Da sensação à materialização: máquinas de infuência e as estéticas da diferença sexual Kaciano Gadelha

Abstract

In this article I refer back to a classic text by Viktor Tausk about schizophrenic symptoms reported by patients who said to be controlled by a foreign machine. Tausk’s formulation on the “influence machine” will be examined in this paper according to the histories of sexuality, madness and sex in order to question the material dimension of sexuality as well as the persistence of a discursive perspective on sexuality. By discussing these problems, this article addresses the new materialism and the perspective of a post-humanist performativity developed by Karen Barad. Based on her formulation, this article argues for an intra-active relation between human and non-human beings, bodies and machines. As conclusion, this article stresses the need for more studies on the history of sexual materialities inasmuch as those studies can enrich the view on body and sexuality beyond the discursive constructivism.