In "Undoing
Gender" Butler narrates a fact which is about a homosexual young
boy.
When i first read
and also heard the story it hit me very much. As a matter of fact we
are very familiar to these kind of stories, events and facts. I can
say that more or less this kind of things at some point seem to be
our daily routine. Long story short, i would like to briefly explain
what the story is. As i mentioned above it is about young homosexual
boywho lived one of those towns in the middle America. When seven
years old child behaves coquettishly, there is nothing wrong with the
attitude at these ages. Some mockeries, some verbal harresments these
are the things, perhaps more, which we can clasify as a sort of
comparatively softer attacks . But this ostensible kid become
seventeen, everything all those coquettishly attitudes and all those
feminine behaviours are considered much more annoying by the public
and especially by some teens as well. One day, while the young
feminine boy was strolling around , he was murdered by another young
boy on the bridge of the town. The young feminine boy was stabbed (
This part is not narrated in the story but as far as i understood,
it is quite clear that feminine young boy was stabbed)
The bridge
represents the border which is situated in between of the real and
the imaginary. These two subjects are on the borders. The
homosexual one here is placed in the border of the symbolic and the
imaginary. For him he is expilicitly in the symbolic world, however
the so-called hetero one could not place him in the symbolic order
accordingly one of them will be pass this border yet on the other
hand expilicitly one of them already fell down the other side of the
border i mean into Le Real. Now, i know these what i talked above
seem to be a little bit ambiguos and as well as abit unrelevant
connection between the story of the subject that i mentioned above
and the topic which i analysis in this paper however the subjects are
different yet the situation more or less the same. Then, why i
started with this ostensible fact because in this paper i shall try
to explain transsexualism, transvestism and relevantly hate crime
towards the members of this ostensible
community, in the
context of Lacan's, relatively one of the most important concept,
“Mirror Stage.”
I shall also refer
his noteworthy notions which are “The Real,” “The Imaginary”
and “The Symbolic.”
Besides, because of
the fact that I shall employ these aforesaid concepts and especially
in the frame of symbolic order, hence the fact which Butler narrates
, is suitable regarding of the issue which I shall analysis in the
following parts of this paper.
And also I shall
refer some narratives of transgender people. As we explicitly know
that autobiography is an important part of being transgender.
(transsexual, transvestism or intersex.) Narratives, for these
people, are very crucial part of their becoming and for constructing
their identity either.
For most people
transsexualism and transvestism are considered as a some kind of
illness or some kind of disorder situations. Especially in twentieth
century this identity were regarded as perversion and considered as a
some kind of ambiguous situation which has to be corrected by
legitimate institutions or sometimes even corrected both by public
an by some another subjectivities with not by any stretch of the
imagination way. Understandably, there are lots of ongoing
speculations about this issue which is needed very much attention on.
One should be always very careful when s/he studies on aforesaid
identities. Because of the fact it could be very easy to cross the
line. When it comes to such an ambiguous issue, it could be much
easier to make a mistake or, like I mentioned before, to cross the
line. Accordingly, one should always approach the issue at a certain
distance. To my mind, narratives of transgender people, their
autobiographies play an important role in this very moment if one is
willing to understand the very crucial process in its essence. I
shall also refer some of the narratives to understand some points in
the context of the psychoanalytic method which I try to highlight
some of the issues in this paper as well. On the other hand I shall
also analysis the agent of hate crimes . I mean the subjects who
commit homicide Comparatively I am willing to do my best for
avoiding the unwelcome results and as well as some
misunderstandings. Because, if one deals with such an ambiguous
issue, one should always be careful of categorizing the situations
and the process ,or else some unwelcome and unappropriated results
can be emerged which, to my mind, no one will be willing to put
his/her-self in such condition. As a result for either way, it is
really need to be careful yet there is no diagnosis in psychoanalytic
method and especially for such an important topic requires much more
attention on.
