HOW BIG IS YOUR PHALLUS? - AN IMAGINARY COMMENTARY BY ZIZEK FOR COSMO-POLITAN

\

HOW BIG IS YOUR PHALLUS? - AN IMAGINARY COMMENTARY BY ZIZEK FOR COSMO-POLITAN

Slavoj: «Here we see the function of the objet petit a at its purest. From the point of view of "wisdom," the break is not worth the trouble; ultimately, we always find ourselves in the same position from which we have tried to escape, which is why, instead of running after the impossible, we must learn to consent to our common lot and to find pleasure in the trivia of our everyday life».

Cosmo reader’s question: Dear Slavoj, I’m a hairdresser, all day long I cut hair, I like my job, but not that much as to fulfill my desire. Most people think that this is trivial, but, as you say, we must find pleasure in the trivia of our everyday life. Yet, I fail to do so. Am I possessed by the Impossible? Please let me know, I am anxious to receive your answer. Yours, Sisyphous’ daughter.

Slavoj: Where do we find the objet petit a? The objet a is precisely that surplus, that elusive make-believe that drove the man to change his existence. In "reality," it is nothing at all, just an empty surface (his life after the break is the same as before), but because of it the break is nonetheless well worth the trouble.

Cosmo reader’s question: I don’t think you answered the question. Describing objet a does not answer the question «where do we find it?». I’ll tell you where I find it; in my boyfriend’s pants. You bet it’s elusive; I can hardly grasp it, an empty surface. You’re the only one who understands me, I’ll keep buying your books. Even though you think I don’t exist and you have barred me, I’ll return to haunt you.

Slavoj:   Far from being a sign of "madness," the barrier separating the Real from reality is therefore the very condition of a minimum of "normalcy": ''madness" (psychosis) sets in when this barrier is torn down, when the real overflows reality (as in autistic breakdown) or when it is itself included in reality (assuming the form of the "Other of the Other," of the paranoiac's prosecutor, for example).

Cosmo reader’s question:  Dear Slavoj, there was a time when TIME magazine branded me as autistic. I don’t know about autistic breakdown, but I always liked Led Zeppelin’s Communication Breakdown. Is there a chance that what TIME described as autism was actually an incidence of a breakdown in the communication process? I’m also convinced that I am being followed. But again, I always liked SODOM’s album PERSECUTION MANIA. Could there be a contingent link between the insemination of a stimulus at a tender age and the appearance of illness at a much later stage?