Che Vuoi? (What Does a Woman Want?)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD Candidate in Modern Philosophy, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

2 Professor of Philosophy Department, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

3 Associate Professor of Philosophy Department, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran

Abstract

Today, we encounter a question that has rarely been treated as a serious or provocative issue: women and sexuality as a philosophical problem. This theme now acts as a critical marker—an axis that divides entire fields of thought into a before and after. The beginning of this epistemic shift can be traced back to a Freudian question: What does a woman really want? In this article, we follow this question through the lens of Lacanian theory, in which he introduces the concept of sexuation and illuminates the foggy, ambiguous terrain of femininity through the formulation of the hysterical discourse. Moving beyond a purely hysterical approach to womanhood, the French psychoanalyst carved a path for the re-inscription of her historically ambivalent and fragmented image. For Lacan, woman is a symptom—an embodiment of the fundamental contradiction and rupture within the symbolic order. The Woman does not exist; rather, la femme is a rebel who struggles to exist

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References

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Journal of Philosophical Investigations
Volume 20, Issue 54 - Serial Number 54
Articles
Issue 54, Spring 2026
February 2026
Pages 363-376

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