Subject in difference, or on (feminine) becomings : Deleuze and Guattari's and Cixous' concept of subjectivity

Abstract

"Is it possible to develop a debate on subjectivity without the familiar notions of the “mind,” “body,” “emotions” or “reason”? This is the case of A Thousand Plateaus. Deleuze and Guattari, in their extensive account of subjectivity, speak as if the pillars of human subjectivity did not exist at all; they allude only to the concept of the body, yet with a queer notion of the “Body without Organs,” which sounds like a blatant provocation (and is often mistakenly received so). To be precise, Deleuze and Guattari do not give an account of human subjectivity; they speak of “monsters and machines”; for them, the human subject should not be separated from the mineral, plant, animal or demonic realms. Their account of subjectivity proliferates with vampires, wolves and rats; they quite seriously pose the questions of becoming-vegetable, becoming-music or becoming-sleep; there is no mention of the tasks of thinkers or philosophers (whom Deleuze and Guattari are, after all) but instead we learn that “writing is traversed by strange becomings” and writers are “sorcerers.” (fragm.)