La King Kong theory by Virginie Despentes, is an interesting literary work, which the author shapes from her own experiences. It highlights themes of feminism, prostitution, rape and the world that many women carry in their daily lives.
Virginia Despentes: King Kong theory
The French-born writer, Virginie Despentes, published King Kong Theory for the first time in 2006. It is one of the main works that refer to feminism and the issue of gender, a scathing essay in which Despentes communicates her own experiences without reservations, nor permissions about prostitution, rape, repression of desire and obscenity, and to support the crumbling of the legendary roots of contemporary society.
The literary work Theory of King Kong, is shaped around the annoyance, where the author does not want to keep a silent tone when expressing herself, and the obligation of the controversy to be against domination, that it is better to assert certain rights for certain women, in times of democracy that are becoming more humiliated.
The writer manifests this authenticity in her work: the intensive fragility of women, the contempt factor in all aspects, of female activities that are linked to care, as an extension of ungratified employment, which rests on capitalism, or, motherhood as "the most exalted aspect of the position seen as a woman", which sustains and innovates the limitation of women according to their physiology, among many other elements.
In addition to seeing a link between the subjugation of women and capitalist authority: "Capitalism is an egalitarian religion, since it subjects us all, and leads us all to feel trapped, as women are."
However, the author has an opposite perspective about feminism, and its transcendence. In her narrative Theory of King Kong, she questions the thinking of feminism as “reordering of marketing slogans”, although, later, she observes it in a very positive way the fact that feminism is established as a common sense, and as a custom.
Despentes, he tells us: “Feminism was something ugly, despicable, silly, radical, marginal… the simple fact that Beyoncé wants to use it for marketing reasons seems like a total triumph to me”
However, it would be naïve not to observe that this substantial transformation to mainstream, meaning conventional, still contains the apathy of criticism of what is already known as capitalist-predominance, "Passage from the collective to the individual, from liberation to choice, and from emancipation, which presumed the struggle for another society, to obtain greater rights, admitting this society."
In any case, King Kong Theory looks attractive due to its seditious tone, just as it does when facing male chauvinist fury, when it invites to violate the austere message regarding femicides and rapes, rebels at home, but, that the Trancazo deserves not only women who are directly attacked.
A charming response is felt when there are many voices that place victimhood in a unique way of responding to acts of violence, and the search for foster care as a generalization. Interesting and energetic, but individual.
His opinion is fair, in relation to a society that formally punishes rape, however, the process of suffering in women dictates silence as well as burden, but his declaration is for a single woman who must: disobey, act brave and strong, and not hide, be her own decision, and not act like a victim.
Being the only time that the collective response is interposed, it is not prepared, and it originates as a rumination about the difficulty of violence: “You never hear talk in the 'police' section of girls alone or in groups, who pull out cocks with their teeth during the attacks, who find the aggressors to kill them... ".
It is an analogous act that occurs with prostitution, shown with anger by wealthy morals, knowing that capitalism has turned sexual exploitation into a market that makes them amass fortunes.
It is a context, which has minimized individual and voluntary prostitution to a good small part, is very little seen by Despentes. He points against an easy opponent: moralism. Despentes, denigrates against the falsehood of being enraged with prostitution, without quarreling with marriage, family and the processes of surrender, and submission that are carried out on women.
Several of his questions are correct, however, it is unlikely to separate the discussion from the reality that Despentes concludes by recognizing, by limiting his foundation of "independence" to sporadic prostitution.
This fact keeps the number of people incited into prostitution by indigence or by obvious violation, such as occurs in trafficking, on the outside of the dispute. This does not correspond to minimizing all women as victims, in the same way that facing denial does not equal requiring the regulation of prostitution, like any other work within the labor and economic world.
Perhaps be on the side and raise the fight to claim the capitalist state, and its governments, the security of a job for all people who are in attitudes of prostitution who want to leave it.
