Difference between revisions of "Masculinity"
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| − | + | According to [[Jacques Lacan|Lacan]], the lesson of [[psychoanalysis]] is that the [[subject]] is inherently [[divided]] and can never be [[satisfaction|satisfied]]. We are plagued as [[subject]]s by the [[anxiety]] that our ''[[jouissance]]'' - our [[pleasure]] or [[enjoyment]] - is never enough. In other [[words]], we are driven by an inherent [[dissatisfaction]] and [[sense]] of insufficiency. | |
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| − | + | We constantly have the sense that there is something ''more''; we do not [[know]] what this is, but we have the sense that it is there, and we [[want]] it. This is the [[form]] of jouissance that Lacan [[identifies]] as [[phallus|phallic]] [[jouissance]]. | |
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| + | [[phallus|Phallic]] [[jouissance]] is that form of [[enjoyment]] that most of us [[experience]] most of the [[time]]; that is to say, just when we [[think]] we possess our [[object]] of [[desire]] - be that [[another]] person, a new possession or even a difficult [[idea]] we have been struggling to get hold of - we are still dissatisfied; we are disappointed and have a sense that our [[desire]] has not been fully [[satisfied]]. This sense of (dis)[[satisfaction]] that always leaves something wanting is precisely what [[Lacan]] calls [[phallus|phallic]] [[jouissance]] and defines the [[masculine]] [[structure]]. | ||
| − | + | A [[masculine]] [[structure]] is characterized by turning the [[Other]] into an [[objet a]], and mistakenly [[thinking]] that the [[object]] can fully [[satisfy]] our [[desire]]. It is essential to keep in [[mind]] here, though, that [[phallic]] [[jouissance]] is not [[male]] in the sense that only [[men]] can experience it; it is experienced by both [[men]] and [[women]] and is defined as [[phallus|phallic]] insofar as it is characterized by failure. | |
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| + | The [[Lacanian]] '[[formulae]] of [[sexuation]]" make up a crucial part of Žižek's thinking: one way of characterizing the overall trajectory of his [[work]] is as a movement from a masculine [[logic]] of the [[universal]] and its exception towards a [[feminine]] logic of a [[not-all]]' without exception. | ||
| + | Everything in Žižek can ultimately be [[understood]] in [[terms]] of these two formulae. | ||
| + | As Žižek asks: 'What if [[sexual]] [[difference]] is ultimately a kind of zero-institution of the [[social]] [[split]] of humankind, the naturalized, minimal zero-difference, a split that. prior to signalling any determinate social difference, signals this difference as such? The [[struggle]] for [[hegemony]] would then, once | ||
| + | again, be the struggle for how this zero-difference is overdetermined by other [[particular]] social differences." (p. 338) | ||
| + | --> | ||
| + | ==See Also== | ||
| + | * Feminine | ||
| + | * [[Non-all]] | ||
[[Category:Sexuality]] | [[Category:Sexuality]] | ||
Latest revision as of 19:11, 20 May 2019
According to Lacan, the lesson of psychoanalysis is that the subject is inherently divided and can never be satisfied. We are plagued as subjects by the anxiety that our jouissance - our pleasure or enjoyment - is never enough. In other words, we are driven by an inherent dissatisfaction and sense of insufficiency.
We constantly have the sense that there is something more; we do not know what this is, but we have the sense that it is there, and we want it. This is the form of jouissance that Lacan identifies as phallic jouissance.
Phallic jouissance is that form of enjoyment that most of us experience most of the time; that is to say, just when we think we possess our object of desire - be that another person, a new possession or even a difficult idea we have been struggling to get hold of - we are still dissatisfied; we are disappointed and have a sense that our desire has not been fully satisfied. This sense of (dis)satisfaction that always leaves something wanting is precisely what Lacan calls phallic jouissance and defines the masculine structure.
A masculine structure is characterized by turning the Other into an objet a, and mistakenly thinking that the object can fully satisfy our desire. It is essential to keep in mind here, though, that phallic jouissance is not male in the sense that only men can experience it; it is experienced by both men and women and is defined as phallic insofar as it is characterized by failure.
See Also
- Feminine
- Non-all
