Abstract

This contribution offers a reading of Luce Irigaray’s recent works of Western thought in relation to Eastern yogic tradition of “breath”. Irigaray as a French feminist in her theories of ‘feminine divinity’ and ‘sexual difference’ relies on Eastern notion of ‘breath’. This paper aims to reveal the concept of ‘breath’ in the West and East. Unlike Tantric yogic breath which serves as the basis of sexual union, Irigaray in her theories of ‘feminine divine’ and ‘sexual difference’ imagines an embodied and sexed subjectivity for women through breath. She tries to create a divine space for women through their breath and their sexual body. She uses yogic breath as a space between body and spirit, nature and culture, and masculinity/femininity. However, Irigarayan breath derived from yogic tradition is bodily breath. Irigaray considers breathing as a requirement and a necessity especially for bodily divinity. For her, the cultivation of breath in a specific spiritual practice of yoga represents just a way of overcoming repression of women’s body in Western society.   Key words: Breath, women becoming, autonomy, love, feminine divinity, feminine jouissance, intimacy, sexual difference, sexual union, dichotomy, yogic tradition, Hinduism, feminist theory, Luce Irigaray. &nbsp

Highlights

  • Luce Irigaray as a French feminist acts as a kind of bridge between Western and Eastern traditions

  • She uses the notions of ‘breath’ and ‘silence’ derived from yogic tradition in her ‘sexual difference’ and ‘feminine divine’ to allow for women’s becoming as well as intimacy between sexes. Her recent works focus on the difference between Western and Eastern cultures with respect to Tantric yogic breathing as the essence of a living body

  • Yogic tradition transcends Irigarayan air and breath which are defined as an in-between space within lovers and outside of them, and as a model of intimate exchange between lovers; between the two gendered identities

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Summary

Shiva Hemmati

English Department, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This contribution offers a reading of Luce Irigaray’s recent works of Western thought in relation to Eastern yogic tradition of “breath”. Irigaray as a French feminist in her theories of ‘feminine divinity’ and ‘sexual difference’ relies on Eastern notion of ‘breath’. Unlike Tantric yogic breath which serves as the basis of sexual union, Irigaray in her theories of ‘feminine divine’ and ‘sexual difference’ imagines an embodied and sexed subjectivity for women through breath. She tries to create a divine space for women through their breath and their sexual body.

INTRODUCTION
Irigarayan Feminine Divine
Sexual difference
Yogic Breath in Hinduism
Conclusion
Full Text
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