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The phrase "[[sexual differenceFreud]]", which has come into prominence in speaks only of the debate [[biology|anatomical ''distinction'']] between the [[psychoanalysissexes]] and its [[feminismpsychical]]consequences.<ref>[[Freud|Freud, is not part of Sigmund]]. "The [[FreudDissolution]]'s or of the Oedipus [[LacanComplex]]'s theoretical vocabulary." SE XIX, 183. 1925.</ref>

[[FreudLacan]] speaks only of [[sexual position|sexual ''position'']] and the anatomical [[sexual relationship|sexual ''distinctionrelationship'' between ]], and occasionally of the ''differentiation'' of the sexes and its psychical consequences.<ref>Freud. 1925d{{S4}} p.154</ref>

However, both [[Freud]] and [[Lacan]] speaks address the question of [[sexual ''position'' difference]], and the sexual ''relationship'an entry has been included for this term because it brings together an import set of related themes in [[Lacan]]'s [[work]], and occasionally of the because it constitutes an important focus for [[feminist]] approaches to [[Lacan]]''differentiation'' of the sexes.<ref>{{S4}} ps [[Lacan|work]].154</ref>

However, both ==Freud on Sexual Difference==One of the basic presuppositions underlying [[Freud]] and 's work is that just as there are certain [[Lacanphysical]] address the question of differences between [[sexual differencemen]], and an entry has been included for this temr because it brings together an import set of related themes in [[Lacanwomen]]'s work, and because it constitutes an important focus for feminist approaches to [[Lacan]]'s workso also there are psychical differences.

One Rather than trying to give any [[formal]] definition of the basic presuppositions underlying these [[terms]], [[Freud]]'s work is that just as there are certain physical differences between men and women, so also there are limits himself to describing how a [[human]] [[subject]] comes to acquire [[masculine]] or [[feminine]] psychical differencescharacteristics.

In other wordsThis is not an [[instinct]]ual or [[nature|natural]] [[process]], there are certain but a complex one in which [[anatomical]] differences interact with [[social]] and psychical characteristics that can be called 'masculine' and others that can be called 'femininefactors.'

Rather than trying to give any formal definition The [[whole]] process revolves around the [[castration complex]], in which the [[masculinity|boy]] fears [[being]] deprived of his [[penis]] and the [[femininity|girl]], assuming that she has already been deprived of these termshers, Freud limits himself to describing how a human subject comes to acquire masculine or feminine psychical characteristicsdevelops [[penis envy]].

This is not an instinctual or natural process==Lacan on Sexual Difference==Following [[Freud]], but [[Lacan]] also engages with the problem of how the human [[infant]] becomes a complex one in which anatomical differences interact with social and psychical factors[[sexed subject]].

The whole process revolves around the For [[Lacan]], [[masculinity]] and [[femininity]] are not [[biological]] essences but [[castration complexsymbolic position]]s, in which and the boy fears being deprived assumption of his penis and one of these two positions is fundamental to the girl, assumin that she has already been deprived [[construction]] of hers, develops [[penis envysubjectivity]]; the [[subject]] is essentially a [[sexed subject]].

Following ==Becoming a Sexed Subject==For both [[Freud]], and [[Lacan]] also engages with , the problem [[child]] is at first ignorant of how the human infant becomes [[sexual difference]] and so cannot take up a sexed subject[[sexual position]].

For It is only when the child discovers [[Lacansexual difference]], masculinity and [[feminity]] are not in the [[biologicalcastration complex]] essences but symbolic positions, and the assumption of one of these two positions is fundamental that he can begin to the construction of subjectivity; the take up a [[subjectsexual position]] is essentially a sexed subject.

"Man" Both [[Freud]] and "woman" are signifiers that stand for these two subjective positions[[Lacan]] see this process of taking up a [[sexual]] position as closely connected with the [[Oedipus complex]], but they differ on the precise [[nature]] of the connection.<ref>{{S20}} p.34</ref>

For both [[FreudLacan]], however, the [[Oedipus complex]] always involves a [[symbolic]] and [[Lacanidentification]], with the child is at first ignorant of [[sexual differenceFather]] , and so hence [[Oedipus]] [[identification]] cannot take up a determine [[sexual position]].

