Metaphors and metapsychology: A discussion of Griffin Hansbury’s "The masculine Vaginal"

Journal title PSICOTERAPIA E SCIENZE UMANE
Author/s Jack Drescher
Publishing Year 2021 Issue 2021/1 Language Italian
Pages 4 P. 51-54 File size 232 KB
DOI 10.3280/PU2021-001005
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Griffin Hansbury’s (2017) treatment of his patient follows a theoretical framework which differs from that of the discussant. Despite Hansbury’s criticism of gender binaries, he expands Freud’s (1922) theory of a "body ego" by introducing a new binary concept, the «capital-V Vaginal» as a «symbolic counterpart to the [capital-P] Phallic» (Hansbury, 2017 p. 20, p. 1010 of the original edition). Hansbury tries to drag into the 21st century a 19th century theory with roots in antiquated assumptions about gender. Greenberg & Mitchell (1983) refer to this theoretical approach as "accommodation", when writers and theorists don’t challenge questionable assumptions of an original theory but add new concepts to expand upon it. An example of accommodationist approaches in rethinking homosexuality is discussed. Nevertheless, Hansbury’s receptivity to talking about his patients’ sexual body parts and functions creates a space to talk about other difficult subjects. In doing so, he demonstrates a mix of both conservative and radical trends in psychoanalytic theory and practice.

Keywords: Gender binary; Psychoanalysis; Body ego; Gender; Sexuality

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Jack Drescher, Metafore e metapsicologia in "PSICOTERAPIA E SCIENZE UMANE" 1/2021, pp 51-54, DOI: 10.3280/PU2021-001005