He Phallocentrism Is a concept elaborated in the year 1965 by the French philosopher Jacques Derrida (1930-2004), who was recognized for his work on the thought of deconstruction, referring to the study of language and its structure.
The term phalocentrism is the result of the combination of the words phallogocentrism and logocentrism, used by this philosopher to criticize Psychoanalytic theory , Mainly the Lacanian.
Phallocentrism refers to the theory that Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), a psychoanalyst, developed about female sexuality, according to which the libido or sexual energy present in the unconscious is male.
In this theory, the phallus is the referent of sexuality, that is to say that it is oriented and revolves around him.
It is from the phallus that the differentiation of the sexes between men and women takes place and, by means of which an asymmetric relationship between them takes place.
Even the existence of the female sex is questioned. Since from the psychoanalytic theory it is concluded that there is only one sex, the masculine one. Being the woman defined as a male without sex, ie as castrated.
It is the man who owns the phallus (penis) and the woman who appears as castrated, as one who does not have it and envy it. From there arises the social thought, characterized by being the woman inferior to the man and, who must passively submit to his desire.
Falocentrismo: primacy of the masculine, non-existence of the feminine?
Jacques Derrida's criticism of Lacanian theory is that according to it, the child must enter the world of language to become a speaking subject.
What Derrida points out is that language and society are based on male or male ideals that humiliate and enslave femininity.
Phallocentrism refers to the existence of a privilege of the masculine over the feminine. These ideals were incorporated into the Collective unconscious Causing a generalization of the male gender.
This can be seen not only in the language used daily, but also in the gaze that society had many years ago, and to a lesser extent, it is currently with the woman.
Based on the inequality and domination of women by men, these thoughts have as their central idea the inferiority of the female sex over the male.
From the social view, women are viewed pejorative. According to this view, women are less able to perform the same activities that men can do.
From this perspective, women are also seen as objects. A sexual object for men, being their primary task, that of satisfying male desire.
In this way a society was created based on the subjection of the woman. Little by little, his desires were considered less and less until disappearing, ceasing to be relevant and limited to having to satisfy the desires of man.
The female desire was then annulled, the woman having to suppress her own desires. This caused a restriction in their sexual development, which to the present produces effects at the psychic and somatic level.
The Falocentrismo from the feminine look
Before a sociocultural look where the phallus appears as only valid reference culturally, the women began to reveal themselves.
In different parts of the world, in the face of a culture and a macho society, they developed feminist movements. From which, the concept of phallocentrism obtained a negative significance.
This concept referred to a form of power and domination based on inequality between men and women.
In a society where phallocentric thinking predominates, women are seen not as independent beings other than men, with their own gender, but are seen on the basis of their relationship with men, highlighting the inequality and difference between the two sexes .
In this way, the woman learns to feel, to know herself and to see herself through the eyes of man, devaluing and despising her own body.
Because from her birth, the woman appears as a castrated male, that is with something that lacks. And, it is in relation to this that the system of power is developed in relation to men and women. That is, to the extent that man is the one who has the phallus and as such who has the power.
In this way, the woman appears with a passive role and hence the man's dominion over her. Now there is a sexuality that is not phallocentric, but feminine. Premise that carries feminism as a banner.
This is understood as a cultural, political and social movement whose main objective is to free women from male subjugation. Ailment to which the own society has submitted.
This movement questions the violence perpetrated against women throughout history, the domination and violence of men over them, demanding equal rights.
From this perspective, phallocentrism has been denounced for affecting female sexuality and the psychological integrity of women.
It has been seen as one of the most cruel representations of the superiority of male power, which excludes women and denies everything that represents the feminine.
These feminist movements have achieved significant achievements. Among them, women appear with more liberties to choose their training, the lifestyle they want to live or explore and satisfy their own sexuality.
The woman has also managed to have voice and vote, the power to decide, which before was repressed by the power of man exercised over her. He has even succeeded in diminishing that of man as his power increases.
Feminism seeks, through its cultural practices, to have more representation and produce a change in society.
There is no doubt that the power conferred on women has been on a growing scale.
The change of place and function that he has achieved with regard to that phalocentric gaze is still far from equal, for in many parts of the world they still seem to have a more ingrained male gaze.
References
- Antigone: A Genealogy of the Critical Idea of Phallocentrism. (1994).
- Armor, E. T. (1999). Deconstruction, Feminist Theology and the Problem of Difference: Subverting the Race / Gender Divide. University of Chicago Press.
- Derlagen, B. (n.d.). Sexual Difference and Female Subjectivity. Retrieved from Academia
- Deutscher, P. (2002). Yielding Gender: Feminism, Deconstruction and the History of Philosophy.
- Holland, N. (2010). Feminist Interpretations of Jacques Derrida. Penn State Press.
- Koealeski-Wallace, E. (2009). Encyclopedia of Feminist Literary Theory.
- Louise Braddick, M.L. (2013). The Academic Face of Psychoanalysis: Papers in Philosophy, the Humanities, and the British Clinical Tradition.
- Nash, J. (n.d.). Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. Retrieved from psychoanalysis-and-therapy
- Oh, J. S. (n.d.). A Study of Kristeva and Irigaray's Critiques on Phallogocentrism:. Retrieved from Cerebration
- Rueda, A.C. (2016). Sex and Nothing: Bridges from Psychoanalysis to Philosophy. Karnac Books.