Within studies of masculinity and crime, so-called “psychosocial criminology” has become a common framework in studies of men’s violence as it pays attention to some of the limitations of other masculinity theories. Drawing on post-structuralist and psychoanalytical perspectives, Tony Jefferson and others have emphasized early relations within the family as crucial in subject formation, in particular discussing how masculine identifications enable a “defended” and conflicted subject investing, not seldom unconsciously and in contradictory ways, in normative discourses. While aiming to bridge the gap between individual and social factors, this psychosocial approach has been critiqued for emphasizing intra-psychological processes at the expense of structural ones, as well as minimizing men’s abuse.

This paper aims to build on the contribution of Jefferson and others in the area of men’s violence, but to expand the focus and engage in dialogue with Jessica Benjamin’s feminist psychoanalytic theory of intersubjectivity, recognition and the Third. The theoretical discussion is highlighted through a case study of a young man and his mother, in the analysis of two semi-structured interviews, which are part of a larger on-going study of young men, their sexual or physical abuse and relations to family and friends. The case serves as an example of theorizing gendered (dis-)identifications, embodied experiences and violence, from the perspective of discontinuing violence. The aim is to move beyond a static binary of sexual difference and identification, and to rethink and situate Oedipal kinship relations, masculinities and violence. I hope to show how feminist intersubjective theory can provide a relational ontology for moving beyond patriarchal and violent relations and rethinking (gender) identification and recognition in a more utopian direction. Thus, I hope to contribute with a theoretical discussion in the empirical field of men’s violence and kinship relations.

Hanna Bornäs, M.A., is a clinical psychologist and doctoral student in Child and Youth Studies at Stockholm University. Her research focuses on youth, embodiment, depression and violence from phenomenological, psychosocial and feminist perspectives. She has published in NORA and Sociology on young adults’ gendered experiences of depression and anti-depressant use, building on theories of feminist phenomenology, neoliberal subjectivitites and medicalization. Her recent work focus on gender formation, kinship relations and violence among Swedish youth, building on feminist psychoanalytic theories on recognition and intersubjectivity.

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