Bonni Rambatan -- Computer-Generated Sexuality (3/5)

Bonni Rambatan's filmed lecture for the talk at Arse Elektronika 2008's Politics panel. (San Francisco, 28 September 2008)

http://www.monochrom.at/arse-elektronika/
http://posthumanmarxist.wordpress.com/

For lecture notes and MP3 recording of the Q&A, visit http://twurl.nl/lm5rb4

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Bonni
• Rambatan
• Arse
• Elektronika
• monochrom
• posthuman
• sexuality
• porn
• paraphilia
• perversion
• psychoanalysis

[MariborchanX]

Perhaps you are presupposing some kind of familiarity, previous understanding of topics you're trying to explain - or rather in which you are trying to develop your theory in.

And another point.. when you were mentioning the voice.. I think one has to understand that the signifier and the signified isn't limited to lets say images or text.. the voice is just another medium through which we learn, signify, etc.. and of course the medium shapes the message, but I don't see this sharp difference..

[ThePosthumanMarxist]

Yes, my weak point is that I usually tend to presuppose too much of that. You got me here.

The difference between text and voice is the dimension of inscription and idiolect, you know, how text doesn't disappear after its enunciation, etc. This was the big topic in Derridean postmodern theory about three decades ago. I think you can find the Lacanian appropriation explained in The Pervert's Guide to Cinema, but seeing you you probably know that already.

[MariborchanX]

Yeah but in The Pervert's Guide I think Žižek is making a different point than you did in these videos... Btw. Mladen Dolar (I've already mentioned him to you) is the big guy on the topic of voice, and Žižek probably 'steals' most of the theories concerning this topic from him..

[ThePosthumanMarxist]

I know, I'm appropriating it (the life in the voice part) in my own theories here. Ah, I know I should read more of the Ljubljana School, everybody keeps telling me to do that. And I will!

[MariborchanX]

I'm interested in the point you're trying to make with "we can transform our sexual bodies in anything we want". Do you mean it like in transvestites? Or what specifically are you talking about here?

Our biological body always remains here as the unavoidable Real.. we can try to identify with some pixels as much as we want, project our fantasies on them, but sooner or later you have to stand up and go to the toilet.

[ThePosthumanMarxist]

Ah, this will be the core of my thesis, and where I depart from mainstream Lacanian psychoanalysis. My basic thesis is that today, with bioengineering, etc, we are in the midst of a radical shifting of the coordinates of the Borromean rings.

Even things in the toilet are changing, with those optical-censored toilets and effort-free toilets Zizek mentioned in one of your videos.

[ThePosthumanMarxist]

The transformation of sexual bodies is due to the species/cyborg confusion; Haraway's manifesto, etc. My point would be more towards the fact that sex can be done even without the traditional biological body. Even today, we have to use more and more of prosthetics and sex toys to enjoy sex, and interactive pornography that literally enjoys for us. You can check out my "Of Facebook and Porn" post already replicated several times in the blogosphere.