Conversing with Robi Friedman

In this paper, reference is made to theongoing, great changes in the relationships between women and men following to the invention and widespread use of the contraceptive pill, the approval of the law legalizing divorce and the Italian Law 194, which has made voluntary termination of pregnancy legal. Relational changes also derive from the fact that, for the past thirty years, having sexhas not implied conception anymore; at the same time, thanks to medically assisted procreation, conceptionhas become possible without implying a sexual act between a man and a woman. A brief historical review of the relational patterns between women and men follows. The author maintains that the small, analytically-oriented group can be the most suitable setting where to rediscoverone’s own identity - gender identity being an important part of it - or else, where to findit for the very first time. Feminine and masculine are relational constructs which can, therefore, be best defined through those identification and differentiation processes that are typical of group work. Working with the group and in the group makes it possible to overcome stereotypicalroles shaped by family and society and to attain authenticity in the woman-man relationship. Clinical situations are included to exemplify the author’s assertions.

Keywords: Feminine, Masculine, Group-analytic setting, Subjectivation, Identity, Authenticity.

Silvia Corbella, Dialogando con Robi Friedman in "GRUPPI" 1/2018, pp 169-174, DOI: 10.3280/GRU2018-001012