Zstępowanie w płeć. O transpłciowości z perspektywy psychologii archetypowej
Descent into Gender. On Transgenderism from the Perspective of Archetypal Psychology

Summary/Abstract: A classic work, representing traditional Polish sexological discourse around transgender, Przekleństwo Androgyne [The Androgyne’s Curse] written by Kazimierz Imieliński, Stanisław Dulko, is characterized by a specific breakdown of the expert narrative at a point where psychological depth is considered the fundamental source of gendered identity. Taking this as a starting point, this essay attempts to present the mythopoetic foundations of experiences of gender non-normativity, particularly transfemininity, employing a method of reflection characteristic of James Hillman’s archetypal psychology. Referring to the elegiac poem written by one of Jacques Lacan’s transgender patients and cited in contemporary psychoanalytic literature, in which she conflates the concepts of fall and choice, a metaphor of descent into gender is proposed. In this context, the Mesopotamian myth of Inanna/Ishtar’s descent into the underworld and the connections between her cult and gender non-normativity are discussed. The text concludes with a reflection on the specificity of the relationship between transness and death, highlighted through the mythical context.

• Details
• Contents