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| | + | [[Lacan]] has often been accused of "[[phallocentrism]]." And it is true that he has asserted that "the phallus is the privileged signifier." |
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| − | The term '[[phallocentrism]]' refers to the tendency to focus all discussion of [[sexual difference]] on the primacy of the [[phallus]]. | + | The meaning of the term phallus, however, has often been misunderstood. The term phallus must be distinguished from the term penis. The penis is an organ of the body, but least of all an organ, a penis. The [[phallus]] symbolizes the penis and the clitoris. It is a [[signifier]]. In short, [[Lacan]]'s distinction between the penis and the [[phallus]] enables [[Freud]]'s [[biology|biologistic account]] of male superiority and [[women]]'s [[penis-envy]] to be explained in [[linguistics|linguistic]] and [[symbolic]], and thus historical terms. |
| − | The adjective 'phallo-centric' was coined by the British psychoanalyst [[Ernest Jones]] in a discussion of the early development of [[female sexuality]] that brought him into conflict with [[Freud]] over the question of the [[phallic phase]], in which children believe that the [[penis]] is the sole sexual organ and that [[femininity]] is the result of [[castration]].<ref>1927</ref> | |
| − | [[Jones]] argues that the girl does have an awareness of her own sexual organs, but alos that [[masculinity]] and [[femininity]] are innate and absolute polarities. | |
| − | He contends that discussions of the development of sexuality have been dominated by the 'unduly phallo-centric views' of male [[analyst]]s and that the importance of the female organs has been 'correspondingly underestimated.'
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| − | The possible protofeminist implications of his claims are immediately undermined when [[Jones]] goes on to add that women have compounded the problem by adopting what he calls 'a secretive attitude towards their own genitals' and by showing 'a hardly disguised preference for interest in the male organ.'
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| − | In contemporary usage, '[[phallocentrism]]' tends to refer to the Lacanian theory of the [[phallus]].
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| − | The accussation of [[phallocentrism]] is crucial to [[Irigaray]]'s critique of [[psychoanalysis]].
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| − | Phallocentric
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| − | “Phallus centered”
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| − | The term has gained currency among psychoanalytic thought. Phallus isn’t considered to be the same as the penis, but is the symbol of difference between the sexes and signifier of the status which has been socially conferred upon biological maleness.
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| − | Phallogocentric
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| − | “ Jacques Derrida suggests that the primacy of the word and phallocentrism are the same thing; language is the realm of the fathers and the phallus is the ‘privileged signifier’. (Encyclopedia of Feminism )
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| | ==See Also== | | ==See Also== |
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| | ==References== | | ==References== |
| − | <references/>
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| − | PAGES 98, 105, 116-118, 120 HOMER
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| − | PHALLOCENTIRISM (295-6) CD
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| | [[Category:Sexuality]] | | [[Category:Sexuality]] |
| | [[Category:Jacques Lacan]] | | [[Category:Jacques Lacan]] |
| | [[Category:Psychoanalysis]] | | [[Category:Psychoanalysis]] |
Lacan has often been accused of "phallocentrism." And it is true that he has asserted that "the phallus is the privileged signifier."
The meaning of the term phallus, however, has often been misunderstood. The term phallus must be distinguished from the term penis. The penis is an organ of the body, but least of all an organ, a penis. The phallus symbolizes the penis and the clitoris. It is a signifier. In short, Lacan's distinction between the penis and the phallus enables Freud's biologistic account of male superiority and women's penis-envy to be explained in linguistic and symbolic, and thus historical terms.
See Also
References
