Abstract
Dr Knafo will review Freud’s theory of castration, as well as critiques of the
theory. She will then offer her own elaboration of castration theory, proposing
that castration fantasies are universal and refer to a sense of incompleteness
about the body as well as psychic attributes—in both males and females.
Such fantasies, she will argue, deal with the gap between what one is and
what one would like to be and are frequently expressed in envy toward
perceived privileges belonging to persons of the opposite sex, same sex, and
different generation. Furthermore, these fantasies are intimately tied to
object relations. A case of a transgender male who desired literal castration is
presented to illustrate this expanded theory and its usefulness.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Discuss variations in psychoanalytic castration theory.
2. Recognize and address castration themes when they arise in treatment.
Biography
Danielle Knafo, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst, professor
and author. She is currently faculty and supervisor at the NYU Postdoctoral
Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis and Adelphi’s Postgraduate
Program. Danielle is a popular lecturer and a prolific writer. She has written ten books and dozens of articles in addition to art catalogue essays and art criticism. Her areas of expertise are: art and creativity; trauma and psychosis; sex, gender and perversion; and technology and A.I. Just a few titles demonstrate the range of her scholarship: Egon Schiele: The Creation of a Self; In Her own Image: Women’s Self-Representation in Twentieth-Century Art; Living with Terror: Working with Trauma; Dancing with the Unconscious: The Art of Psychoanalysis and the Psychoanalysis of Art; The Age of Perversion: Desire and Technology in Art and Psychoanalysis; The New Sexual Landscape and
Contemporary Psychoanalysis; and From Breakdown to Breakthrough:
Psychoanalytic Treatment of Psychosis. Dr. Knafo maintains a private practice
in Manhattan and Great Neck, NY.
References
Knafo, D., & Bosco, R.L. (2023). Natural-born deviants: The existential
escapades of sex tech. American Imago, 80(4), 663-692.
Knafo, D., & Bosco, R.L. (In press). Breaking limits: A psychoanalytic
exploration of the intersection of sex, gender, and technology. In P. Gherovici & M. Steinkoler (Eds.), International Handbook of Psychoanalysis and Gender. Routledge.
Leeb, C. (2021). Castration anxiety, COVID-19 and the extremist right. Global
Discourse, 11(3), 387-404.
