Revising our founding myths in face of violence against women - Susana Muszkat

What if God had created Eve not at Adam’s service, but acknowledging his human condition of helplessness and absolute dependence on another human being? What may be the influence of this Western myth of the creation of civilization upon our subjectivity, especially regarding gender differences? These and other interesting questions are posed by Susana Muszkat in this paper about male violence and its naturalization in society.

According to her, gender-biased behaviors associated with masculinity (and femininity) are sustained by fixed cultural codes and repeated unconsciously across generations, in the absence of interventions aimed at deconstructing them. Is it God’s fault, or is it the way we read the myth?

Susana Muszkat is a psychologist and psychoanalyst, a full member and faculty member of the Brazilian Psychoanalytical Society of São Paulo. She sees adults, couples, and families in private practice and in institutions. Susana has a master’s degree in Social Psychology, which led her to studies on masculinity, violence, and gender, and to coordinating talk groups for men convicted of domestic violence for 15 years, where she had the opportunity to reflect on the “social construction of masculinity.”

She noted that men get trapped in static roles and cultural demands—as they are always expected to be strong, have courage, and engage in risky behaviors—differently from what is expected of women. According to her, this ends up affecting their mental health, generating violence as a product of having to maintain this Ideal Ego. In an attempt to get rid of feelings of insecurity, they react with violence. Susana coined the term “violence from identity distress” for this emotional condition.

Susana is a former IPSO President and has served on several IPA committees. She currently chairs the Institutional Issues Committee and was recently awarded first prize by the Community and the World Committee on Health and Psychoanalysis at the 2025 Lisbon Congress for her joint paper on the SOS Brazil project. She has published articles, book chapters, and books in several languages on this and other subjects.

This episode is presented in English and Portuguese.

portuguese

You can download a copy of the paper here.

This podcast series is produced by the International Psychoanalytical Association as part of the activities of the IPA Outreach Subcommittee. Chair: Gaetano Pellegrini Podcast Coordinator: Florencia Biotti This episode produced by: Sylvia Pupo Editing and Post-Production: Massimiliano Guerrieri Cover Image: Titian, Venus and Adonis, 1554. Museo del Prado, Madrid. Public domain.