ABSTRACT
The hierarchical economy of the nature/culture opposition has appeared in many different forms throughout the history of western thought, and the sexualizing and racializing agenda that informs this division has endured with a persistence that continues to provoke analysis. One of the most thoughtful engagements with this problematic comes from Judith Butler, who explores the nature/culture interface through the question of corporeality. Butler’s particular contribution is in her refusal to simply endorse the clichés of much postmodern writing while at the same time embracing many of its insights. Her work focuses on the notion of bodily inscriptions; engages the more general paradox within the assertion that the body is culturally constructed; and explores the ways in which what she calls the scenography or topography of this construction might be said to matter.
