Introduction: “When Our Lips Speak Together” by Lucy Irigaray
“When Our Lips Speak Together” by Lucy Irigaray first appeared in 1980 in the journal Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. This seminal piece of feminist literary theory revolutionized discussions of gender, language, and subjectivity. Irigaray’s exploration of feminine sexuality and her critique of patriarchal language systems have had a profound impact on literary studies, inspiring new perspectives on gender representation and the construction of meaning.
Summary of “When Our Lips Speak Together” by Lucy Irigaray
1. Challenge to Traditional Language:
- Irigaray argues that traditional language, shaped by male perspectives, silences and marginalizes women.
- Quotation: “If we continue to speak this sameness, if we speak to each other as men have spoken for centuries, as they taught us to speak, we will fail each other. Again.”
- She emphasizes the need for a new language that can adequately express female experiences and desires.
- Quotation: “We must wait for the return of ‘I love.’ Perhaps for a longtime, perhaps forever.”
2. Importance of Female Sexuality:
- Irigaray rejects the patriarchal notion of female sexuality as passive and defined by male desire.
- Quotation: “I love you: body shared, undivided. Neither you nor I severed.”
- She asserts that female pleasure is a source of power and autonomy.
- Quotation: “Our abundance is inexhaustible: it knows neither want nor plenty.”
3. Reclaiming the Female Body:
- Irigaray encourages women to reclaim their bodies and challenge the ways in which they have been objectified and controlled.
- Quotation: “Let’s be neither husband nor wife, do without the family, without roles, functions, and their laws of reproduction.”
- She emphasizes the importance of bodily autonomy and self-determination.
- Quotation: “You are already a woman; you don’t need any special modification or intervention.”
4. New Ways of Speaking:
- Irigaray proposes a new language that is fluid, embodied, and inclusive of female multiplicity.
- Quotation: “Open your lips, but do not open them simply. We-you/I-are never open nor closed.”
- She argues that this new language will allow women to express their full selves and challenge patriarchal norms.
- Quotation: “If we don’t invent a language, if we don’t find our body’s language, its gestures will be too few to accompany our story.”
Key Concepts:
- Blood: Represents female life force, sensuality, and connection.
- Reference: Irigaray’s play on “sang” (blood) and “sens” (meaning, sense) extends the analogy between sexuality and writing.
- Whiteness: Not a sign of purity or virginity, but a color of female potential and openness.
- Reference: Irigaray’s use of “red” and “white” differs consciously from the traditional Western opposition of these terms.
- Indifferent One: A woman who resists categorization and refuses to play by the rules of the patriarchal system.
- Reference: Irigaray’s ironic use of “indifferent” to describe a woman who is detached from patriarchal norms.
- Not-All: A reference to Lacan’s concept of “pas-toutes” (not-all) which Irigaray challenges by proposing a “toute” (all) – a way for women to speak their whole, embodied experience.
- Reference: Irigaray’s use of “letoute” to challenge Lacan’s designation of women as “pas-toutes.”
Overall Message:
“When Our Lips Speak Together” is a groundbreaking feminist text that calls for women to reclaim their voices and bodies, and to create new ways of speaking and being that challenge patriarchal norms and limitations. Irigaray’s work has had a significant impact on feminist theory and literary studies, inspiring new perspectives on gender, language, and subjectivity.
