En medrivende form for knibeøvelser: Når retoriske homologier driver en designproces

Abstract

Homological analysis has played a part in rhetorical criticism to uncover unexpected common forms that connect otherwise disparate groups and contexts. This article investigates how to use homologies as discursive prototypes when designing compelling forms and developing design solutions to complex problems in a rhetorical vein. Two different cases are presented for illustration that share a focus on Kegel exercises. One is an activist campaign, a fictitious party established during the Danish national election in 2019 to counter the far-right party Stram Kurs (Hard Line) by way of humor and coordinated Kegel exercises; the other a current co-creation process in which designers and groups of new mothers explore rhetorical homologies that might motivate Kegel exercises in relation to pregnancy. These two form-oriented design processes are analyzed to discover how rhetorical homological thinking might support the creative development as well as the critical evaluation of compelling forms before they are circulated to propose surprising solutions to large and small problems in society. Keywords populism, Ernesto Laclau, antagonism, empty signifier, chains of equivalence, affect, political rhetoric