Chapter 21: Spaces of appearance, politics of exposure

Sammy Karon
5 April 2015

            In “Spaces of appearance, politics of exposure,” Butler and Athanasiou discuss what it means to appear politically. In other words, this issue is about how we, as beings with bodies, use a physical presence to convey theoretical topics. To have our thoughts heard means to have some extension of our body exposed to the listener—our voice, our face, or even our entire body marching on the street. However, as Athanasiou questions, “Can ‘anybody’ (any body) appear then?” (195). On the one hand, not all bodies are equal, so not all appearances can be equal either. Additionally, Athanasiou notes that sometimes public spaces are already occupied by certain actors, so there is less room for different actors to appear, like in the “(Un)occupy Albuquerque” movement (195). Butler responds to this by noting that the purpose of democratic politics is “to represent the people, and to do so in ways that establish equality as a presupposition of social and political existence” (196).

Ideally, I agree with Butler: this is what democracy should do. But even considering the people who wrote the American Constitution, I have trouble believing anyone who already appears would willfully try to themselves less visible so others could become more visible. I am not sure if I feel this way because of the democratic reality I have observed growing up in the US, or because of my overall doubts of human nature and whether or not humans can ever be fully good. This brings me back to Mary Dietz’s “Context is All: Feminism and Theories of Citizenship” where Dietz discusses what it means to be human in political language. Specifically in America, existing as a physical human has never gotten in the way of being politically labeled as less than human. The examples of the Three Fifths compromise demonstrates this fully: ones body does not innately prove one’s life to other humans. Thus, I struggle believe in Butler’s idealistic definition of democracy because that definition is as old as the wrongs that have occurred under the actual system. In this way, I see the non-political element to appearance as perhaps stronger and more honest than political appearance. As long as you are alive, you appear to yourself. For some people, as long as they are alive, they will never appear to anyone but themselves. In some ways, I believe that disconnected reality is made possible through politics.