‘Erotiques Cannibales’: A queer ontological take on desire from urban Congo

This article illustrates the theoretical productivity of the recent ontological turn in anthropology as a way to further ‘anthropologize’ queer studies by taking seriously erotic alterity as an ethnographic situation that unlocks possibilities for radically re-thinking desire beyond the limiting fra...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hendriks, T
Format: Journal article
Published: SAGE Publications 2017
Description
Summary:This article illustrates the theoretical productivity of the recent ontological turn in anthropology as a way to further ‘anthropologize’ queer studies by taking seriously erotic alterity as an ethnographic situation that unlocks possibilities for radically re-thinking desire beyond the limiting framework of ‘sexuality’. It proposes a thought experiment with the specific ways in which same-sex loving men and boys in contemporary urban Congo conceptualize desire as a self-affirming predatory force that joyfully queers the ‘normal’ world. Rather than ethnographically representing ‘their’ erotic concepts, this article tries to think through them and calls for a non-melancholic theorization of desire