When Latin American Feminism Shapes Psychoanalysis: Acts, Defiance, and Appropriations

ABSTRACT

Research on psychoanalysis and politics has traditionally focused on the emancipatory potential of psychoanalysis. The relationship between activism and psychoanalysis has been less extensively studied. There is a gap in the literature regarding the impact of collective action on psychoanalysis, including its theories, institutional policies, and clinical practices. This article aims to address the gap by analyzing the impact of the recent wave of Latin American intersectional feminist mobilizations on psychoanalysis. Through a multi-sited ethnography conducted with psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic organizations in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina in 2022 and 2023, I argue that intersectional feminist mobilization has influenced psychoanalysis through acts of citizenship that are expanding the boundaries of the psychoanalytic field. This impact is evinced by collective acts of defiance, the diffusion of feminist protest tactics, and the adoption of reactivation practices that challenge, reframe, and reconfigure psychoanalytic concepts.

Acknowledgments

This research received funding from the National Agency for Research and Development of Chile (ANID). I want to thank the Postgraduate Program in Psychoanalytic Theory at UFRJ and especially Professor Tania Rivera for her support and inspiration during the completion of this research. I also want to thank Colectivo Trenza for their ongoing support and friendship, and Simón Escoffier for reviewing this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflicts of interest are reported by the authors(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Agency for Research and Development of Chile (ANID), Postdoctoral Grant.

Notes on contributors

Carolina Besoain

Carolina Besoain (she/her) is a Chilean psychoanalyst and researcher studying in the relationship between psychoanalysis, gender studies and intersectional feminist geographies. Currently, she is a Research Fellow at UFRJ’s Psychoanalytical Theory Program. She is a co-founder of Colectivo Trenza, a psychoanalytic organization in Santiago de Chile devoted to combining psychoanalysis with feminism and gender studies in psychotherapeutic practice.