Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of Sex

Luce Irigaray (1930-) is an influential French feminist philosopher and psychoanalyst whose work has significantly contributed to feminist theory, psychoanalysis, and continental philosophy. Irigaray’s education in philosophy, linguistics, and psychopathology laid the foundation for her interdisciplinary approach to feminist thought. She gained prominence in the 1970s as part of the second-wave feminist movement, a period marked by a focus on issues such as reproductive rights, workplace discrimination, and the broader struggle for gender equality. Irigaray’s work is deeply rooted in psychoanalytic theory and engages with the writings of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan. In 1974, Irigaray published Speculum of the Other Woman, in which she challenges the phallogocentric bias inherent in psychoanalytic theories, arguing that they perpetuate a male-centered understanding of sexuality and subjectivity. Irigaray contends that the female experience, including the exploration of female desire, has been neglected and marginalized within traditional psychoanalytic frameworks. After the publication of this book, she was banished from Lacanian and Freudian psychoanalysis groups and lost her job at the University of Vincennes.

The notion of sexual difference is central to Irigaray’s work, and she posits that the difference is established through a male perspective, which casts the feminine as different but also vulnerable and excluded. Whereas Irigaray’s work is associated with second-wave feminism, Judith Butler engages with and critiques Irigaray’s ideas from the position of third-wave feminism. Unlike Irigaray’s emphasis on sexual difference, Butler argues that gender is performative, enacted through repeated acts of iteration that produce the illusion of a stable gender identity. In Bodies That Matter, Butler engages with Irigaray’s work on Plato’s dialogue, Timaeus. Butler challenges Irigaray’s articulation of the feminine as the site of abjection, arguing that there are other categories that the feminine excludes. However, Butler further develops one of Irigaray’s central concepts, that of mimesis as an act of subversion, incorporating it into their theory of disruptive performativity.

Jacques Lacan was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who lived from 1901 until 1981. Lacan influenced psychoanalysis and the work of Judith Butler in her articulation of language, desire, and subjectivity.

Lacan’s early education included studies in medicine, psychiatry, and literature. He was introduced to psychoanalysis through his encounters with the works of Sigmund Freud, and he later engaged in psychoanalytic training, becoming a prominent member of the psychoanalytic community in Paris. Lacan’s immersion in Freudian theory laid the foundation for his own innovative and sometimes controversial contributions. Lacan focused on certain aspects of Freud’s work, such as the death drive, the ego and the superego, as well as desire and sexuality.

In the 1930s, Lacan began developing his distinctive psychoanalytic approach, challenging various orthodoxies within the field. He was constantly criticized by his peers for what was seen as an anti-scientific perspective. Lacan’s seminars, conducted over several decades, became legendary for their intellectual debates and theoretical depth. Lacan’s reevaluation of Freudian concepts, coupled with his incorporation of linguistics, philosophy, and structuralism, gave rise to what is now known as “Lacanian psychoanalysis.”

One of Lacan’s central contributions, which resonates strongly with Butler, is his theory of the symbolic order and the role of language in shaping subjectivity. Lacan posits that entry into language is a fundamental moment in the development of the human subject. The symbolic order, represented by language, introduces individuals to a structured system of meaning that mediates their understanding of themselves and the world. Language, for Lacan, is not just a neutral tool for communication but a powerful force that influences the formation of subjectivity.

In Bodies That Matter, Butler extends Lacan’s insights to develop her concept of performativity. She contends that gender is not an inherent or stable identity but a repeated set of acts, behaviors, and gestures that produce the illusion of cohesion. Building on Lacan’s emphasis on the symbolic, Butler argues that the performance of gender is a linguistic and cultural process, in which individuals are compelled to conform to normative ideals encoded in language.

One of Lacan’s main ideas is the mirror stage, a concept he introduced in 1936. This psychological phase occurs during a child’s development when they first recognize themselves in a mirror, establishing a sense of bodily unity and identity. Lacan used the mirror stage to underscore the formative role of images and identifications in the construction of the ego. In Bodies That Matter, Butler draws on Lacan’s mirror stage to analyze the construction of gendered subjectivity. The mirror stage becomes a metaphor for the ways individuals identify with normative gender ideals, internalizing societal expectations and performing gender according to cultural norms.

Lacan’s conceptual system of the real, the imaginary, and the symbolic is also highly influential within psychoanalysis and critical theory. Butler draws extensively on these concepts in their analysis of gender performativity, exploring how language and societal norms regulate and produce performative acts.

Furthermore, Lacan’s conception of lack and desire are foundational elements in Butler’s examination of the performativity of gender. Lack, or the gap in signification, is what generates desire and drives individuals to continually perform gender in search of a stable identity. For Butler, the performative acts that constitute gender are not freely chosen expressions of an essential self but rather socially regulated behaviors that respond to cultural norms and expectations.