Ismahan Soukeyna Diop – författare

This book explores feminine archetypes and mythological figures in African and European traditions with an underlying goal of describing the foundations of social status for women. The author provides a rich corpus of mythology and tales to illustrate aspects of female and mother-daughter relationships. Diop analyzes the symbolic aspects of maternity and femininity, describing the social meaning of the matrix, breasts, and breastfeeding. A retrospective of female characters in African literature brings an interesting approach to explore the figures of femininity and maternity in society.  After an extensive analysis of African mythology and tales, the author proposes a way to integrate them in the clinical psychotherapy as a projective material. The analysis of clinical cases offers an example of how this material can be used in therapy with women from African descent.

This book explores feminine archetypes and mythological figures in African and European traditions with an underlying goal of describing the foundations of social status for women. The author provides a rich corpus of mythology and tales to illustrate aspects of female and mother-daughter relationships. Diop analyzes the symbolic aspects of maternity and femininity, describing the social meaning of the matrix, breasts, and breastfeeding. A retrospective of female characters in African literature brings an interesting approach to explore the figures of femininity and maternity in society.  After an extensive analysis of African mythology and tales, the author proposes a way to integrate them in the clinical psychotherapy as a projective material. The analysis of clinical cases offers an example of how this material can be used in therapy with women from African descent.

This book draws on a unique theoretical framework informed by clinical case studies, Fanonian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, and decolonial feminism, to examine the concept of adornment in African cultures. The book discusses the construction of aesthetic feminine ideals and the evolution of such ideals within the history of colonization, decolonization and globalization. Through the analysis of adornments including accessories, hairstyle, clothes and fabric, the author demonstrates how they can reflect social status, and also addresses its symbolic function in rituals. At the level of the individual, it draws on clinical case studies to examine the Lacanian theory of adornment and masquerade of femininity, and the extent to which this echoes ambivalent attitudes towards women in society at large. In doing so it provides a nuanced analysis which reveals how body adornment can be a paradoxical demonstration of both strength and weakness. Building on the author’s previous work in this area, this book offers an important contribution to current debates in psychoanalysis, cultural studies, critical race theory and decolonial feminism.

This book draws on a unique theoretical framework informed by clinical case studies, Fanonian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, and decolonial feminism, to examine the concept of adornment in African cultures. The book discusses the construction of aesthetic feminine ideals and the evolution of such ideals within the history of colonization, decolonization and globalization. Through the analysis of adornments including accessories, hairstyle, clothes and fabric, the author demonstrates how they can reflect social status, and also addresses its symbolic function in rituals. At the level of the individual, it draws on clinical case studies to examine the Lacanian theory of adornment and masquerade of femininity, and the extent to which this echoes ambivalent attitudes towards women in society at large. In doing so it provides a nuanced analysis which reveals how body adornment can be a paradoxical demonstration of both strength and weakness. Building on the author’s previous work in this area, this book offers an important contribution to current debates in psychoanalysis, cultural studies, critical race theory and decolonial feminism.