King Kong Theory and Corps Amoureux: A Critical Review of Feminist Rage
A review in artpress critiques Virginie Despentes' King Kong Theory (Grasset, 2006) and Catherine Breillat's Corps Amoureux (Denoël, 2006). The reviewer acknowledges Despentes' lucid chapters on rape, prostitution, and pornography—citing her remark that pornography offers desire a relief too quickly for sublimation—but condemns her aggressive, generalized rhetoric as a performative posture lacking self-reflection. The review contrasts this with Breillat's interviews, where the filmmaker advocates for androgyny and describes love as an exaltation that transcends sexual warfare. The piece argues that Despentes' call for permanent battle between sexes forecloses the permeability of gender boundaries and the possibility of mutual jouissance.
Key facts
- King Kong Theory by Virginie Despentes published by Grasset in 2006.
- Corps Amoureux by Catherine Breillat, interviews with Claire Vassé, published by Denoël in 2006.
- Despentes was raped at age 17.
- Despentes writes that pornography 'defouls desire and offers it relief too quickly for sublimation.'
- Breillat states: 'There should be much more androgyny. Humanity as a whole should be much more androgynous.'
- Breillat describes love as 'an exaltation' that leads to a jouissance detached from one's own body and the other's.
- The review appears in artpress, December 2006.
Entities
Artists
- Virginie Despentes
- Catherine Breillat
- Claire Vassé
Institutions
- Grasset
- Denoël
- artpress
Sources
- artpress —