Bodies and their signs: Acknowledging and interpreting erotic responses

This chapter focuses on specific kinds of corporeal (or somatic) signs, such as an unexpected sensation in the genitals or sweating in front of an erotic image. Such signs are typically read by both the person experiencing such feelings and (in many cases) those observing this person as ‘sexual reactions’, ‘sexual responses’, or ‘sexual signs’. It is surprising to discover how little attention has been paid by theorists and others to the processes of making sense of such signs. Even in studies that in some way investigate the relationship between culture and corporeality these phenomena have not been carefully investigated or systematically theorised. Indeed, the predominant focus of investigations into somatic signs (sexual and otherwise) seems largely to have been on somatic performances and the motor skills enabling these performances (e.g., peeing like a man (de Lauretis, 1999) or walking like a woman). ¹