Here is appropriate place toquote a critiqueby Luce Irigaray, presented byJane Gallop,
deservedby most early psychoanalysts for assuming
what they discover asmental mechanisms to be 'natural':
Irigarayhas discovered that the phallic
sexual theory, male sexual science, is homosexual, a sexualityof sameness, ofidentities, excluding
otherness. Heterosexuality, once it is exposedas an exchange ofwomen between
men, reveals itself as a mediatedform ofhomosexuality.
All penetration, consideredto be
sadistic penetration ofthe body's defensive envelope, is thought accordingto the
model of anal penetration. The dry anus suffers pain, the penetrated is
a humiliated man. But the vagina (unknownin thephallic phase, says Freud) has a
juicy receptivitywhich makes penetrationnot painful, but a free
flowing exchange, leaving no solid borders tobe violated34'This world
of juicy receptivityand free flowing exchange can onlybe unearthed with a lot of effort.
BF Games
In a Patriarchal context in which permanent freezing of muscles and attitudes signifies
'stability' and 'selfcontrol', almost any sort of visible, let alone
involuntary emission of fluid from the bodyis seen as horrific sign of feminine
weakness. Not least the act of crying, especiallyif the
facial mask disintegrates in the process. Such loss of control, reminiscent of
Adam Jukes, "Why Menhate Women" p225, Free Association Books/London1994
Wilhelm Reich, 'EarlyWritings, volume one', Farrar Straus and Giroux, New York1975
'Feminism and psychoanalysis - the Daughter's Seduction', Jane Gallop, MACMILLAN 1990
earlychildhood produces both intense anxiety, and arousal in a witness, depending on the
context. For it is the infant human that first experiences the horrendous anxiety of
helplessness: "The situation which the infant appraises as 'danger', and against which it
desires reassurance, is therefore one ofnot being gratified, ofan increase
of tension arising fromnongratification of its needs - a situation against which it
is powerless.
...alike as an automatic phenomenonand as a safetysignal, anxiety proves to be a product of psychic
helplessness ofthe infant which is the obvious counterpart of its biological helplessness."
The outward signs of intense anxiety of helplessness coupled withdiscomfort can paralyze the
observer, make him/her want to vomit, or feel
incredible arousal. Intense sexual rituals of overpowering and surrender include
the disintegration of personality of the passive participant on manylevels:
physical form (face, breast, orifice) conscious bodyfunction control vegetative
body function control speech ego barriers (hierarchy, disgust, shame, pity36
etc.)
One important dimension of thisis the bringingabout in the sexual object the
loss of voluntarily control of the basic body functions:
control of oral muscles, anal muscles, facial
muscles, sounds madeby the bodyin general - in short, the disruption of the earliest selfcontrol
functions developed by the human in its earlychildhood. From the sadistic perspective
this wouldbe a 'power trip' - takingover the mostintimate control functions concerning the
sexual object, from the masochistic perspective - a 'freedom' from control, enforcedby an
outside player.
Both players are deep withina frenzy of hysterical excitement, which blocks
outperception of anxiety. But there is another perspective let's introduce the concept 'BF',
todescribe activity which concerns exercise of outside control and/or loss of personal control
over basic bodily functions - adimensionof analysis parallel to the domination/submission,
destruction/selfdestructionone.