by Kellen Grayson, PsyD

MY PHALLIC GARDEN

Recently, I attended an event at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) which showcased a movie and discussion about psychoanalyst Bernard Bail. The discussion was led by CIIS professor and psychoanalyst Fernando Castrillon, about Bail’s theory regarding imprinting in which the mother imprints her psyche on her child. While Dr. Castrillon discussed how Lacan’s theory of language and his concept of the Law of the Father is integrated through a child’s development, it struck me that there is still something missing. Maternal and paternal introjects alone are insufficient to describe the experience of children and their development. The Law of the Father and Bail’s notion of the maternal imprint are excellent theories, groundbreaking when originally brought forward, but what about a third gender theory? Is this a possibility?

This makes me question even the benign projections and assumptions around gender in commonplace or informal usage. For example, as I walk up to my house I witness a lofty plant that I planted in the earth two years prior. At five feet tall this object towers over every plant in my garden. The bristled leaves and enclosed spikes are turning pink. At any moment these spikes will birth the spectacle of spring flowers. I hear observers of the plant comment on its phallic nature, but is it really phallic? As we move into an era in which gender assumptions are being challenged, and the assignment of symbols to gendered expressions is being questioned, I question if a third gender is present in metaphor. There is theoretical work likely being done regarding this, but I am not yet satisfied with current usage regarding the third gender in development.