Jouissance

JOUISSANCE was born in the pages of the books we read beneath the sheets. Even today, stories such as Histoire d’O and the diaries of Anaïs Nin still manage to discompose and arouse readers thanks to their radical complexity. ‘Jouissance’ is a complex concept meaning to transgress the limits imposed on pleasure, and linked to femininity because of women’s capacity for experiencing surplus enjoyment. French feminist writer Hélène Cixous thinks of it as an erotic, mystical abundance – the source of female creative power.