ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the instability of sexual and abject experiences of the body, and considers the fluid and flirtatious intimacy in pedagogical moments throughout The Black Balloon. It examines that the concept of flirting acts as a reminder of the presence of uncertainty throughout the film and argues for considering disability beside flirtation. A consideration of both disability and flirtation demands recognition of alternative forms of looking, speaking, and listening; identifying intimate non-verbal communication and shared moments. Public looking and glances comprise Jackie and Thomas's early interaction and establish intimacy, a flirtation that exists prior to speech between the pair. The Black Balloon contains a series of pedagogical moments which enable affect, empathy, and identification, and it is the feeling of flirtatious uncertainty produced by The Black Balloon—discomforting and joyful; sexy and gross—which allows for this recognition of the Mollisons. The chapter also presents a series of moments which complicate the 'privacy' generally accorded to bodily fluids.
