Handle with Care
This essay examines two sets of coronavirus-prevention guidelines issued by New York City’s health department in early spring 2020. The department advised residents not to touch their faces “unless” they had washed their hands but advised them to masturbate “especially if” they had washed their hand...
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| izdano v: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/angles, |
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| Glavni avtor: | |
| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Jezik: | Anglais |
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Angles
2021
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| Online dostop: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:angles_3628 |
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openedition |
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OpenEdition Journal |
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Anglais |
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Article ou chapitre numérique |
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0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
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corps pandémie COVID-19 coronavirus New York toucher biopouvoir biopolitique pornographie névrose obsessionnelle masturbation body pandemic COVID-19 coronavirus New York City touch biopower biopolitics pornography obsessional neurosis masturbation |
| spellingShingle |
corps pandémie COVID-19 coronavirus New York toucher biopouvoir biopolitique pornographie névrose obsessionnelle masturbation body pandemic COVID-19 coronavirus New York City touch biopower biopolitics pornography obsessional neurosis masturbation Daffron, Eric Handle with Care |
| description |
This essay examines two sets of coronavirus-prevention guidelines issued by New York City’s health department in early spring 2020. The department advised residents not to touch their faces “unless” they had washed their hands but advised them to masturbate “especially if” they had washed their hands. Those recommendations reshaped New Yorkers’ relationship to their bodies and, in so doing, contributed to a new permutation of biopower. Drawing on several theories of biopower, this essay’s first section explains that the department’s recommendations used large-scale biopolitical tactics with small-scale implications to encourage New Yorkers to meet the expectations of what Nikolas Rose has called “biological citizenship.” Exploring potential responses to the body’s biopolitical regulation, this essay’s second section considers the prohibition against touching in Sigmund Freud’s outdated but culturally resonant theory of obsessional neurosis. While obsessional neurosis may transgress, cancel, or achieve a compromise with that prohibition, only a ceremonial such as handwashing offers promise for responsible action. However, it, like the obsessional’s other actions, operates in a cycle of desire and prohibition which cannot fully account for how biopower now promotes and regulates bodily knowledge and movement. In search of alternatives, this essay’s final section turns to four coronavirus-themed pornographic videos produced by gay and bisexual men. These videos troubled public-health guidelines while providing potential viewers in New York and beyond with critical and creative options for pandemic-era action. In sum, these productions revealed that creation can come out of crisis. |
| author |
Daffron, Eric |
| author_facet |
Daffron, Eric |
| author_sort |
Daffron, Eric |
| title |
Handle with Care |
| title_short |
Handle with Care |
| title_full |
Handle with Care |
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Handle with Care |
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Handle with Care |
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handle with care |
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Angles |
| publishDate |
2021 |
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URI:https://journals.openedition.org/angles |
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https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/angles.3628 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/angles/3628 |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:angles_3628 https://doi.org/10.4000/angles.3628 urn:doi:10.4000/angles.3628 en https://journals.openedition.org/angles/3628 2021-05-05T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/9n1e https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Handle with Care Angles Société des Anglicistes de l'Enseignement Supérieur info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2274-2042 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/angles Daffron, Eric corps pandémie COVID-19 coronavirus New York toucher biopouvoir biopolitique pornographie névrose obsessionnelle masturbation body pandemic COVID-19 coronavirus New York City touch biopower biopolitics pornography obsessional neurosis masturbation This essay examines two sets of coronavirus-prevention guidelines issued by New York City’s health department in early spring 2020. The department advised residents not to touch their faces “unless” they had washed their hands but advised them to masturbate “especially if” they had washed their hands. Those recommendations reshaped New Yorkers’ relationship to their bodies and, in so doing, contributed to a new permutation of biopower. Drawing on several theories of biopower, this essay’s first section explains that the department’s recommendations used large-scale biopolitical tactics with small-scale implications to encourage New Yorkers to meet the expectations of what Nikolas Rose has called “biological citizenship.” Exploring potential responses to the body’s biopolitical regulation, this essay’s second section considers the prohibition against touching in Sigmund Freud’s outdated but culturally resonant theory of obsessional neurosis. While obsessional neurosis may transgress, cancel, or achieve a compromise with that prohibition, only a ceremonial such as handwashing offers promise for responsible action. However, it, like the obsessional’s other actions, operates in a cycle of desire and prohibition which cannot fully account for how biopower now promotes and regulates bodily knowledge and movement. In search of alternatives, this essay’s final section turns to four coronavirus-themed pornographic videos produced by gay and bisexual men. These videos troubled public-health guidelines while providing potential viewers in New York and beyond with critical and creative options for pandemic-era action. In sum, these productions revealed that creation can come out of crisis. Cet article examine deux séries de directives de prévention concernant le coronavirus émises par le Service de santé de la ville de New York au début du printemps 2020. Le service a conseillé aux habitants de ne pas se toucher le visage "à moins" de s'être lavé les mains, mais leur a conseillé de se masturber "surtout" s'ils se sont lavés les mains. Ces recommandations ont redéfini la relation des New-Yorkais avec leur corps et, ce faisant, ont contribué à une nouvelle mutation du biopouvoir. S'appuyant sur plusieurs théories du biopouvoir, la première section de cet article montre que les recommandations du service de santé ont fait appel à des tactiques biopolitiques à grande échelle avec des implications à petite échelle pour encourager les New-Yorkais à répondre aux attentes de ce que Nikolas Rose a appelé la "citoyenneté biologique". Explorant les réponses potentielles à la régulation biopolitique du corps, la deuxième section de cet article examine l'interdiction du toucher dans la théorie de la névrose obsessionnelle de Sigmund Freud, une théorie dépassée mais qui résonne dans la culture. Si la névrose obsessionnelle peut transgresser, supprimer ou parvenir à un compromis avec cette interdiction, seul un cérémonial tel que le lavage des mains offre la promesse d'une action responsable. Cependant, ce cérémonial, comme les autres actions de la névrose obsessionnelle, opère dans un cycle de désir et d'interdiction qui ne peut rendre pleinement compte de la manière dont le biopouvoir promeut et régule aujourd'hui la connaissance du corps et son mouvement. À la recherche d'alternatives, la dernière section de cet article se tourne vers quatre vidéos pornographiques sur le thème du coronavirus produites par des hommes gays ou bisexuels. Ces vidéos ont remis en question les directives de santé publique tout en offrant aux spectateurs potentiels de New York et d'ailleurs des options critiques et créatives pour agir à l'ère de la pandémie. En somme, ces productions ont révélé que la crise peut engendrer la créativité. |