The author Despentes ends in an unknown space, comparing prostitution with drug addiction "When you try to leave, the complications are comparable: you come back once, only once, and then the following week, with the slightest problem, you turn on your minitel for the last time."
In addition, the claim for prostitution as "empowerment" is not feasible for a woman other than Virginie Despentes: choose when to carry it out, and when to prevent the dangers, or leave the market, once everything becomes complicated. and circumstances are humbled.
The reply of King Kong Theory to violence, and in general terms to domination and segregation is an exclamation of rage, a call to devastate everything, however, it does not express how, who will be united, what approaches, what translates, without planning or skill.
As a last claim, the imprecise “revolution of genders” ends up demarcated in daily endurance, in the foundation of “spaces of power”, which lead to distracting equivalent relationships, also without traces of intimidation.
corrupt lieutenants
The author Despentes shapes her stories from imperfection, for ugly women, old women, truck drivers, frigid women, those with a bad character, the intolerable, the irritable, the silly, and absolutely all those suppressed from the great world of being a good woman.
Wake up, start with this part, so that everything is transparent: he does not apologize, nor is his intention to complain. She would not change her space for any other, because being the authentic Virginie Despentes is usually a more important act for her than any other.
He considers it gigantic, that there are also women whom he likes to seduce, who know very well how to do it, while others only know how to get married; that there are women who smell of sex, and others like snacks for children when they leave school.
Despentes maintains that it is wonderful that there are sweet, affectionate women, others grateful for their femininity, that there are young, beautiful, others vain and shiny. Honestly, he feels joy for all the things that come out as expected. He expresses it without the slightest sarcasm, simply, he does not consider being in their group.
The political and the intimate
The greatest value of the King Kong Theory work is that it thrives between the political and the intimate. Among his most interesting arguments is the frustration of the sexual revolution of the last century, because it only favored giving arbitrary powers to some women, fortifying the patriarchy.
It shows how manhood has been established in the elimination of the woman's body, which allows him to build rape, "a concrete program: the framework of capitalism, it is the cruel and exact image of power, as a distressing theme, patient in a woman, who is outside, because the feminine has been built for the internal and private place.
"His virility, his famous masculine solidarity, is built from this exclusion of our bodies (...) It is a pact that rests on our inferiority"
real life controversy
Despentes, deals with the great conflicts that maintain the feminist aspect seen from the dispute. It does not refer to a known attitude, but rather to the place that life has kept for her: she is closely aware of the disadvantages of being a woman, she experienced her experiences close to the public and her gender: her life developed as a prostitute, punk, alcoholic and in addition to living on the street.
Virginie Despentes, expresses herself with authenticity and ease from her own experience. Being very young she showed herself as a punk, since then she has lived from her point of view. She left her house to live alone at 17 years of age, she felt completely free, and continued to be. Her event in her life, I brought her closer to feminism, after that experience, I pondered about the meaning of woman and about a range of writers with different points of view on the subject of femininity.
In the naked and unobstructed narration of Despentes, one can understand the reason why in its protocol of the international and gigantic movement that is feminism, a good part of the harshness of evolution is transferred.
At the age of 25, the writer published a literary work entitled "Fóllame", her first novel, with which she immediately achieved fame. Later the work was adapted to film productions, and she later dedicated herself to publishing more works.
Throughout her existence, she has come across men who criticize her for her attitude and way of being, for not practicing the social perspectives that exist about and for women. Despentes, she narrates that it is not easy, that she has been tempted to agree, but she simply cannot, that is not her way of being, it is simply not like that.
Despite the fact that there are currently different movements led by women who want to denounce and transform the way we exist, the reality is that much has not been achieved. We continue to live in a phallocratic society, where the woman is forced to carry out some roles that she restricts for the rest of her life.
We continue to live in a world where perhaps a woman does not earn the same as a man. You still read news about femicides, rapes and violence against women, whether physical or psychological. Currently, it is normal for women to return home early, on the street they are at risk and danger.
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