Descent into Gender
On Transgenderism from the Perspective of Archetypal Psychology
Joanna Jaka Tarnawska
jp.tarnawski@gmail.comUniversity of Warsaw (Poland)
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7669-2795
Abstract
A classic work, representing traditional Polish sexological discourse around transgender, Przekleństwo Androgyne [The Androgyne’s Curse] written by Kazimierz Imieliński, Stanisław Dulko, is characterized by a specific breakdown of the expert narrative at a point where psychological depth is considered the fundamental source of gendered identity. Taking this as a starting point, this essay attempts to present the mythopoetic foundations of experiences of gender non-normativity, particularly transfemininity, employing a method of reflection characteristic of James Hillman’s archetypal psychology. Referring to the elegiac poem written by one of Jacques Lacan’s transgender patients and cited in contemporary psychoanalytic literature, in which she conflates the concepts of fall and choice, a metaphor of descent into gender is proposed. In this context, the Mesopotamian myth of Inanna/Ishtar’s descent into the underworld and the connections between her cult and gender non-normativity are discussed. The text concludes with a reflection on the specificity of the relationship between transness and death, highlighted through the mythical context.
Keywords:
transgender, gender, mythological studies, archetypal psychologyReferences
Assante, J, “Bad Girls and Kinky Boys? The Modern Prostituting of Ishtar, Her Clergy and
Google Scholar
Her Cults”, [w:] Tempelprostitution im Alterum. Fakten und fiktionen, red. Tanja S. Sheer, Martin Linder, (Verlag Antike, 2009).
Google Scholar
Dębińska, M. Transpłciowość w Polsce. Wytwarzanie kategorii. Wydawnictwo Instytutu
Google Scholar
Archeologii i Etnologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk, 2020.
Google Scholar
Gherovici, P. Please Select Your Gender. From the Invention of Hysteria to the Democratizing
Google Scholar
of Transgenderism, Routledge, 2010.
Google Scholar
Gherovici, P. Transgender Psychoanalysis: A Lacanian Perspective on Sexual Difference.
Google Scholar
Routledge, 2017.
Google Scholar
Hillman, J. Re-wizja psychologii. Wydawnictwo Laurum, 2016.
Google Scholar
Hillman, J. Samobójstwo a dusza. Wydawnictwo Laurum, 2020.
Google Scholar
Hillman, J. Uniform Edition of the Writings of James Hillman. Volume 1: Archetypal
Google Scholar
Psychology. Spring Publications, 2021.
Google Scholar
Hillman, J. Uzdrawiające fikcje. Poetyka psychoterapii. Wydawnictwo Laurum, 2016.
Google Scholar
Imieliński, K., Dulko, S. Przekleństwo Androgyne. Wydawnictwo ARC-EN-CIEL, 2001.
Google Scholar
Jung, C. G. O psychologii i patologii tzw. zjawisk tajemnych. Wydawnictwo SEN, 1991.
Google Scholar
Jung, C. G. Wspomnienia, sny, myśli. Wydawnictwo KR, 1993.
Google Scholar
Kluczyk, A. Niech żyją ku*wy. O pracy seksualnej w Polsce. Grupa Wydawnicza Foksal,
Google Scholar
Kohnepoushi, P., Nikouei, M., Cheraghi, M., Hasanabadi, P., Rahmani, H., Moradi, M.,
Google Scholar
Moradi, G., Moradpour, F., Moradi, Y. “Prevalence of suicidal thoughts and attempts in the transgender population of the world: a systematic review and meta‑analysis”, Annals of General Psychiatry nr 22:28 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12991-023-00460-3
Google Scholar
Leick, G. Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature, Routledge, 1994.
Google Scholar
Lewandowska, D. Androgyn czy hermafrodyta? Studium nad hermafrodytyzmem w źródłach
Google Scholar
antycznych. Wydawnictwo Naukowe Sub Lupa, 2019.
Google Scholar
Nissinen M. Homoeroticism in the Biblical World. A Historical Perspective, Augsburg
Google Scholar
Fortress Publishers, 1998.
Google Scholar
Otto, R. Świętość. Elementy irracjonalne w pojęciu bóstwa i ich stosunek do elementów
Google Scholar
racjonalnych. Wydawnictwo KR, 1999.
Google Scholar
Perera, S. B. Zstąpienie do Bogini. Ścieżka kobiecej inicjacji. Instytut Studiów Kulturowych
Google Scholar
Raven, 2021.
Google Scholar
Plotyn. Enneady, t. I. Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1959.
Google Scholar
Szpilka, J. „Fantazje o byciu podawaną z rąk do rąk. Transkobiece marzenia o
Google Scholar
uprzedmiotowieniu jako mechanizm produkcji płci.” Praktyka Teoretyczna nr 1(47) (2023): 17-46. https://doi.org/10.19195/prt.2023.1.2
Google Scholar
Von Franz, M.-L. On Divination and Synchronicity: The Psychology of Meaningful Chance,
Google Scholar
Inner City Books, 1984.
Google Scholar
Zsolnay, I. “The Misconstrued Role of the Assinnu in Ancient Near East Prophecy”, [w:]
Google Scholar
Prophets Male and Female. Gender and Prophecy in Hebrew Bible, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Ancient Middle East, red. Jonathan Stökl, Corrine L. Carvalho, (Society of Biblical Lierature 2013).
Google Scholar
Authors
Joanna Jaka Tarnawskajp.tarnawski@gmail.com
University of Warsaw Poland
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7669-2795
Joanna Tarnawska – transkobieca absolwentka psychologii (UW), swoją refleksję umiejscawia w polu paradygmatów psychologii głębi, szczególnie w nurtach psychologii analitycznej Carla Gustava Junga oraz psychologii archetypowej Jamesa Hillmana. Na co dzień zajmuje się przestrzeniami przecinania się tego, co psychiczne, i tego, co społeczne, pracując środowiskowo z grupami wykluczanymi.
Statistics
Abstract views: 0PDF downloads: 1
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Joanna Jaka Tarnawska
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
