The Erotics and Politics of Masochistic Self-Abjection in Jackass

Abstract

This paper examines the role of masochistic self-abjection in the construction and operation of heteronormative masculinity in Jackass: The Movie (2002) with reference to the Jackass series, offshoot series, and Jackass: Number Two (2006). The paper begins by analysing how masculinity in constructed through masochistic acts, presented as if rites of initiation that involve the abjection, figurative castration and penetration of the male body. It also considers how males performatively control their 'abject others' in the service of affirming a stable masculine core. The paper continues to assess the role played by comedy in the film, and questions whether Jackass, and its associated films/series, merely signifies the triumph of low culture or if it highlights a deeper problem with Western masculinity.