Monstrous Body of the Slimy Depths

Abstract

The monstrous body of the slimy depths is associated with the body of a monster lurking in such places. It is the body of the slimy lower strata, of the contiguity between the lower places of the earth and of the body. Unlike the grotesque body, it is not associated with a wide range of bodily functions. It is associated with a narrow range of interstitial places and figurative feminine features. It is associated with the holes and orifices that cross the boundary between inside and outside and with the substances that mix the qualities of wet and dry, the elements of earth and water, and the categories of solid and liquid. The grotesque body crosses gender lines and relates to the lower strata in both genders. It upsets a common human hierarchy of the body. The monstrous body is a feminine body that lurks within the masculinist body as the repressed that returns. It is either a masculinist projection within to be abhorred and feared or it is a feminist construction of the goddess within to be revalued and respected.