Masculinity in crisis: Myth, fantasy and the promise of the raw

Neill, Calum

Abstract

In unravelling the question of sexual difference and the (non-)relation between the sexes, Jacques Lacan alludes to, draws on and restages Freud’s myth of the primal horde. Core to this myth is, of course, the figure of the father. The contemporary suspicion of a crisis in masculinity – variously linked to a toxic (sexual) aggression, de-masculation, perceived dislocation and failure of identity – would suggest that the myth has lost its relevance and its explanatory value. This paper revisits Lacan’s reading of the myth, linking it to his earlier discussion of Antigone from his The Ethics of Psychoanalysis seminar, to show how he not only succeeded in excavating the logical core of Freud’s myth, but also presented us with a radical new way of understanding the binary of sexual positions, an understanding which refigures the choice of sexual position as an ethical choice.

Citation

Neill, C. (2020). Masculinity in crisis: Myth, fantasy and the promise of the raw. Psychoanalysis, Culture and Society, 25, 4-17. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41282-019-00135-7

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 4, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Aug 29, 2019
• Publication Date: 2020-03
• Deposit Date: Sep 19, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 30, 2020
• Journal: Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society
• Print ISSN: 1088-0763
• Electronic ISSN: 1543-3390
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 25
• Pages: 4-17
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41282-019-00135-7
• Keywords: masculinity, gender, sexuation, ethics, Antigone
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2099452