On the Accumulation of Bodies: Sayak Valencia's Gore Capitalism

The 2018 Semiotext(e) publication of an English translation of Tijuana intellectual Sayak Valencia’s 2010 Capitalismo gore brings to Anglophone audiences one of the most important texts of the last decade for understanding the cultural politics of narco-capitalism in Mexico. Scholars from Mexico and the United States assess Valencia’s arguments about the commodification of violence in this iteration of capitalism, addressing themes of necropower, transfeminism, and the representation of gore. Responding to the contributors, Valencia encourages readers to extend the decolonial thinking laid out in her book to the kinds of transnationally linked social justice movements that seek to address the problem of violence in a variety of contexts.

Finding Meaning in Gore

Iván A. Ramos

I first encountered Sayak Valencia’s brilliant Gore Capitalism accidentally, sometime in 2012. During one of my visits to Tijuana, my hometown, I made a trek to Librería Sor Juana, the city’s feminist bookstore, where Capitalismo gore seemed to pop out … Continue reading “Finding Meaning in Gore”

In the Flesh

Alex Pittman

J. Marion Sims describes the first time he saw a vesicovaginal fistula as if he had been gazing at a captivating portrait. “Introducing the bent handle of a spoon, I saw everything, as no man had seen before,” writes the … Continue reading “In the Flesh”