Duquesne University

Graduate Student, Psychology

Thesis Title: Embodying Technology: A Hermeneutic Inquiry into Corporeality and Identity as Manifested in a Case of Strap-On Dildo Use

About

About my dissertation (defended 3/23/12):
I'm taking a deep look at a first-person narrative from a man who develops complete impotence following androgen-deprivation treatment for prostate cancer (the narrative comes from this case study: Warkentin, K., Gray, R., & Wassersug, R. (2006). Restoration of Satisfying Sex for a Castrated Cancer Patient with Complete Impotence: A Case Study. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. 32: 389-399).  After spending some time feeling depressed about what he felt was the permanent loss of his sexual life, he was convinced by a lesbian friend to use a strap-on dildo.  He was skeptical at first, but was then surprised and pleased to find that using the dildo for sex brings him sexual satisfaction, including orgasm-- the dildo transforms "from object to organ."  He also finds that his identity shifts with the "in-corporation" of this technology; that is, he experiences changes in his gender and sexuality, and finds that the dildo is not simply a prosthetic penis.  My dissertation explores the implications of this phenomenon for human corporeality in terms of links between the physical body and gender identity, the relationship between the body and technology, and the range of human sexuality.  The case study narrative serves as a locus for dialogue between feminist phenomenological and feminist poststructural thought on the question of the relationship between the material body and identity, and the dissertation includes discussions of transsexuality and male lesbian identities.  The dissertation also elaborates implications for clinical practice, i.e., how my findings may guide the way clinicians understand sexual "dysfunctions," persons with non-binary or flexible gender identities, and transgendered persons.

Other interests include:
Identity formation/ construction/ representation, psychology of embodiment and the relationship between the body and identity, and how technology (particularly internet technology) changes or reveals this relationship. The relationship between psychoanalytic theory and ancient thought. Feminist theory in psychology, particularly integrating social constructionist theory with psychodynamic theories. Reconciling gaps between legal and psychological discourses, particularly with regard to treating sex offenders (and particularly internet offenders) and substance abusers. Ethnomethodology/ the everyday practices through which the social order is produced, particularly how people are constituted as gendered, as intellectually disabled, and as psychologically disordered.  Individualized collaborative assessment--using psychological assessment psychotherapeutically. 

Contact Information