Because of the fact
there is no diagnosis in psychoanalysis, to get a diagnosis and label
the process as a sickness or some kind of mental disorder by using
certain data , is the latest thing to do by me and as well as most of
the people.
On the other hand
the same apprehensiveness should be thought for the agent of hate
crimes as well. Yet the aforementioned apprehensiveness should be
also differentiated by considering the situations and as well as
subjects. Labeling the murderer as a sick or mental illness or
classifying the situation which the murderer goes through as an
extraordinary circumstance may lead the agent of hate crime to be
justified his situation in its essence. And also by so doing he can
get away scot-free which we mostly witness the aforementioned
situation usually in our country.
First of all i
would like to begin with the ego construction of transgender people
and would like to point out comparatively certain important issues
(especially considering of the fact that the body is the surface of
our very ambious being) such as how they construct their ego with the
self or the skin which is not belong them. By so doing, I will refer
their narratives and autobiographies as a crucial data like I
mentioned above. After I highlight aforementioned issues, I shall
try to underscore agent of hate crimes. Briefly I shall try to
analysis the process, especially why the all transsexual people are
murdered by using knife and so.
My study will be
framed in the context of the very crucial notions of Lacan, namely;
“The Real”, “The Imaginary” , “The Symbolic” and as well
as the very important part of these ostensible concepts that is
“Mirror Stage.” I will use these terms to highlight the
aforementioned situations and also to underscore flamboyant subject's
process as well.
As we all clearly
know from Lacan's mirror stage the self is constructed by his or her
image which is reflected through the mirror. Mirror stage is one of
the most crucial part of constructing the ego. Before this stage, the
self as Lacan suggests; looks like a fragmented egg. Lacan also names
this situation as a “Hommelette.” The fragmented egg which is
scattered out everywhere and the self can not know his borders and
limits at all. Lacan also consubstantiates this circumstance with
"The Real" where the infant feels him or her-self the
whole with everything and especially with the mother. We can also
name this ostensible fact where the everything and as well as nothing
are found altogether. Lacan also names this fact as "no-thing-ness."
The infant cannot differentiate him or her-self from environments.
She or he thinks that s/he is a part of the rest, especially like i
mentioned before, it thinks still mostly part of his or her mother
ego. The infant does not know his bodily borders or to put in a
another way, the infant does not know his or her ego. Lacan calls
this stage a "Hommelette." The infant doesnot control him
or her-self . Infant's motor activities has not developed yet because
of the fact that the creature called human is a premature alive.
Accordingly, at some point, that is why our ego, motor activities and
relatively our bodily control is not developped yet when we come into
the world. This is one of the most noteworthy thing to state out and
explicitly the most crucial reason why we are in need of
someone-else. Especially but unfortunately the mother. Hence , the
infant doesnot know in this stage him or her self-being. He or she is
a fragmented egg which is scattered out. In this stage, for the
infant the world is coposed of everything and as well as nothing. For
the infant the circumstance which s/he is through, namely the whole
situation is non-differential moments. Because of the fact that s/he
doesnot know ego limits. There is no ego yet. s/he cannot
differentiate him or her-self from the environment. In this stage the
infant still is experiencing the wholeness. Because this stage is
both nothing and at the same time everything.
As we know again
from Lacan's Mirror stage, the infant meets him or her image at first
mirror scene. First of all the infant sees the image of the self
through the reflected mirror vision scene. According to Lacan, at
this first seen , the infant's strange reaction and behavior is
jubilant. The first mirror scene approximately corresponds the
infant's one and a half years old.
In this stage the
infant firstly sees him or her self. Lacan names this experience as
if the fragmented egg was coming together. Lacan also draws a
parallel this situation with backwards slow motion screening, or to
put another word as Lacan suggest; "as the reverse motion shot
of the breaking of an egg” The all fragmented self comes together.