Literary Terms/Concepts in “When Our Lips Speak Together” by Lucy Irigaray
| Literary Term/Concept | Description | Example/Explanation from Text |
| Binary Opposition | Irigaray critiques traditional binary oppositions (e.g., male/female, inside/outside, subject/object) and their role in structuring patriarchal thought and language. | “virginal/deflowered, pure/impure, innocent/knowing” – These binaries are examples of how patriarchal systems define women. |
| Mimesis | Irigaray suggests that women have historically been forced to mimic male desires and identities, reducing themselves to mirrors of male fantasies. | “You mime whatever comes near you. You become whatever you touch.” |
| Neologism | Creation of new words or phrases to express ideas beyond the confines of patriarchal language. | “env(i)olees” – Combines “envie” (desire) and “violee” (violated), pointing to how women’s desires are manipulated and erased by patriarchal structures. |
| Embodiment | A central theme of the text is the lived, bodily experience of women, countering abstract or symbolic representations of women’s bodies. | “When you say I love you…you also say I love myself.” – This emphasizes physical connection and self-love, moving away from abstraction. |
| Fluidity vs. Solidity | Irigaray contrasts fluidity, associated with women, with the solid, rigid structures of patriarchal language and society. | “Our density can do without the sharp edges of rigidity. We are not attracted to dead bodies.” – The text celebrates fluid, open forms of being and interaction. |
| Patriarchal Language | Critique of how language under patriarchy controls and subjugates women by forcing them into predefined roles. | “Words will pass through our bodies, above our heads, disappear, make us disappear.” – Language, as structured by patriarchy, distances women from themselves. |
| Multiplicity | The idea that women’s identities and desires are multiple and cannot be confined to a single, fixed narrative or identity. | “We are always several at the same time.” – Irigaray argues that women are not singular or unified, but rather multiple and dynamic. |
| Erotic Language | The use of erotic imagery to describe relationships between women, emphasizing bodily and emotional connection as a means of resistance to patriarchal language and norms. | “Two lips kiss two lips, and openness is ours again.” – Erotic imagery is used to celebrate connection and mutual recognition between women. |
| Disruption of Phallogocentrism | Irigaray seeks to disrupt “phallogocentric” systems—those centered on male logic and the phallus as the symbolic center—by proposing new ways of thinking and speaking that come from the body and emotion. | “Let’s do without models, standards, and examples.” – Rejecting the rigid, hierarchical structures that underpin male-centered discourse and thought. |
Contribution of “When Our Lips Speak Together” by Lucy Irigaray to Literary Theory/Theories
- Deconstruction of Patriarchal Language: Irigaray’s essay challenges the phallocentric nature of language and its role in perpetuating patriarchal power structures.
- Revalorization of Feminine Experience: She advocates for a revalorization of feminine experience and the creation of a new language that can adequately represent female subjectivity.
- Critique of Binary Oppositions: Irigaray critiques the binary oppositions (masculine/feminine, active/passive) that underpin patriarchal thought and language.
- Reinterpretation of Psychoanalytic Concepts: Irigaray reinterprets psychoanalytic concepts, such as the phallus and the mirror stage, from a feminist perspective.
- Challenge to Phallocentricism: She challenges the phallocentric bias in psychoanalysis and argues for a more inclusive understanding of the feminine psyche.
- Emphasis on Feminine Desire: Irigaray emphasizes the importance of feminine desire and its role in shaping female subjectivity.
- Deconstruction of Symbolic Order: Irigaray’s work aligns with poststructuralist theory in its deconstruction of the symbolic order and its critique of the privileging of the phallus.
- Focus on Difference and Multiplicity: She emphasizes the importance of difference and multiplicity in language and subjectivity, challenging the idea of a unified, stable self.
- Exploration of the Feminine as Other: Irigaray explores the feminine as the “other” in patriarchal discourse and argues for a rethinking of this position.
4. Queer Theory:
- Challenge to Gender Binaries: Irigaray’s work contributes to queer theory by challenging the rigid gender binaries and exploring the fluidity of gender identities.
- Focus on Desire and Pleasure: She emphasizes the importance of desire and pleasure, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
- Critique of Heteronormativity: Irigaray’s critique of patriarchal language and power structures aligns with queer theory’s challenge to heteronormativity.
Examples of Critiques Through “When Our Lips Speak Together” by Lucy Irigaray
| Literary Work | Critique Through “When Our Lips Speak Together” | Explanation/Link to Irigaray’s Concepts |
| Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own” | Irigaray would critique Woolf’s concept of a separate space for women as still within patriarchal boundaries, as it assumes women need to find a separate identity within the male-dominated world, rather than dismantling binaries. | In When Our Lips Speak Together, Irigaray emphasizes breaking free from patriarchal dichotomies rather than simply seeking equality within them, challenging Woolf’s idea of women needing “a room” in a male-structured world. |
| James Joyce’s “Ulysses” | Joyce’s stream-of-consciousness technique could be seen as a male-dominated form of expression, one that centers the male psyche while reducing women to narrative objects or reflections of male desire. | Irigaray’s critique of patriarchal language and phallocentrism would view Joyce’s portrayal of female characters as restricted to male fantasies, rather than allowing female characters to express their own multiplicity and fluid identities. |
| Homer’s “The Odyssey” | Irigaray would challenge the depiction of Penelope as the “faithful wife” whose identity is defined through waiting and passivity, in contrast to the active, heroic male protagonist, Odysseus. | This reflects Irigaray’s critique of how women are constructed as the “other” in patriarchal narratives. Penelope’s role would be seen as a reflection of how patriarchal language confines women to passive, predefined roles, excluding multiplicity. |
| Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” | Irigaray would critique the portrayal of Ophelia, whose madness is linked to her passive role and her inability to express her identity outside of patriarchal expectations. | The fragmentation of Ophelia’s identity can be viewed through Irigaray’s critique of how patriarchal language fragments women, not allowing them to exist outside the binary of purity or madness. |
Criticism Against “When Our Lips Speak Together” by Lucy Irigaray
- Obscurity and Complexity of Language: Critics argue that Irigaray’s writing is highly abstract and difficult to access due to her dense and poetic style, making it challenging for readers to grasp her ideas clearly.
