Deleuze's Concept of Becoming-woman

 

The concept of becoming, central to Deleuze's philosophy, challenges our fixation on being and power. Being concerns the essence of life and existence, while power revolves around control and order. However, becoming transcends these categories, leading us into uncharted territories beyond familiar boundaries.

 

In "A Thousand Plateaus," Deleuze and Guattari introduce the notion of becoming-woman as a starting point for these becomings. Becoming-woman is not about adhering to fixed identities but about fluidity and transformation. It opens up possibilities beyond conventional distinctions like human versus animal, man versus woman, or child versus adult.

 

Becoming explodes the confines of our understanding and control. It moves us beyond the need for absolute truths, the desire for control over nature, and the urge to possess or consume. Instead, becoming offers a radical vision of life as a dynamic process of passage and expansion.

 

Deleuze's positive ontology celebrates the potential for experimentation and transformation in life. It affirms the freedom to explore new avenues of existence, unconstrained by biological, social, or cultural norms. This radical affirmation embraces the ineffable, the experiential, and the risky, nurturing the vitality and creativity inherent in existence.

 

Becoming is not confined to logical or moralistic frameworks but is felt, sensed, and conjured through experimentation and risk-taking. It celebrates the vibrancy and diversity of existence, inviting us to embrace the unknown and to venture into uncharted territories of being.

 

The concept of becoming, as articulated by Deleuze and Guattari, shifts the focus away from traditional notions of transformation between fixed identities. Instead, it directs attention towards multiplicities composed of heterogeneous singularities in dynamic compositions. Becoming is not about linear progressions or endpoints; rather, it involves lines and intensities, modes of expansion, propagation, and occupation.

 

Becoming is described as always being in the middle, in-between various states. It defies simple categorization or progression from one state to another. Deleuze and Guattari use the metaphor of rhizomatic growth to illustrate becoming's dynamic and interconnected nature. Each rhizomatic root takes its own unique direction, forming complex compositions that defy predetermined forms or ends.

 

Thresholds, as zones of proximity between multiplicities, play a crucial role in becoming. These in-between spaces precede the bifurcations and distinctions that separate one multiplicity from another. The self is portrayed as existing on such thresholds, prior to the formation of distinct identities or functions.

 

One significant threshold is the cyborg, which blurs the boundaries between human and machine, organic and inorganic, real and artificial. The cyborg represents a hybridized state where past hopes and future possibilities converge, embodying both molar struggles over identity and radical imaginings of alternative ways of living.

 

The immanence of becoming is its most critical aspect, emphasizing the potentialities of life and bodies when viewed through the lens of multiplicities, lines, and intensities. This philosophy rejects predetermined forms or subjects in favor of relations of movement and rest, speed and slowness, molecules and particles.

 

Deleuze and Guattari describe this plane of immanence as a Body without Organs (BwO), a deconstruction of conventional structures and arrangements. A BwO disrupts established hierarchies and deterritorializes particles, intensities, and energies, allowing for new combinations and becomings to emerge.

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The movement of a plane of immanence involves thresholds, becomings, and blocs of becoming, marking continuums of intensity and fluxes. These multiplicities intersect and coexist, collapsing and expanding spatiotemporal dimensions into pure events and individuations, forming the "thisness" of our immanent existence.

Becoming, as understood by Deleuze and Guattari, defies representation and imitation. It is not about assuming or imitating fixed identities but involves a non-representational process of movement, proximity, and desire. When discussing becoming-woman, they emphasize the emission of particles that enter into the realm of micro femininity, creating molecular women rather than imitating or assuming female forms.

 

Becoming-woman disrupts binary hierarchies and rigid categorizations, particularly those centered around male dominance. It challenges the notion of fixed identities and urges individuals to deterritorialize binary organizations of sexuality, paving the way for the production of a multitude of sexes and uncontrollable becomings.

 

However, there are concerns among feminist scholars regarding the potential erasure of sexual specificities and the privileging of becoming-woman as a universal phase of becoming. Critics argue that this approach may diminish the political force of feminism and overlook the unique struggles faced by different genders.

 

Despite these concerns, becoming-woman has sparked new avenues of feminist thinking and activism. Scholars like Rosi Braidotti, Claire Colebrook, and Elizabeth Grosz view becoming-woman as a volatile body that resists traditional hierarchies and enters into micro-struggles and microparticularities.

 

In the context of women's small talk, gossip, and girl-talk, the concept of becoming-woman allows for a different understanding of these practices. Rather than representing innate femaleness or capitulating to gendered subordination, small talk can be seen as a threshold for radical alternatives. It articulates the immanence of everyday life and opens up possibilities for contagious microfeminism that challenges conventional gender politics.

 

Small talk operates as a threshold where mundane events intersect with affects, intensities, and vibrations. It defies easy categorization and recuperation, often moving through dense social networks and challenging traditional notions of secrecy and transparency.

 

In the context of adolescent girls' secret culture, small talk becomes a potent force that shapes popularity, friendship, and self-worth. Secrets and lies circulate through dense social networks, becoming transparent and molecular particles of betrayal, aggression, loyalty, and affection.

The figure of the girl holds a crucial place in Deleuze and Guattari's conceptualization of becoming-woman. According to them, the girl represents a becoming-molecular, a line of flight that transcends conventional age, sex, and societal orders. She exists in between categories, constantly traversing boundaries and challenging dualisms such as childhood versus adulthood, innocence versus disenchantment, and naivete versus wisdom. Unlike a woman who becomes, the girl is always in a state of becoming-woman.

 

However, feminist critiques rightly point out several concerns regarding this emphasis on the girl. Firstly, while Deleuze and Guattari critique the objectification of the girl's body by masculine desire and patriarchal economies, their conceptualization of the girl as a becoming also seems to strip her of agency over her own body. Secondly, by suggesting that both women and men must become-woman, the specificity of the girl's experiences and sexuality is overlooked, denying a feminist standpoint for critique and intervention. Thirdly, the idea that becoming-imperceptible is the ultimate goal of becoming-woman may inadvertently replicate the cultural and historical suppression of girls, echoing practices of discrimination and oppression.

 

Despite these concerns, the figure of the girl offers intriguing opportunities for feminist theory and politics. She represents a force of desire that disrupts fixed identities and creates lines of propagation and contagion. Rather than being a representation or precursor to becoming-woman, the girl embodies a dynamic affective composition that permeates everybody and everything. This conception of love, rooted in flows and conjugations, has the potential to transform the world.

 

While becoming-woman and the girl present creative and exciting concepts within Deleuzian thought, it's essential to address the serious concerns raised by feminists. Ignoring these concerns would risk diminishing the political force of feminism and perpetuating harmful dynamics. However, relinquishing the concept of becoming-woman entirely would also mean losing the transformative possibilities it offers. Thus, it's crucial to engage with these concerns while recognizing the animating potential of becoming-woman and the girl in reimagining feminist theory and practice.