At the crossroads: feminism, psychoanalysis, politics

Abstract

Feminism, psychoanalysis, and politics have evolved together. This paper situates their interimplicated evolution in the intellectual shift from dualism to multiplicity, from binary toward pluralism. The method used is to replace dualities with triads, to move from ‘either/or’ to ‘both/and’, to bring The Third into play. Accordingly, the tale is told at the conjunction of personal, political, and theoretical discourses. Three concepts – paradox, contingency, and dialectics – limn this triple crossroads: feminism as cultural, personal, and intellectual; psychoanalysis as a clinical, theoretical, and social practice; politics as subjective, historical, and contextual.