This article models a critical method of engaging with not-knowing as it relates to discourses around sexual agency and sexual violation through an analysis of Carmen Maria Machado’s short story ‘The Husband Stitch’. I argue that sexual and gender-based violation not only enforces harmful forms of uncertainty among the women of the story. It also forecloses the potentially productive capacities of modes of not-knowing. In doing so, I respond to assertions from feminist scholars as varied Linda Martín Alcoff, Mary Gaitskill, Laura Kipnis and Joseph Fischel that we need to better account for the full ‘complexity’ of narratives of sexual encounter – including violent encounters. Broadly, in a #MeToo era in which stories of sexual and gender-based violence have received unprecedented mainstream public exposure, I contend that we can both treat the testimonies of survivors as credible and authoritative, and open up discursive space for the experience and expression of not-knowing.

本文通过分析卡门·玛丽亚·马查多（Carmen Maria Machado）的短篇小说《丈夫针》（The Husband Stitch），模拟了一种不知情的关键方法，因为它与围绕性代理和性侵犯的话题有关。我认为性侵犯和基于性别的侵犯不仅会增强故事中女性的有害不确定性。它还取消了潜在的生产力不知道模式的能力。在此过程中，我回应了琳达·马丁·阿尔科夫（LindaMartínAlcoff），玛丽·盖茨基尔（Mary Gaitskill），劳拉·基普尼斯（Laura Kipnis）和约瑟夫·费舍尔（Joseph Fischel）等女权主义者学者的断言，我们需要更好地说明性接触（包括暴力接触）叙事的全部“复杂性”。概括地说，在#MeToo时代，性暴力和基于性别的暴力故事已受到前所未有的主流公众曝光，我认为，我们都可以将幸存者的证词视为可信和权威，并为经验和表达开辟话语空间不知道的。