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=====Sigmund Freud argues that children ==========Phallus and Penis===== [[Freud]]'s [[Works of both sexes set great value on Sigmund Freud|work]] abounds in references to the penis, and that their discovery that some human beings do not possess a penis leads to important psychical consequences (see [[Castration Complexphallus|penis]]).

However, [[Freud]] argues that children of both [[sexual difference|sexes]] set great value on the term '[[phallus' rarely appears in Freud's work|penis]], and when it does it is used as that their discovery that some [[human]] [[being]]s do not possess a synonym of '[[phallus|penis']] leads to important psychical consequences.

Freud does use However, the adjective 'phallic' more frequently, such as term "[[phallus]]" rarely appears in the expression 'the phallic phase[[Freud]]'s [[Works of Sigmund Freud|work]], but again this implies no rigorous distinction between the terms 'phallus' and 'penis', since the phallic phase denotes when it does it is used as a stage in development in which the child (boy or girl) knows only one genital organ - the synonym of "[[phallus|penis]]".

=====Sexual Difference===== [[Freud]] does use the adjective "[[phallic]]" more frequently, such as in the expression the "[[phallic phase]]", but again this implies no rigorous distinction between the terms "[[phallus]]" and "[[phallus|penis]]", since the [[phallic phase]] denotes a stage in [[development]] in which the [[child]] ([[boy]] or [[girl]]) knows only one [[[[biology|genital organ]] ------the [[phallus|penis]].

=====Jacques Lacan =====[[Lacan]] generally prefers to use the term '"[[phallus' ]]" rather than '"[[phallus|penis' ]]" in order to emphasise emphasize the fact that what concerns [[psychoanalytic theory ]] is not the [[[[biology|male genital organ ]] in its [[biology|biological ]] [[reality ]] but the role that this organ plays in [[fantasy]].

Hence [[Lacan ]] usually reserves the term '"[[phallus|penis' ]]" for the [[biology|biological organ]], and the term '"[[phallus' ]]" for the [[Imaginaryimaginary]] and [[Symbolicsymbolic]] functions of this [[biology|organ]].

---  While this terminological distinction is not found in For example, when [[Freud's work]] speaks of a [[symbolic]] equation between the [[phallus|penis]] and the [[baby]] which allows the [[girl]] to appease her [[penis envy]] by having a [[child]], it responds to the logic implicit in Freud's formulations on is clear that he is not talking about the penis[[biology|real organ]]. <ref>{{F}} 1917c</ref>

For exampleIt can be argued, when then, that [[Lacan]]'s terminological innovation simply clarifies certain distinctions that were already implicit in [[Freud speaks of a ]]'s [[symbolicWorks of Sigmund Freud|work]] equation between the penis and the baby which allows the girl to appease her penis envy by having a child, it is clear that he is not talking about the real organ.<ref>Freud, 1917c</ref>

It can be argued, then, that =====Lacan's terminological innovation simply clarifies certain distinctions that were already implicit Work=====Although not prominent in Freud[[Lacan]]'s [[Works of Jacques Lacan|work]] before the mid-1950s, the term "[[phallus]]" occupies an ever more important place in his [[discourse]] thereafter.

Although not prominent in Lacan's work before It is an [[imaginary]] [[object]] which circulates between the mid-1950sother two elements, the term 'phallus' occupies an ever more important place in his discourse thereafter[[mother]] and the [[child]].<ref>{{S3}} p.319</ref>

The phallus plays a central role in both [[mother]] [[desire]]]s this [[object]] and the [[child]] seeks to satisfy her [[desire]] by [[identifying]] with the [[Oedipus Complexphallus]] and in or with the theory of [[sexual differencephallus|phallic mother]].

==The phallus and In the [[Oedipus complex== The phallus is one of ]] the three elements [[father]] intervenes as a fourth term in this [[imaginary]] [[structure|triangle]] by [[castration|castrating]] the [[Imaginarychild]] triangle ; that constitutes is, he makes it impossible for the [[child]] to [[identify]] with the [[preoedipal phasephallus|imaginary phallus]].

