society",
issn = "1460-3632",
publisher = "SAGE Publications Ltd",
number = "1",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Becoming Abject: Rape as a Weapon of War.

AU - Diken, Bulent

AU - Laustsen, Carsten Bagge.

PY - 2005

Y1 - 2005

N2 - Organized rape has been an integral aspect of warfare for a long time even though classics on warfare have predominantly focused on theorizing ‘regular’ warfare, that is, the situations in which one army encounters another in a battle to conquer or defend a territory. Recently, however, much attention has been paid to asymmetric warfare and, accordingly, to phenomena such as guerrilla tactics, terrorism, hostage taking and a range of identity-related aspects of war such as religious fundamentalism, holy war, ethnic cleansing and war rape. In fact, war rape can be taken as a perfect example of an asymmetric strategy. In war rape the soldier attacks a civilian (not a fellow combatant) and a woman (not another male soldier), and does this only indirectly with the aim of holding or taking a territory. The primary target here is to inflict trauma and through this to destroy family ties and group solidarity within the enemy camp. This article understands war rape as a fundamental way of abandoning subjects: rape is the mark of sovereignty stamped directly on the body, that is, it is essentially a bio-political strategy using (or better, abusing) the distinction between the self and the body. Through an analysis of the way rape was carried out by the predominantly paramilitary Serbian forces on Bosnian soil, this article theorizes a two-fold practice of abjection: through war rape an abject is introduced within the woman’s body (sperm or forced pregnancy), transforming her into an abject-self rejected by the family, excluded by the community and quite often also the object of a self-hate, sometimes to the point of suicide. This understanding of war rape is developed in the article through a synthesis of the literature on abandonment (Agamben, Schmitt) and abjection (Bataille, Douglas, Kristeva) and concomitantly it is argued that the penetration of the woman’s body works as a metaphor for the penetration of enemy lines. In addition it is argued that this bio-political strategy, like other forms of sovereignty, operates through the creation of an ‘inclusive exclusion’. The woman and the community in question are inscribed within the enemy realm of power as those excluded.

AB - Organized rape has been an integral aspect of warfare for a long time even though classics on warfare have predominantly focused on theorizing ‘regular’ warfare, that is, the situations in which one army encounters another in a battle to conquer or defend a territory. Recently, however, much attention has been paid to asymmetric warfare and, accordingly, to phenomena such as guerrilla tactics, terrorism, hostage taking and a range of identity-related aspects of war such as religious fundamentalism, holy war, ethnic cleansing and war rape. In fact, war rape can be taken as a perfect example of an asymmetric strategy. In war rape the soldier attacks a civilian (not a fellow combatant) and a woman (not another male soldier), and does this only indirectly with the aim of holding or taking a territory. The primary target here is to inflict trauma and through this to destroy family ties and group solidarity within the enemy camp. This article understands war rape as a fundamental way of abandoning subjects: rape is the mark of sovereignty stamped directly on the body, that is, it is essentially a bio-political strategy using (or better, abusing) the distinction between the self and the body. Through an analysis of the way rape was carried out by the predominantly paramilitary Serbian forces on Bosnian soil, this article theorizes a two-fold practice of abjection: through war rape an abject is introduced within the woman’s body (sperm or forced pregnancy), transforming her into an abject-self rejected by the family, excluded by the community and quite often also the object of a self-hate, sometimes to the point of suicide. This understanding of war rape is developed in the article through a synthesis of the literature on abandonment (Agamben, Schmitt) and abjection (Bataille, Douglas, Kristeva) and concomitantly it is argued that the penetration of the woman’s body works as a metaphor for the penetration of enemy lines. In addition it is argued that this bio-political strategy, like other forms of sovereignty, operates through the creation of an ‘inclusive exclusion’. The woman and the community in question are inscribed within the enemy realm of power as those excluded.

KW - abandonment • biopolitics • perversion • rape • religion • shame • social bond • sovereignty • transgression

U2 - 10.1177/1357034X05049853

DO - 10.1177/1357034X05049853

M3 - Journal article

VL - 11

SP - 111

EP - 128

JO - Body and Society

JF - Body and Society

SN - 1460-3632

IS - 1

ER -