In this paper, we consider the role of ‘breaking culture’ in transforming cultural formations on the dance floor. We critically examine how breaking is perceived by some to enable and articulate a resistance towards hegemonic cultural idea(l)s, while others perceive breaking to be a capitalist effect that reinforces and perpetuates existing oppressive regulatory frameworks. By juxtaposing these two positions, we propose that both rely on an approach that assume to ‘know’ breaking culture, identity, and community, instead of understanding breaking as intercorporeal and in-relation-to others and a world. By employing a somatechnics framework, we not only demonstrate that these two positions are not as different as is typically thought, but also that the breaking body has a heterogeneous history, can be put to heterogeneous uses, and has heterogeneous effects; in short, we aim to discuss the somatechnics of breaking.
Period
Dec 2019
Event title
Cultural Studies Association of Australasia Conference: Cultural Transformations