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Embodying the subject

Feminist theory and contemporary clinical psychoanalysis

Concordia University, Montreal, mlafrance{at}alcor.concordia.ca

This paper presents a three-part reflection on the status of the lived body in feminist theory. In the first part, I argue that many influential feminist arguments have neglected questions of embodied experience. In the second part, I introduce the work of five clinically grounded psychoanalysts — Esther Bick, Frances Tustin, Donald Meltzer, Thomas Ogden and Didier Anzieu — while showing that it has much to offer those interested in making a critical return to the concrete specificities of the body. In the third part, I explore the work of feminist psychoanalyst Sue Grand. In doing so, I argue that reading feminist texts alongside clinical texts is a useful approach for thinking the subjective experience of bodily life.

Key Words: embodiment • experience • feminism • psychoanalysis • subjectivity

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Feminist Theory, Vol. 8, No. 3, 263-278 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1464700107082365


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Lafrance, M. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?