Women's Aggressive Fantasies

How can a woman's self-hatred contain the seeds of her psychological growth? Can aggressive energies form the basis of recovery from eating disorders? Women's Aggressive Fantasies examines the roles of aggressive fantasies and impulses in contemporary women's lives. Such impulses have previously been overlooked by psychoanalysis, feminism and depth psychology when, Sue Austin argues, they should occupy a central position. Drawing together apparently disparate strands of theory from feminism, critical psychology, contemporary psychoanalysis and post-Jungian thought, this books succeeds in providing a new insight into the phenomenon of female violence and aggression. A collection of real life vignettes are used to demonstrate how the management of aggressive fantasies plays a significant role in women's self-experience and their position in society. These fascinating, moving and, at times, shocking, extracts demonstrate how aggressive fantasies become the basis for psychological, relational and moral growth. This book will help clinicians engage with the fantasies and draw out their therapeutic value. In particular, the author examines the crucial role of aggressive fantasies and energies in recovery from severe and chronic eating disorders. Women's Aggressive Fantasies provides a valuable insight into the role of aggressive impulses in women's sense of agency, love and morality, which will fascinate all those involved in the practice or study of psychoanalysis, critical psychology and gender studies.