Judith Butler, incest, and the question of the child's love

Kilby, JE

Abstract

In contrast to Judith Herman, who understands incest exclusively in terms of power,
Judith Butler insists on the importance of the child’s love for our understanding of
incest. Butler’s thinking in this respect is suggestive but underdeveloped, while also
holding considerable implications for how we might understand the role of violence
in social life. This article develops and assesses her thinking on the child’s love and its
relation to the question of violence and trauma more generally. At issue is the question
of how we are to understand violence. Is it always motivated? Is it always destructive?
And finally are there limits to what can be understood?

Citation

Kilby, J. (2010). Judith Butler, incest, and the question of the child's love. Feminist Theory, 11(3), 255-265. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464700110376277

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2010
• Deposit Date: Dec 21, 2011
• Journal: Feminist Theory
• Print ISSN: 1464-7001
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 255-265
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1464700110376277
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1464700110376277