The hidden body. Conflicting experiences from an emotional and bodily...

In this contribution, the conflicting experiences andtheir potential to initiate change processes are made visible in both emotionaland bodily dimension. The experiences of body modifications and a gestalttherapeutic self- experience process are used to highlight emotional moments oflived experiences where the body is the vehicle of expression. Pain,self-discipline, aggression, longing, lust and vulnerability are pictured intheir various expressions and dimensions. Body Modifications are processes andpractices that are in-between pain and pleasure. The modifications areexpressions through the body that make emotions visible to the world. As Seigworth und Gregg (2010) describe, affects are „inbetween-ness: in the capacities to act and be actedupon…found in those intensities that pass body to body (human, nonhuman,part-body and otherwise” (ebd.:1). The Gestalt therapeutic self- experienceworkshop gives participants the experience of inner conflicts such as thelonging and the fear of changes. How are emotions suchas pain, lust, fear and longing experienced and expressed through the body andwhat are its implications for Feminist Teaching? Through a phenomenological lens,these inner conflicts and coping mechanisms are made visible through the casestudies of Fred and Annika.