The book is the outcome of research on the themes of sex, sexuality and performativity which started in summer 2019 and was concluded in autumn 2021. The investigation starts from a curatorial perspective, situated in the field of contemporary Italian visual and performing arts, and evolves by absorbing contents from a variety of disciplines (philosophy, literature, history and pornography). The research is based on the firm conviction – here turned into a method – that a critical theory able to go beyond the disciplinary compartments of knowledge is an important practical tool for facing the political challenges of our contemporary world.

Ernesto de Sousa (1921–1988) was a major and multifaceted figure from the Portuguese avant-garde—artist, poet, critic, essayist, curator, editor, filmmaker, and a promoter of experimental ideas and artistic expressions. Reflecting questions of hierarchy, authorship, and the complexity of framing or dividing within the multiple and complementary practices of