It According to [[Lacan]], then, it is only when not [[identification]] but the child discovers [[sexual differencesubject]]'s [[relationship]] in with the [[castration complexphallus]] that he can begin to take up a which determines [[sexual position]].

Both ==="Having" or "Not Having" the Phallus===This relationship can either be one of "having" or "not having"; [[Freudmen]] have the [[symbolic]] and [[Lacanphallus]] see this process of taking up a sexual position as closely connected with the , and [[Oedipus complexwomen]]don't (or, but they differ on the to be more precise nature of the connection, [[men]] are "not without having it" [''ils ne sont pas sans l'avoir'']).

For [[Freud]]The assumption of a sexual position is fundamental a symbolic act, and the [[subjectdifference]]'s sexual position is determined by between the sex sexes can only be conceived of the parent with whom the subject identifies in the on [[Oedipus complexthe symbolic]] (if the subject identifies with the father, he takes up a masculine position; identification with the mother entails the assumption of a feminine position)plane.<ref>{{S4}} p.153</ref>

For <blockquote>It is insofar as the function of man and woman is [[Lacansymbolized]], however, it is insofar as it's literally uprooted from the [[Oedipus complexdomain]] always involves a symbolic identification with of the [[Fatherimaginary]]and situated in the domain of the symbolic, and hence Oedipus identification cannot determine that any normal, completed sexual positionis realized.<ref>{{S3}} p.177</ref></blockquote>

According to ==="Am I a man or a woman?"===However, there is no [[signifier]] of [[Lacansexual difference]], then, it is not identification but as such which would permit the [[subject]]'s relationship with to fully [[symbolize]] the function of [[man]] and [[woman]], and hence it is [[phallusimpossible]] which determines to attain a fully "normal, finished sexual position."

-- This relationship can either be one of "having" or "not having"; men have the symbolic phallus, and women don't (or, to be more precise, men are "not without having it" [''ils ne sont pas sans l'avoir'']). The assumption of a sexual position is fundamentall a symbolic act, and the difference between the sexes can only be conceived of on the symbolic plane.<ref>{{S4}} p.153</ref> <blockquote>It is insofar as the function of man and woman is symbolized, it is insofar as it's literally uprooted from the domain of the imaginary and situated in the domain of the symbolic, that any normal, completed sexual position is realized.<ref>{{S3}} p.177</ref></blockquote> -- However, there is no [[signifier]] of [[sexual difference]] as such which would permit the [[subject]] to fully [[symbolize]] the function of [[man]] and [[woman]], and hence it is impossible to attain a fully "normal, finished 's sexual position."  The [[subjectidentity]]'s sexual identity is thus always a rather precarious matter, a source of perpetual [[self]]-questioning.

The mysterious "other sex" is always the [[woman]], for both men and women, and therefore the question of the [[hysteric]] ("What is a woman?") is the same for both male and female [[hysterics]].

Although There is a rupture between the anatomy/[[biologybiological]] aspect of the [[subjectsexual difference]] plays a part in (for example at the question level of the chromosomes) which sexual position is related to the [[reproductive]] function of sexuality, and the [[subjectunconscious]] will take up, it in which this reproductive function is a fundamental axiom in psychoanalytic theory that anatomy does not determine sexual positionrepresented.

There is a rupture between Given the biological aspect of non-[[sexual differencerepresentation]] (for example at the level of the chromosomes) which is related to the reproductive function of sexuality, and in the [[unconscious]], "in the pysche there is [[nothing]] by which this reproductive function is not representedthe subject may situate himself as a male or female being."<ref>{{S11}} p.204</ref>

Given the non-representation of the reproductive function of sexuality in the There is no [[unconscioussignifier]], "in the pysche there is nothing by which the subject may situate himself as a male or female being."<ref>{{S11}} p.204</ref> There is no signifier of [[sexual difference]] in the [[symbolic order]].

