Citation

Caputi J. Womens Stud. Int. Forum 2003; 26(1): 1-14.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S0277-5395(02)00360-6

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In sexual abuse, an intrinsic part of the trauma is the emotional residue of anger, shame, impotence, and pain that can continue to haunt and occupy the victim. Teresa Brennan's theory of the transmission of affect and hierarchical "dumping" suggests that the masculine subject is constructed through transferring his negative emotions to a feminized other; she is both burdened with his toxic affect and depleted of her vital energies. This process characterizes sexual abuse, including rape, battery, and incest. The victim feels possessed, consumed, trashed, drained, and "dirtied." As ecological feminist theory suggests, this process is mirrored in masculine-identified abuse of the feminine-identified elemental environment. The testimony of many survivors of sexual abuse reveals that healing from toxic dumping and the ensuing disconnection induced by sexual violence can be enabled in two linked ways. First of all, survivors can refuse to take on the unwanted affect. Moreover, they can energetically affirm and reconnect with elemental forces in the self and in the world.