Cógito
Print version ISSN 1519-9479
Abstract
The male domination: the power of the desire of the Other. Cogito [online]. 2010, vol.11, pp.36-40. ISSN 1519-9479.
This paper discusses the effects of male dominance and power of the Other's desire, from the testimonies of a Franco-American sculptor called Louise Bourgeois. We also use the psychoanalytical theory, the thinking of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu and a book of testimonies of the artist, which brings together a series of interviews, drawings and writings produced throughout her life. Initially, this paper makes a brief presentation of her biography, showing how the disappointment of her father with her birth as a woman produced a sense of risk of death and the search for survival through art. Subsequently, it discusses one of her works entitled 'The Destruction of the Father, and its effects, considered by her as therapeutic. Finally, it concludes that the trajectory of the artist and the artwork worked here can express a reaction against the symbolic violence that the representation of the Other's desire can bring.
Keywords : male dominance; power; Other's desire; Louise Bourgeois.