Patriarchy and Its Discontents

"Patriarchy and Its Discontents is a gripping and original compendium of powerful confrontations with an old problem that vexes our mental and cultural life. An impressive group of authors grapple in exciting and illuminating ways with the question of how to analyze and resist the ever-mutating forms of this most fundamental source of human subjugation."

Jessica Benjamin, author, Beyond Doer and Done To: Recognition Theory Intersubjectivity and the Third

"Patriarchy and its Discontents boldly occupies the fraught and creative space carved out by the explosive encounter between psychoanalysis and feminism that has been making news for over a century. 'Patriarchy', a formal term claimed by feminists, and 'Discontents', the ironic thesis deployed by analysts, are here unleashed in these pages, each acting on the other in the service of making the kind of 'good trouble' neither could make on its own. These chapters, no matter their explicit focus, all hold the tension between the theoretical and the clinical, the personal and the political – and in so doing they showcase their big ambitions. No one can write in this space without striving for moral and philosophical depth, and for emotionalized thinking that cannot be anything but bravely personal. There is no cool way to tell this story – it comes out to get you, author and reader alike. Kudos to everyone on this big, wide, soulful project!"

Virginia Goldner, faculty, NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy; founding editor, Studies in Gender and Sexuality; on-camera clinical advisor to Orna Guralnik, Showtime docuseries, Couples Therapy

"When I entered the psychoanalytic field in the early fifties, patriarchy was firmly in the driver’s seat; older, White, European (Teutonic) patriarchy at that. Over the past seven decades I have witnessed the most remarkable breakdown in that hegemony. We are now in the midst of radical revolutions in our tenets both in psychoanalysis and in the culture at large. Issues of race, gender, and genotype are all shifting rapidly, as are our presumptions about our own function as psychotherapists. We can no longer hide from the dynamics of power and its abuses. Petrucelli, Schoen, and Snider have organized a stellar collection of chapters and authors that heed this call. They show us where we’ve been, where we are, and one hopes offer glimpses into where we’re going. I wholeheartedly recommend this seminal book to readers in and out of our field who are interested in making sense of the chaotic sweep of change that is taking us into the future."

Edgar A. Levenson, fellow emeritus, training, supervisory analyst and faculty, William Alanson White Institute; adjunct clinical professor of psychology, NYU Postdoc