Accessing the multitude within
A psychoanalytic perspective on the transformation of masculinity at mid‐life
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8972186 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michael J Diamond (0000-0002-8827-1440, 615 Hanley Way, Los Angeles, CA 90049‐1931, USA ‐, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2004 |
| Volume | 85 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 45-64 |
| Publication date | 2004-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The International Journal of Psychoanalysis (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-7578 • E-ISSN: 1745-8315 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1516/3pfy-nqmu-c95f-hh0w |
| PMID | 15005893 |
| OpenAlex | W2049474918 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 13 |
| References cited | 30 |
This paper reflects upon the essential components of male identity that commonly are reworked in middle age. The author argues that healthy masculine gender identity involves an ongoing, plastic process of destabilization and reconstruction at various pivotal developmental stages, particularly during middle adulthood. In essence, a man's mature transformation of his sense of masculinity results when finite concepts of gender identity are superseded by an awareness of the complexity of one's multiple, early and diverse gender identifications. A clinical case provides insight into how psychoanalytic treatment can contribute to a new experience of masculinity. The case illustrates how a maturing man, meeting an altered sense of identity in mid-life, relies less on gender splitting and more on reuniting previously antithetical intrapsychic elements. Why this more pluralistic, polythreaded masculinity frequently must wait until mid-life is further clarified. Specific importance is attached to the early development of male gender identity as it is founded on the boy's unique struggles in separating from his mother. The foundation for male gender identity formation is reconsidered as the author questions the 'dis-identification' model while explicating how the boy's striving for narcissistic completion shapes the gendered masculine ego ideal. Classically termed 'phallicism' is understood both to facilitate and obstruct a man's adult development, while the concept of 'genitality' is augmented by the postclassical notion of 'interiority'. At mid-life, 'phallic' ego ideals (resting on omnipotence, desires for narcissistic completion and gender splitting) are transformed into more realistic, 'genital' ego ideals (synthesizing autonomy and connection). The achievement of a mature, less sharply gendered 'masculine' ego ideal (revitalizing the foreclosed dimensions of both the early maternal and paternal imagos) occurs as the balance of forces shifts in the direction of true genitality rather than defensive phallicism
Aesthetics · Autonomy · Epistemology · Id, ego and super-ego · Ideal (ethics · Identity (music · Individuation · Loevinger's stages of ego development · Masculinity · Multitude · Perspective (graphical · Phallic stage · Psychoanalysis · Psychoanalytic theory · Child Therapy and Development · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Philosophy · Psychology · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
The Father and the Paternal Function in the Psychoanalytical Process
An Exploratory Analysis of Critical Incidents of Closeness in the Mother/Son Relationship
Motivated to seek help
The shaping of masculinity
The Elusiveness of Masculinity
Narcissistic mortification of ageing men
Gender in Linear and Nonlinear History
On Men Crying
Masculinity in the Twenty-First Century
Clinical Implications of Contemporary Gender Theory
Masculinity Unraveled
Some reflections on the origin of hate between man and woman
From the Glory of Hera to the Wrath of Achilles
The Reproduction of Mothering
Psychoanalytic Theory and the Psychoanalytic Process
The Development of Personality
Melancholy gender—refused identification
Classical and relational psychoanalysis
Interiority and Inner Genital Space in Men
The Development of Time Sense in Middle Adulthood
The Sense of Maleness
The shaping of masculinity
The Role of the Testicles in Male Psychological Development
Outside and Inside, Male and Female
Separation-Individuation Phenomena in Adulthood
Standing in the Spaces
Creativity and Perversion
For the Sake of Eternity
The Ultimate Masculine Striving
| Unique citing works | 13 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,59 |
| Citation span | 2004 - 2020 (17) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 13 |