New Books in Psychoanalysis

Avgi Saketopoulou and Ann Pellegrini, "Gender Without Identity" (Unconscious in Translation, 2023)

Jun 27, 2023

"Gender Without Identity" featuring Avgi Saketopoulou and Ann Pellegrini challenges static notions of gender identity, advocating for a more nuanced and complex understanding of gender. The authors discuss the ethical importance of recognizing gender as emerging from processes of self-theorization, while also addressing the ongoing attacks faced by the LGBTQ+ community within psychoanalysis. They explore topics such as the impact of trauma on gender, the figure of the child in clinical work, and the need for creating a therapeutic space for patients to define their own identities. With a focus on gender improvisation and experimentation, this podcast delves into radical new ways of working with gender diversity psychoanalytically.

01:17:53

Episode guests

Avgi Saketopoulou

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Gender is a process of becoming influenced by mythosymbolic codes and individual agency, challenging fixed notions of authenticity and true gender.

Psychoanalysis can be revitalized by incorporating insights from disciplines like queer theory, trans of color critique, and black feminism.

Resistance against transphobic and racist attacks is essential, both internally and externally to psychoanalysis, through alliances and addressing material consequences.

Deep dives

Challenging Binary Developmentalism and Core Gender Identity

The podcast episode discusses the critique against binary developmentalism and the concept of core gender identity. The authors argue against the notion that everyone is born cis and straight, or that gender is predetermined and fixed. They advocate for a more complex understanding of gender as a process of becoming, influenced by external mythosymbolic codes and individual agency. The aim is to create a space for exploring and questioning how gender coagulates and evolves throughout a person's lifetime, without relying on fixed notions of authenticity or true gender.

Introduction

5min

Exploring the Ethical Stakes and Origins of the Book

4min

The Importance of Careful and Ethical Thinking

20min

Challenging Core Gender Identity and Embracing Gender Fluidity

2min

Gender as Trauma and the Evolving Concept of Cisgender

30min

Analyzing the Figure of the Child in Clinical Work and Its Historical Context

4min

Gender, Clinical Encounter, and Self-Theorization

9min

Gender as Improvisation and Experimentation in Psychoanalysis

3min

In this episode, JJ Mull discusses Gender Without Identity (Unconscious in Translation, 2023) with co-authors Avgi Saketopoulou and Ann Pellegrini. Weaving together a variety of influences -- ranging from the metapsychology of Jean Laplanche to trans of color critique and queer theory -- Gender Without Identity formulates a theory of gender formation adequate to the radical complexity of trans and queer subjects. Pushing up against static notions of “core gender identity,” Saketopoulou and Pellegrini argue for the ethical urgency of recognizing that gender emerges from complex processes of “self-theorization.” This brave new work invites radical new ways for working with gender diversity psychoanalytically.

J.J. Mull is a poet, training clinician, and fellow in the Program for Psychotherapy at Cambridge Health Alliance. Originally from the west coast, he currently lives and bikes in Somerville, MA. He can be reached at: jay.c.mull@gmail.com.

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New Books in Psychoanalysis

Avgi Saketopoulou and Ann Pellegrini, "Gender Without Identity" (Unconscious in Translation, 2023)

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Challenging Binary Developmentalism and Core Gender Identity

Mutating Psychoanalysis through External Discourses

Resistance Against Transphobic and Racist Attacks

Theories around gender becoming and response to trauma

Self-theorization and the clinical encounter

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts