FERENCZI AND GENDER TROUBLE

Am J Psychoanal. 2023 Mar;83(1):12-21. doi: 10.1057/s11231-023-09391-0.

Abstract

The paper analyzes Ferenczi's contributions to contemporary debates on gender. It does not strictly adhere to what he wrote about masculinity and femininity, where he reveals himself as a man of his time, with the some of the prejudices of his time. Instead, the paper highlights the utraquistic method and the pluralist monism of Ferenczi, whereby he appears as an analyst who remains in synch with current problems. Against the purity of dualisms, Ferenczi embraced multiplicity, mixtures, and the transit between different spaces, beyond divisive frontiers. In terms of method, it resonates with Judith Butler's proposals, with the ideas defended by Paul Preciado and by Queer theory.

Keywords: Sándor Ferenczi; gender studies; multiplicity; queer theory; utraquistic method.

Publication types

  • Historical Article

MeSH terms

  • Female
  • Femininity
  • History, 20th Century
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Masculinity
  • Psychoanalysis*
  • Psychoanalytic Theory