It The [[child]] is an then faced with the choice of accepting his [[Imaginarycastration]] object which circulates between the other two elements, (accepting that he cannot be the [[mother and the child]]'s [[phallus]]) or rejecting it.<ref>S3, 319</ref>

The mother desires this object =====Sexual Difference===== [[Lacan]] argues that both [[boy]]s and [[girl]]s must assume their [[castration]], in the sense that every [[child seeks ]] must renounce the possibility of being the [[phallus]] for the [[mother]]; this "relationship to satisfy her desire by identifying with the phallus or with . . . is established without regard to the phallic motheranatomical difference of the sexes."<ref>{{E}} p. 282</ref>

In The renunciation by both [[sexual difference|sexes]] of [[identification]] with the Oedipus complex [[phallus|imaginary phallus]] paves the father intervenes as way for a fourth term in this relationship with the [[Imaginaryphallus|symbolic phallus]] triangle by castrating which is different for the child[[sexual difference|sexes]]; that isthe man has the [[phallus|symbolic phallus]] (or, more precisely, "he makes is not without having it impossible for the child to identify with " [''il n'est pas sans l'avoir'']), but the [[Imaginarywoman]] phallusdoes not.

The child This is then faced with complicated by the choice of accepting fact that the [[woman|man]] can only lay claim to the [[phallus|symbolic phallus]] on condition that he has assumed his own [[castration ]] (accepting has given up being the [[phallus|imaginary phallus]]), and by the fact that he cannot be the mother[[woman]]'s [[lack]] of the [[phallus|symbolic phallus) or rejecting it]] is also a kind of possession.<ref>{{S4}} p.153</ref>

==The phallus and sexual difference== Lacan argues that both boys and girls must assume their castration, in the sense that every child must renounce the possibility status of being the [[phallus for the mother; this 'relationship to the phallus . . . is established without regard to the anatomical difference of the sexes'.<ref>{{E}} 282</ref> ]]: [[real]], [[imaginary]] or [[symbolic]]?

The renunciation by both sexes of identification with the [[imaginaryLacan]] phallus paves the way for a relationship with speaks of the [[symbolicphallus|real phallus]] phallus which is different for the sexes; the man has , the [[symbolicphallus|imaginary phallus]] phallus (or, more precisely, 'he is not without having it' [''il n'est pas sans l'avoir'']), but and the [[Womanphallus|symbolic phallus]] does not. :

This is complicated by =====The Real Phallus===== As has already been observed, [[Lacan]] usually uses the fact that the man can only lay claim term "[[phallus|penis]]" to denote the [[symbolicreal]] [[biology|biological organ]] and reserves the term "[[phallus on condition that he has assumed his own castration (has given up being ]]" to denote the [[imaginary]] phallus), and by the fact that the [[womansymbolic]]'s lack functions of the this [[Symbolicbiology|organ]] phallus is also a kind of possession.<ref>{{S4}} 153</ref>

The status of the phallus: [[Real]], [[Imaginary]] or [[Symbolic]]?  Lacan speaks of the [[real]] phallus, the [[imaginary]] phallus This apparent confusion and the semantic [[symbolicslip]] phallus:   ==The real phallus== As has already been observed, Lacan usually uses the term 'penis' to denote the [[real]] biological organ and reserves the term 'phallus' to denote the [[imaginary]] and [[symbolic]] functions of this organ.  However, he does not always maintain this usage, occasionally using the term '[[real]] phallus' to denote the biological organ, or using the terms '[[symbolic]] phallus' and '[[symbolic]] penis' as if they were synonymous.<ref>{{S4}} p.153</ref>  This apparent confusion and semantic slippage page has led some commentators to argue that the supposed distinction between the [[phallus ]] and the [[phallus|penis ]] is in fact highly unstable and that '"the phallus concept is the site of a regression towards the biological organ'."<ref>Macey, 1988: p.191</ref>

While the [[phallus|imaginaryphallus]] phallus and the [[phallus|symbolicphallus]] phallus are discussed more extensively by [[Lacan ]] than the [[phallus|realphallus]] phallus, he does not entirely ignore the latter.

