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Article published In: Babel
Vol. 67:1 (2021) ► pp.99–117

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Translating the queer body

 | Complutense University of Madrid | GIR TRADIC
Published online: 2 April 2021
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.00207.lep
Abstract
The objective of this study is to enlarge the concept of translation with the theoretical basis of the proposals from Edwin Gentzler’s “post-translation studies” (. 2017. Translation and Rewriting in the Age of Post-Translation Studies. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) and Susan Bassnett’s “outward turn” (. 2017. “Foreword.” In Translation and Rewriting in the Age of Post-Translation Studies, edited by Edwin Gentzler, viii–x. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). These contributions represent a turning point in the field of translation studies due to the opportunities they present to discover new discursive limits in the rewriting process. Based on this extended concept of translation, this article analyzes the body as a text which is determined by acts of rewriting and, at the same time, as a subversive element that allows us to bring into question the social and cultural rules that define the normativity of sexuality. This article refers to feminist currents including LGBTIQ studies and queer theory, in order to build the necessary theoretical structure to analyze the power of (translated) discourses in the construction of the body and its sexuality. Finally, this article applies this proposal to the analyses of specific cases of non-normative bodies so as to observe the power and the influence of translation on the definition and classification of sexual identities.
Résumé
L’objectif de cette étude est d’élargir le concept de traduction sur base des propositions théoriques des “post-translation studies” d’Edwin . 2017. Translation and Rewriting in the Age of Post-Translation Studies. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar et de l’“outward turn” de . 2017. “Foreword.” In Translation and Rewriting in the Age of Post-Translation Studies, edited by Edwin Gentzler, viii–x. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar. Ces contributions représentent un tournant dans le domaine de la traductologie en raison des possibilités qu’elles offrent de découvrir de nouvelles limites discursives dans le processus de réécriture. Sur base de ce concept de traduction élargie, nous entendons analyser le corps comme un texte déterminé par des actes de réécriture et, en même temps, comme un élément subversif qui permet de remettre en question les règles sociales et culturelles qui définissent la sexualité normée. Cet article fait référence aux courants féministes, y compris les études LGBTIQ et la théorie queer, afin de construire la structure théorique nécessaire pour analyser le pouvoir des discours (traduits ou non) dans la construction du corps et de sa sexualité. Enfin, cet article applique cette proposition à l’analyse de cas spécifiques de corps non-normés afin d’observer le pouvoir et l’influence de la traduction sur la définition et la classification des identités sexuelles.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Toward a concept of boundless translation
  • Performative bodies
  • Textual bodies in translation
  • Conclusions
  • References
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2023. Comparabilidad transcultural de lo queer y lo trans: adaptaciones impredecibles desde el interior de “Occidente”. Mutatis Mutandis. Revista Latinoamericana de Traducción 16:1 ► pp. 151 ff. DOI logo

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