Although Farley[1] focused on the Black Body, I have come to think him entirely correct to note twisted relationships between individuals arise from/through the objectification of an individual’s existence as ‘evidenced’ by bodily characteristics. I would extend The Black Body as Fetish Object to include the Body of Brown, Yellow, Red or White, Male, Female or ‘other’ gender, Christian, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist or other faith, and any other ‘Body’ as well. Various notions of différance, as determined under the authority of Western conceptualizations of ‘bodies of knowledge’ and resultant taxonomic ascriptions, preclude individuals of différance from experiencing their relationship(s) except as figurative or symbolic interactions based upon foundational notions of ‘otherness’. Like actors upon a stage, individuals play out roles presupposed to exist due to the presence or presentation of their ‘body’.
[1] Farley, A. P. (1997). The Black body as fetish object. Oregon Law Review, 76, pp. 457-535. Retrieved from: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1518415