On the contrary, the [[phallus|realpenis]] penis has an important role to play in the [[Oedipus complex ]] of the little boy, for it is precisely via this [[biology|organ ]] that his [[sexuality ]] makes itself felt in infantile masturbation; this intrusion of the [[Realreal]] in the [[Imaginaryimaginary]] [[preoedipal ]] [[structure|triangle ]] is what transforms the [[structure|triangle ]] from something [[pleasure principle|pleasurable ]] to something which provokes [[anxiety]].<ref>{{S4, }} p. 225-6; {{S4, }} p. 341</ref>

The question posed in the [[Oedipus complex ]] is that of where the [[phallus|realphallus]] phallus is located; the answer required for the resolution of this [[complex ]] is that it is located in the [[real]] [[father]].<ref>{{S4, }} p. 281</ref>

The [[phallus|realphallus]] phallus is written H Π in Lacanian [[Lacan]]ian [[algebra]].

=====The [[Imaginary]] phallusPhallus=====When [[Lacan ]] first introduces the distinction between [[phallus|penis ]] and [[phallus]], the [[phallus ]] refers to an [[Imaginaryimaginary]] [[object]].<ref>{{S4, }} p. 31</ref>

This is the '"image of the penis'",<ref>{{E, }} p. 319</ref> the [[phalllus|penis ]] imagined as a [[part-object ]] which may be detached from the [[fragmented body|body ]] by [[castration]],<ref>{{E, }} p. 315</ref> the '"phallic image'".<ref>{{E, }} p. 320</ref>

The [[Imaginaryphallus|imaginary phallus]] phallus is perceived by the [[child ]] in the [[preoedipal phase ]] as the [[object ]] of the [[mother]]'s [[desire]], as that which she desires [[desire]]s beyond the [[child]]; the [[child ]] thus seeks to [[identify ]] with this [[object]].

The [[Oedipus complex ]] and the [[Castration Complexcomplex]] involve the renunciation of this attempt to be the [[Imaginaryphallus|imaginary phallus]] phallus.

The [[Imaginaryphallus|imaginary phallus]] phallus is written 9 φ (lower-case phi) in Lacanian [[Lacan]]ian [[algebra]], which also represents [[phallus|phallic signification]].

Castration =====The Symbolic Phallus=====The [[phallus|imaginary phallus] which circulates between [[mother]] and [[child]] serves to institute the first [[dialectic]] in the child's life, which, although it is written -e an [[imaginary]] [[dialectic]], already paves the way towards the [[symbolic]], since an [[imaginary]] element is circulated in much the same way a [[signifier]] (minus lower-case phithe [[phallus]] becomes an "[[imaginary]] [[signifier]]").

The These arguments are stated in their most definitive form in [[ImaginaryLacan]] phallus which circulates between mother and child serves to institute the first dialectic in the child's life, which, although it is an paper on "[[Imaginary]] dialectic, already paves the way towards the [[Symbolic]], since an [[Imaginary]] element is circulated in much the same way a signifier (The signification of the phallus becomes an '[[Imaginary]] signifier')". <ref>{{L}} 1958c</ref>

Thus Lacan's formulations on the [[Imaginary]] <blockquote>The phallus in the seminar of 1956-7 are accompanied is not a fantasy, if by statements that the phallus is also a we mean an [[SymbolicImaginary]] effect. Nor is it as such an object<ref>S4(part-, internal, good, bad, etc.). It is even less the organ, penis or clitoris, 152</ref> and that the it symbolises. . . . The phallus is a signifier. . . . It is the signifier intended to designate as a whole the effects of the signified.<ref>S4, 191{{E}} p. 285</ref></blockquote>

The idea that Whereas the phallus is a signifier is taken up again and further developed in the 1957-8 seminar [[Castration complex]] and becomes the principle element of Lacan's theory of [[Oedipus complex]] revolve around the [[phallus thereafter; the |imaginary phallus is described as 'the signifier of the desire of the Other',<ref>E]], 290</ref> and the signifier question of jouissance[[sexual difference]] revolves around [[phallus|symbolic phallus]].<ref>E, 320</ref>

