Pornoterrorism

Abstract:Pornoterrorism is a form of mixed-media performance art in the Americas that combines postpornographic and transfeminist practices with political commentary often directed at the intersection of sex and terror. Through interviews with artists in Mexico City and visual and performance analysis, this article explores the short but potent history of pornoterrorism in Mexico, unpacking the genre and specifically examining why underground artists, formerly known as pornoterrorists, decided to relinquish certain aesthetic choices when confronted with the increasing violence and precarity of visual culture and everyday life throughout Mexico. Thus, while focused on Mexico and more specifically Mexico City, this article poses and seeks to answer a larger question on queer and transfeminist aesthetics and world making, namely, whether dissident art forms can lose their ability to subvert in the contexts of their changing geopolitical milieus.