The infant sees the whole, a complete of him or her self-being. Inner
and outer part of the body now is seen as a whole. However the
infant's motor activities still are not developed yet. The infant
know his or her image which is reflected through the mirror, however
s/he does not feel completely controlled alive. The infant does not
still have a certain coordination. This recognition causes great
confusion and ‘libidinal dynamism’ as the pre-linguistic infant
struggles with its first identity conflict.(Lacan, 1977) The image
which infant sees has limits, the others tell him or her that the
image which s/he sees that is you however the infant does not feel
like at all. With this image comes separation and the infant
perceives his or her image as other. There is a image before me and
everybody tells me that is your image but I do not know this image,
as we narrate on behalf of the aforementioned infant, he or she would
narrate it so.
Hence it means
that the infant assumes that one day I shall be it. The image which
is reflected through the mirror. The image is seen perfect, whole
and it seems to have all the control. Accordingly this image shall be
ideal-ego, from now on the infant starts to achieve his or her
ideal-ego, to put in a other word the perfect other. Hence from now
on the infant starts to differentiate the things from the
environment.
So, let's just try
to understand the subject who has transgender idendity. How these
people, then, construct their bodily ego considering the miror stage.
If the miror stage is relevant with construction the inner an outer
part of the body. In this essence how these two different, litteraly
different , parts of the body enters into construction the self and
the ego. To my mind, one should very neatly look at the
aforementioned issue try to figure out the this stage and therefore
the process as well. if we learn to be or how to be self through the
other's gaze, then, in this situation which the subject cannot be
mirrored and reflected, how is the ego be constructed. I mean for the
tarnsgender person , the body is reflected, the body is appealed if
these aforesaid image does not belong the subject, how s/he construct
his or her ego ? Beacuse of the fact that transgender peole usually
tell that the body is reflected or the seen body does not belong them
. One of the transsexual person narrates her autobiography that "i
felt always trabbed in this body. Sometimes i wanted cut my body and
i wanted to escape out through wound." what do they see when
they look to the mirror? And beisdes where is lieing the difference
sex and the gender in this issue so that according to Lacan Mirror
Stage, when infant first see her self or his self, the infant feels
jubilant. But in this issue what a transexual person feels. Can we
also have word of this situation with jubilant or else this one is
something else that is most likely feels anguish or so.
Yet , according to
Lacan, we do not know the sexual distinction at the mirror stage.
Accordingly how does the transgender subject construct his or her
bodily-ego. As we know when the infant first sees his or her image,
s/he does not yet awareness of the sex distinction. Beacuse of the
fact that we know the sex difference occurs at the stage of oedipus
complex . And also as Lacan suggest; "the consequences of the
miror stage are not worked out until the entry in to the
symbolic."(Lacan, 1954) Accordingly the consfusion for the
transgender person starts with entry into the symbolic world. Hence,
symbolic world shall modify the body lateron. After sex distinction
and entry into the symbolic worl transsexual subject's process is
composed of many mirror stages.
On the other hand,
as we know the image whic is appealed on the mirror is not perceived
the self. At some point it is perceived as other. Hence this could be
the positif side of transgender person. Since it is already seen
another self, on one level it can be much easier to accept the self /
ego or bodily ego (skin ego) as not the one of which she or he does
not feel having the right body or self. The transgender person shall
go back to imaginary to create a new body and shall crorrect the body
or self in his or her imaginary world and then , afterwards, in the
following mirror stages he or she shall fullfill the completeness of
the inner and the outer part of the self.
As I mentioned
above, after sex distinction and entry into the symbolic world
transsexual subject's process is composed of many mirror stages.
Thus different but relatively various mirror stages play an important
role of constructing the subject's ego in its essence until sex
change operation. And every operation shall enable to unifying the
split between the subject's imaginary body and the symbolic body. But
the most important part of being the whole in the context of
aforementioned issues , also as Jay poser suggest; their
autobiographies.
According to Jay
Poser;
"autobiography
brings into relief the split of the transsexual life; transsexual
history brings into gendered relief the difference present in all
autobiography between the subject of the enunciation and the subject
enunciating. I was a woman, i write as a man. How to join this split?