--  These arguments are stated in their most definitive form in Lacan's paper on 'The signification of the phallus'.<ref>Lacan, 1958c</ref> The phallus is not a fantasy, if by that we mean an Both [[Imaginarysexual difference|male]] effect. Nor is it as such an object (part-, internal, good, bad, etc.). It is even less the organ, penis or clitoris, that it symbolises. . . . The phallus is a signifier. . . . It is the signifier intended to designate as a whole the effects of the signified.<ref>E, 285</ref> Whereas the and [[Castration Complexsexual difference|female]] and the Oedipus complex revolve around the [[Imaginarysubject]] phallus, the question of sexual difference revolves around s assume their [[symbolicsexual difference|sex]] phallus.  The phallus has no corresponding female signifier; 'the phallus is a symbol to which there is no correspondent, no equivalent. It's a matter of a dissymmetry in the signifier.'<ref>{{S3}} p.176</ref>  Both male and female subjects assume their sex via the [[Symbolicphallus|symbolic phallus]] phallus.

Unlike the [[Imaginaryphallus|imaginary phallus]] phallus, the [[Symbolicphallus|symbolic phallus]] phallus cannot be [[negation|negated]], for on the [[Symbolicsymbolic]] plane an [[absence ]] is just as much a positive entity as a [[presence]].<ref>see {{E, }} p. 320</ref>

Thus even the [[Womanwoman]], who lacks [[lack]]s the [[Symbolicphallus|symbolic phallus]] phallus in one way, can also be said to possess it, since not having it the [[Symbolicsymbolic]] is itself a form of having.<ref>{{S4, }} p. 153</ref>

Conversely, the assumption of the [[Symbolicphallus|symbolic phallus]] phallus by the man is only possible on the basis of the prior assumption of his own [[castration]].

Lacan goes on in 1961 to state that It is no ordinary [[signifier]] but the [[Symbolicreal]] [[presence]] phallus is that which appears in the place of the lack of the signifier in the Other[[desire]] itself.<ref>{{S8, 278-8 1}} p. 290</ref>

It is no ordinary signifier but the [[Real]] presence of desire itself.<ref>S8, 290</ref>  In 1973 he states that the [[Symbolicphallus|symbolic phallus]] phallus is '"the signifier which does not have a signified'".<ref>{{S20, }} p. 75</ref>

The [[Symbolic]] phallus is written <fi in Lacanian algebra.  However, Lacan warns his students that the complexity of this symbol might be missed if they simply identify it with the [[Symbolic]] phallus.<ref>S8, 296</ref>  The symbol is more correctly understood as designating 'the "[[phallus|phallic function']]."<ref>{{S8, }} p. 298</ref>  In the early 1970s Lacan incorporates this symbol of the phallic function in his formulae of sexuation.  Using predicate logic to articulate the problems of sexual difference, Lacan devises two formulae for the masculine position and two formulae for the feminine position.  All four formulae revolve around the phallic function, which is here equivalent with the function of castration.

==Criticisms of Lacan == Of all Lacan's ideas, his concept of the phallus is perhaps the one which has given rise to most controversy.  Objections to [[Lacan]]'s concept fall into two main groups.

Firstly, some feminist writers have argued that the privileged position [[Lacan ]] accords to the [[phallus ]] means that he merely repeats the patriarchal gestures of [[Freud ]] (e.g. Grosz, 1990).

Other feminists have defended [[Lacan]], arguing that his distinction between the [[phallus ]] and the [[phallus|penis ]] provides a way of accounting for [[sexual difference ]] which is irreducible to [[biology ]] (e.g. Mitchell and Rose, 1982).

The second main objection to Lacan's concept of the phallus is that put forward by Jacques Derrida (Derrida, 1975) and echoed by others.  [[Derrida ]] argues that, despite [[Lacan]]'s protestations of anti-transcendentalism, the [[phallus ]] operates as a transcendental element which acts as an ideal guarantee of [[meaning]].

How can there be such a thing as a '"privileged signifier'", asks [[Derrida]], given that every [[signifier ]] is defined only by its differences from other signifiers[[signifier]]s?

The [[phallus]], in other words, reintroduces the metaphysics of [[presence ]] which [[Derrida ]] denominates as logocentrism, and thus [[Derrida ]] concludes that, by articulating this with [[phallocentrism]], [[Lacan ]] has created a [[phallocentrism|phallogocentric system of thought]].