Erotic Intersubjectivity: Sex, Death, and Maternity in Bataille

In this paper I bring the experience of maternal embodiment into dialogue with Georges Bataille’s conception of the erotic. Maternal embodiment con-firms  some  aspects  of  Bataille’s  theory,  but  also  presses  on  it  in  some  important  ways.  I  want  to  suggest  that  women,  particularly  for  those  whose  sexual activity may lead to pregnancy, have an even more poignant experience  of  the  erotic  than  Bataille  anticipates.  There  is  truth  in  the  joke:  “What’s  the  only  way  to  avoid  getting  pregnant?”  “Be  a  man.”  It  points  to  the fact that the possibility of pregnancy makes women uniquely vulnerable. Certainly,  men  may  also  realize  their  vulnerability  via  sexual  encounters,  but  our  current  cultural  imaginary  surrounding  masculinity  discourages  this  insight.  The  possibility  of  becoming  pregnant  highlights  the  relation-ship  between  sexuality  and  death  which  is  at  the  core  of  Bataille’s  under-standing of the erotic. Given that this is an experience that only women may have,  I  argue  that  they  have  a  unique  perspective  that  can  add  to  our  understanding of the erotic.