How to create a coherent subject? Precisely through narrative. Over
the couser of the recountin, the narrative continuity, the trajectory
of autobiography, promises, like transexual transition itself, rejoin
this split into a single, connected "life."
As
we can clearly see also from this passage, what joins the split in
the symbolic life is language. Hence the form in the imaginary thus
can be originated in the symbolic or to put in another word the total
transition is provided with the util of symbolic system that is
language. Obviously the author is having word this situation as a
narrative process. After transgender one been through the sex change
operation the completion period ends up with narrating. The shattered
mirror stages are united with narrating the progresss. Accordingly
the person completes his or her process with using the language.
Hitherto,
i tried to more or less explain transsexual ego construction in the
frame of mirror stage. This topic is such an issue that if one was
willing to properly explain the whole process , it would be written
pages. Hence i chose to explain briefly.
Now
i would like to go through my second important issue which i
mentioned at the beggining of this paper, that is , why most of
transgender peope are murdered by stabbing.
I shall also touch briefly on this issue either. Why all
transsexual people especially prostitute ones have to be murdered by
their clients. To my mind, the person who commit murder does not see
these people as a substitution. They see the mother in the imaginary.
It means that this is like a phallic mother. She has a omni power.
She is really powerful. She gave you a birth and life and she can
take your life as well. This can be considered some like
self-defence. The unconscious' self defence. However this does not
mean that I try to justify the murder. I just want to state out that
we can relate this ostensible action with the unconscious'
self-defence or to put in another word we can illustrate the process
as a self-defence of the unconscious. For them these people cannot
be real, they cannot place transgender people in the symbolic world.
Because he already give up the best image with castration.
At some point these people attack their mirror images.
They rehearse the process which they went through by castration.
Because they already accepted that there is no perfect body, there
cannot be a such. Accordingly they attack their mirror images.
Symbolic order cannot enable them to perceive the aforesaid people as
a real or acceptable. Hence symbolic order is the responsible these
attacks. If symbolic order forbids merely incest and permit the rest,
probably we would not encounter such an unwelcome situations at all.
Accordingly when these people encounter or have an affair with
transgender people, they relived the castration anxiety. They feel
lack because the person before them she has everything. They go
through a trauma. Because of the fact that they see the person whom
cannot be placed in the symbolic world. They have been told for years
that there cannot be such kind of bodies or people. Once , they had
been told that they had to give up their ideal-ego. Here goes the
castration anxiety again. Transsexual transgresses the everything
which have been told to them for years.
And we know that there must be some narcissistic
problem, they cannot substitute the person whom he commits murder.
Therefore they regress to the mirror stage again. Accordingly they
encounter the perfect image and then they take this perfect image to
“The Imaginary”. Then, “The Real” opens there and they feel
themselves dropped in a well. Then, as we all know what happens when
the person regresses to real, that is, he goes through a psychotic
break.
Afterward, this person attacks she-male one, because he
thinks that he looses his ego. He has to go back to the symbolic
world and that's why he stabbed the transsexual one. He cuts into
pieces the body. Because this body has no place in the symbolic
order. He cannot configure the body image in the imaginary. He has to
kill the transsexual one to go back the real world. (The Symbolic)
As a result, in this paper , as far as in me lain, i
briefly explained the important issues by using Lacan's significant
notions(“The Real”, “The Imaginary”, and “The Symbolic”)
I used the concept of mirror stage to frame the ego
construction of transgender people and i refer the aforementioned
notions which is stated above to discuss and to briefly answer the
important question which i pointed out at the beginning of this
paper.
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psycho-analysis,
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john froster. NewYork and London: W.W. Nortan and Company.
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Jaques (1978) The seminer of Jacques Lacan Book II: The Ego in
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Le Seminaire II, le mois danla theori de Freud et dans la technique
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