Psicanálise e despatologização da transexualidade : o problema do diagnóstico e o nome como solução

Abstract

This study begins by examining the relationship between the power of normalization, the diagnostic apparatus, and the pathologization of transsexuality. It aims to critically consider the epistemological potency of Lacanian-oriented psychoanalysis in subverting terms and concepts, focusing on the singularity of each subject and supporting a practice outside of norms. Through an epistemic discussion, transsexuality and its pathologization are analyzed in relation to the diagnostic function in psychiatry and psychoanalysis, considering their potential convergences and the rigor of their specificities, as well as the social aspects that intersect notions of sex, gender, and identity, as outlined in queer studies. The discussion on the normal and the pathological is revisited, with emphatic criticisms of the scarcity and inconsistency of abnormality criteria proposed in diagnostic manuals, such as the DSM, from an operational-pragmatic perspective and its normative effects. The association of transsexuality with the psychoanalytic diagnosis of psychosis and the relevance of using certain stigmatizing terms are questioned based on arguments that expose possible normalizing motivations and, consequently, their pathologizing effects. The discussion of the function of psychoanalytic diagnosis is deepened, highlighting the limits of the structural perspective and the potentialities of non-whole psychopathology as an alternative. In this context, contemporary challenges in psychoanalysis when dealing with non-normative gender identities are explored. The importance of sexual difference in psychoanalysis is emphasized, with a focus on the role of the signifier, such as the phallus, in structuring the subject in a discursive approach to sex and gender. Nevertheless, the text presents the theoretical and clinical consequences arising from the formalization of notions of jouissance, sinthome, and RSI nominations as capable of overcoming any rigidity in the structuralist scope of Lacanian teaching. Finally, the study points to the priority given by psychoanalysis to the arrangements each subject can undertake, as well as their sexed position beyond normalizing references, privileging the singular aspect of their solutions in the particular context of the trans experience. In summary, the study proposes a non-normative approach to the topic and seeks to renew its discussion, challenging Lacanian psychoanalysis to meet the demands of contemporary subjectivities.