<blockquote>"Strictly [[speaking ]] there is no [[symbolization ]] of woman's sex as such... the phallus is a symbol to which there is no correspondent, no equivalent. It's a matter of a dissymetry in the signifier."<ref>{{S3}} p.176</ref> Hence the [[phallus]] is "the pivot which completes ''in both sexes'' the questioning of their sex by the castration complex."<ref>{{E}} p.198</ref> --  It is this fundamental dissymetry in the [[signifer]] which leads to the dissymmetry between the [[Oedipus complex]] in men and women. Whereas the male subject desires the parent of the other sex and identifies with the parent of the same sex, the female subject desires the parent of the same sex and "is required to take the image of the other sex as the basis of its identification."<ref>{{S3}} p.176</ref> <blockquote>"For a woman the realization of her sex is not accomplished in the Oedipus complex in a way symmetrical to that of the man's, not by identification with the mother, but on the contrary by identifcation with the paternal object, which assgns her an extra detour."<ref>{{S3}} p.172</ref></blockquote> <blockquote>"This signifying dissymmetry determines the paths down which the OEdipus complex will pass. The two paths make them both pass down the same trail - the trail of castration."<ref>{{S3}} p.176</ref></blockquote> -- If, then, there is no symbol for the opposition masculine-feminine as such, the only way to udnerstand [[sexual different]] is in terms of the opposition activity-passivity.<ref>{{S11}} p.192</ref>

This polarity Hence the [[phallus]] is "the only way in pivot which the opposition male-female is represented completes ''in both sexes'' the psyche, since questioning of their sex by the biological function of sexuality (reproduction) is not represented[[castration]] complex."<ref>{{S11E}} p.204198</ref>

This ===Dyammetry between Men and Woman===It is why the question of what one is to do as a man or a woman is a drama which is situated entirely this fundamental dissymmetry in the field of the Other,<ref>{{S11}} p.204</ref> [[signifier]] which is leads to say that the subject can only realize his sexuality on dissymmetry between the symbolic level.<ref>{{S3}} p[[Oedipus complex]] in men and women.170</ref>

<blockquote>"For a woman the realization of her sex is not accomplished in the Oedipus complex in a way symmetrical to that of the man's, not by identification with the mother, but on the contrary by identification with the paternal [[Image:DIAGRAM.jpg|right|[[Sexual Difference|The diagram of sexual difference]]object]], which assigns her an extra detour."<ref>{{S3}} p.172</ref></blockquote>

In <blockquote>"This signifying dissymmetry determines the paths down which the Oedipus complex will [[seminars|seminarpass]] of . The two paths make [[chronology|1970-1them]] [[Jacques Lacan]] tries to [[formalize]] his [[sexual difference|theory both pass down the same trail - the trail of sexual difference]] by means of [[mathemes|formulae]] derived from [[symbolic]] [[logic]]castration."<ref>{{S3}} p. 176</ref></blockquote>

The diagram ===Opposition Masculine-Feminine===If, then, there is divided into two sides: on the left, no [[formulae of sexuation|the male sidesymbol]], and on for the right, opposition [[formulae of sexuation|the female sidemasculine]].  The -[[formulae of sexuationfeminine]] appear at as such, the top of the diagram. Thus the formulae on the male side are only way to [[Image:form1.jpgunderstand]] (= there is at least one x which is not submitted to the phallic function) and [[Image:form3.jpgsexual difference]] (= for all x, the phallic funciton is valid). The last formula illustrates in terms of the relationship of opposition [[womanactivity]] to the logic of the not-all. What is most striking is that the two propositions on each side of the diagram seem to contradict each other: <blockquote>"Each side is defined by both an affirmation and a negation of the phallic funciton, an inclusion and exclusion of absolute (non-phallic) ''jouissance''."<ref>Copjec. 1994. p.24</ref></blockquote> However, there is no symmetry between the two sides (no sexual relationship); eahc side represents a radically different way in which the [[sexual relationshippassivity]] can misfire.<ref>{{S20S11}} p.53-4192</ref>

||* [[Sexuality]] * [[Sexual Relationship]]{{Also}}

</div># [[Freud|Freud, Sigmund]]. (1908c). On the sexual theories of [[children]]. SE, 9: 205-226.# ——. (1923e). The [[infantile ]] [[genital ]] organization (An interpolation into the theory of sexuality). SE, 19: 141-145.# [[Lacan, Jacques]]. (1966). "''La [[signification ]] du phallus (Die [[Bedeutung ]] des Phallus)''." [[Écrits, ]]. 685-695. [[Paris]]: Le Seuil. (Original work published 1958)