Deconstructing the phallogocentric visage from new expressions: feminist combative self-awareness as resignifying body language. Reshaping the face of “force” to produce new social narratives

Abstract

The visage is not merely an anatomical portion of the body, but a semiotic and performative dispositive, situated in constant tensions between recognition and misrecognition, deconstructing the phallogocentric paradigm that regulates facial and bodily expressivity through hierarchical dynamics. Following Butler and Derrida, it becomes evident that the visage is not a neutral element but a construct that determines who can be recognised as a subject and who, conversely, is relegated to invisibility and subordination. Indeed, the normative regulation of the visage is inscribed within a network of binary oppositions, in which masculinity is associated with force and authority, while femininity is constructed in terms of receptiveness and subalternity. However, the visage is not merely a site of subjugation but also of resistance. Through feminist combative self-awareness – a corporeal and semiotic practice inspired by martial arts, which reconfigures force beyond the logic of domination – the visage becomes an act of reappropriation, capable of subverting the rigidity of imposed categories. Drawing on Derrida’s theory of différance, it is shown that force is not a monolithic attribute but a dynamic process interweaving body, mind, and emotion, thereby opening up new possibilities for expression. From this perspective, the combative visage is not merely a site of opposition to the dominant paradigm but an active practice of resignification, where bodily and facial expressivity becomes a subversive language. The rewriting of the visage, therefore, not only deconstructs phallogocentric hegemony but inaugurates a new field of expressive and political possibilities, transforming force into a dispositive of self-determination.