An Essay in Progress - Distinctions Between Marginality and Liminality

Distinctions Between Marginality and Liminality

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word spatial can be defined as “of, relating to, or involved in the perception of relationships (as of objects) in space.” Now, picture a spatial concept. A concept that bases itself in the idea of certain socially crystalized structures that are given a hegemonic status by the groups that participate in acting as a part of them. A concept that bases itself in the idea of there existing spaces of greater experimentation and fluidity on the outskirts of or between these crystalized structures. A concept in which these manifold contrasting spaces interact and overlap. Supposing you participated in Space and Power class at Reed College for the month of March, you might be filling in the blanks and picturing bell hooks’ concept of marginality, María Lugones’ concept of liminality, or even both. Examining bell hooks’ concept of marginality and María Lugones’ concept of liminality, we can establish that while the concepts appear similar in spatial structure, they differ along two lines of note. Those of relations being defined by the state versus relations as defined by society at large, and those of the margin having revolutionary possibility through discursive experimentation versus the limen where revolutionary possibility can only be reached through complex communication.

A first difference between the concept of the margin and the concept of the limen is along the lines of how relations are defined. For the former, these relations are defined by the institution, while for the latter these relations are defined by society at large.

In showing the way that marginality is formed, hooks focuses on to the role of speech and who dominates in their usage of it.

Often this speech about the ‘Other’ is also a mask, an oppressive talk hiding gaps, absences, that space where our words would be if we were speaking, if there were silence, if we were there… ‘Re-writing you, I write myself anew. I am still author, authority. I am still the colonizer, the speaking subject, and you are now at the center of my talk (hooks).

• The limen in relation to society at large

A second difference between the concept of the margin and the concept of the limen is along the lines of access to revolutionary possibility. For the former, revolutionary possibility is accessed through discursive experimentation, while for the latter revolutionary possibility can only be accessed through complex communication. 

• The margin having inherent revolutionary possibility through discursive experimentation

• The limen being more crystalized in certain places where revolutionary possibility can only be reached through complex communication

In the end, bell hooks’ concept of marginality and  María Lugones’ concept of liminality appear similar in spatial structure, yet they differ along two lines of note. Those of relations being defined by the state versus relations as defined by society at large, and those of the margin having revolutionary possibility through discursive experimentation versus the limen where revolutionary possibility can only be reached through complex communication. 

Bibliography

• hooks, bell. (1989). Choosing the Margin as a Space of Radical Openness. In Yearnings: Race, Gender and Cultural Politics. essay.

• Lugones, María. (2006). On Complex Communication. In Hypatia vol. 21, no. 3. essay.