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Sexual Difference in Debate

Bodies, Desires, and Fictions

Leticia Glocer Fiorini author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:14th Mar '17

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Sexual Difference in Debate cover

Now well into the twenty-first century, relevant changes in symbolic codes that organize social bonds are observed. Important modifications regarding the model of the nuclear family in Western society, the vicissitudes of desire and changing identities, as well as advances in biotechnology and informatics, are leading to a re-consideration of previously accepted concepts of the masculine-feminine polarity and the notion of sexual difference. In this context, new forms of subjectivity - including sexual and gender migrations - open an inquiry regarding the way these presentations challenge traditional psychoanalytic theories. Thus, an opportunity emerges to investigate the whole spectrum of subjectivities that have no place in orthodox masculine-feminine duality, and to think about these matters beyond reductionist moralities yet avoiding acritical positions. The greater part of this book focuses on a critical analysis of the logics and ways of thinking supporting both explicit and implicit theories of sexual difference and the masculine/feminine pair. These theories may be private or collective; conscious, preconscious, or unconscious. They impact heavily on interpretations and constructions made in analytic practice, while they also affect transference-countertransference patterns. This conceptual analysis reviews the Freudian oeuvre as well as the work of other significant authors, post-Freudian and contemporary, that have contributed specifically to this topic. The concept of sexual difference contains a persistent problem: binary, dichotomous thinking and its blind spots and aporias. For this reason, the author has turned to other epistemologies that offer novel forms to think about the same problems, such as the paradigm of hyper-complexity, as well as thinking at intersections and limits between different categories. The objective is to rethink the construction of sexed subjectivity and its conflict with consensual ideals and legalities, by means of focusing on problems triggered by the notion of sexual difference, but also considering alternative epistemological approaches to it.

'Sexual Difference in Debate is a remarkable book in which Leticia Glocer Fiorini shows the evolution of psychoanalytic thinking concerning sexuality, and describes her own original contributions for a better understanding of sexual difference. In this sense, her book is both rooted in classical psychoanalytic formulations and presents a contemporary and fresh look at this challenging field, which is at the core of psychoanalytic theory and practice. I strongly recommend it, both to seasoned analysts and to those who are beginners in our field. The elegant style and the convincing evidence displayed masterfully by Glocer Fiorini are a source of stimulation to improve our theoretical understanding and our clinical skills.'-- Claudio Laks Eizirik, past president of the International Psychoanalytical Association'In this book of crucial importance, Leticia Glocer Fiorini, anchored in a deep knowledgeof the Freudian corpus, tackles fundamental contemporary questions. Combining a rare transcultural erudition with a concise and clear style, the author revisits the question of the difference between the sexes. She thus links up developments of contemporary psychoanalysis with recent philosophical and anthropological contributions. These rigorous analyses enable her, among other things, to shift the "enigma of the feminine" on to the enigma of alterity and the question of the "father" on to that of a third function. With this book, Glocer Fiorini has opened up a genuine interdisciplinary debate.'-- Marilia Aisenstein, training analyst of the Hellenic Psychoanalytical Society and the Paris Psychoanalytical Society; former president of the Paris Society and of the Paris Psychosomatic Institute

ISBN: 9781782204220

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

224 pages