Hate Speech, Subject Agency and Performativity of Bodies

Abstract

Hate speech is any form of expression that vilifies and discriminates against individuals or groups based on their identity, including race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and more. However, hate speech is not merely an emotional expression; it can often be intertwined with fake news and logical reasoning that appears convincing. This article explores Judith Butler's theories on hate speech, how she resists it, and how to draw a good life out of a bad life. Firstly, it examines the limitations of the traditional dichotomy between reason and emotion and how it relates to issues such as hate speech, fake news, and post-truth. Secondly, it analyzes hate speech as either an illocutionary or perlocutionary speech act, and reviews legal cases related to hate speech in the USA through Judith Butler's Excitable Speech(1997). Thirdly, it explores Butler's analysis of Freud's work in The Force Of Nonviolence(2020), including his ideas about the importance of emotional ties and communities of feeling, and how he aimed to overcome blind fury in his later years. The article also discusses how Butler supplements Freud's unfinished research and extends his ideas beyond their original limits. Finally, the implications of these attempts for Korean society, which is currently grappling with the problem of hate speech, are examined in the last section.