Kristeva and Self Mutilation

I apologize if this strays i am attending the Conference on World Affairs as i write this. I feel as though school should stop for this amazing event. I digress into my response though:

Abjection has a denotative meaning of humbling or degrading. As i read Kristeva I tried to understand how this meaning correlated with Kristeva's idea of abjection and i came to this conclusion, the unconscious is a humbling force acting upon the conscious. The unconscious is not neatly separated from the conscious rather it is kept separate by a blurred division which is constantly in flux. This creates a strain on the creation of an identity as repression is not controlled and can change the current state of subjectivity can be altered instantaneously.

As abjection pertains to self mutilation i feel it is important to clarify what is meant by self mutilation. It is deeper than those that we initially think of the people who cut themselves and so on. I feel it can be argued that body piercings and tattoos are a form of self mutilation. And in your list on your blog you offer plausible reasons that people may engage in self mutilation many of the reasons are the same reasons why I have tattoos. It wasn't until thinking about how i would respond to this theory that i realized i partake in these activities as a form of self mutilation. Now this understanding of self mutilation is not important as it pertains to abjection only that it broadens the scope of the issue, and allows for a more personal connection with the issue. The act of self mutilation can be seen as an action of the unconscious. It is an outward act of the repressed content of the unconscious. If the unconscious were neatly concealed as it described by Freud it would not be enacted as rapidly or vigorously. The blurred lines between the spheres causes the outward expression of self mutilation. The failure of the self to establish subjectivity and discern the boundaries between the spheres creates a need for expression and a disagreement between acceptable and irrational behaviors.