2014 Programme
Event #35
Elena Riva
The Myth of Perfection in Contemporary Femininity
A new model of femininity is spreading in Postmodern society, inspired by “being, knowing and knowing how to do” everything. Femininity that is “exaggeratedly thin, intelligent, strong and successful”, capable of making every affective role its own, escaping from the complementary nature of the relational exchange. While civilization demands multiple and flexible identities, the encouragement to always do better and more that looms over young women fuels a laboured search for multitasking excellence. The performance principle forced on contemporary femininity risks stifling the expression of identity-related projects, nurturing the spread of eating disorders, by now epidemic in the female population, the symptomatic outcome of the projection onto the body and the image of the intolerability of the limit that inspires the culture of narcissism.
psychoanalyst, member of the Fondazione Minotauro, coordinates the team working on eating disorders and the image of the body during adolescence. She has collaborated with the Ministry of Justice for matters of juvenile delinquency. Her most recent publications include: Adolescenza e anoressia (Raffaello Cortina, 2009); Il mito della perfezione. Fragilità e bellezza nei disturbi della condotta alimentare (Mimesis, 2014).
Event #20
Paolo Cornaglia Ferraris, Marcello Massimini
The Secret of the Consciousness and its Measurement
