The presence of the rapist as a moralizing agent in the performance Un violador en tu camino by las tesis

Abstract

This study analyzes the theoretical framework developed by Rita Segato on gender-based violence in dialogue with the performance Un violador en tu camino by the feminist collective Las Tesis. It examines how Segato’s critique of patriarchal structures and violence as a mechanism of moral correction is expressed in the collective’s artistic and political intervention. The study argues that the performance not only exposes gender-based violence as a structural phenomenon but also constitutes a strategy of resistance and subversion of patriarchal order through the use of the body and collective voice. Through hermeneutic and critical discourse analysis, connections are identified between Segato’s theory and the performance, particularly in the embodiment of concepts such as the pedagogy of cruelty and structural domination. The performance thus operates as both public denunciation and political action, re-signifying public space and challenging hegemonic narratives on gender-based violence.