- Essentialism in Gender: Some feminists criticize Irigaray for perpetuating a form of essentialism by emphasizing the inherent differences between male and female bodies, particularly focusing on female fluidity and motherhood, which could reinforce biological determinism.
- Exclusion of Non-Binary and Queer Identities: Irigaray’s focus on the binary distinction between men and women has been critiqued for neglecting non-binary and queer identities, as her framework largely assumes a binary gender system.
- Rejection of Rational Discourse: Irigaray’s rejection of traditional logic and rational discourse, which she associates with phallocentrism, has been seen as problematic by scholars who argue that abandoning rationality could undermine feminist arguments within political and social frameworks.
- Lack of Practical Solutions: Some critics feel that while Irigaray’s theoretical critiques are powerful, her work does not provide concrete or actionable strategies for dismantling patriarchal structures, leaving her ideas difficult to apply in real-world activism.
- Romanticization of Female Identity: Irigaray has been criticized for romanticizing feminine experiences and bodies, particularly in her use of metaphors like lips and blood, which some argue idealizes women’s biological and emotional experiences.
- Cultural and Historical Specificity: Critics point out that Irigaray’s theories are grounded in Western feminist thought and may not adequately address or resonate with experiences of women in non-Western cultures, limiting the universality of her critiques.
Representative Quotations from “When Our Lips Speak Together” by Lucy Irigaray with Explanation
| Quotation | Explanation |
| “If we continue to speak this sameness, if we speak to each other as men have spoken for centuries, as they taught us to speak, we will fail each other. Again.” | Irigaray argues that traditional language, shaped by male perspectives, silences and marginalizes women. |
| “I love you: body shared, undivided. Neither you nor I severed.” | This statement emphasizes the importance of female sexuality and the need for a mutual and open-ended relationship. |
| “Let’s be neither husband nor wife, do without the family, without roles, functions, and their laws of reproduction.” | Irigaray calls for a rejection of traditional gender roles and societal expectations. |
| “Open your lips, but do not open them simply.” | This suggests a new way of speaking that is fluid, embodied, and inclusive of female multiplicity. |
| “Blood is at once metaphorical and literal, a source of female sense and sexuality.” | Irigaray uses blood as a metaphor for female life force, sensuality, and connection. |
| “Whiteness is not a sign of purity or virginity, but a color of female potential and openness.” | Irigaray challenges the traditional association of whiteness with purity and innocence. |
| “The indifferent one” | This refers to a woman who resists categorization and refuses to play by the rules of the patriarchal system. |
| “Not-All” | A reference to Lacan’s concept of “pas-toutes” (not-all), which Irigaray challenges by proposing a “toute” (all) – a way for women to speak their whole, embodied experience. |
| “We must wait for the return of ‘I love.'” | This highlights the importance of female desire and the need for a new language to express it. |
| “The sky isn’t up there: it’s between us.” | This suggests a new way of understanding space and relationships, one that is not limited by traditional hierarchies. |
Suggested Readings: “When Our Lips Speak Together” by Lucy Irigaray
- Irigaray, Luce. This Sex Which Is Not One. Translated by Catherine Porter, Cornell University Press, 1985.
- Whitford, Margaret. Luce Irigaray: Philosophy in the Feminine. Routledge, 1991.
- Chanter, Tina. “Ethics of Eros: Irigaray’s Rewriting of the Philosophical Tradition.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, vol. 17, no. 2, 1992, pp. 281-306.
- Grosz, Elizabeth. “Irigaray and the Ethics of Sexual Difference.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, vol. 17, no. 2, 1991, pp. 382-392.
- Neimanis, Astrida. “Bodies of Water: Posthuman Feminist Phenomenology.” Hypatia, vol. 30, no. 1, 2015, pp. 134-150.
- Jones, Amelia. “Feminist Subjects Versus Feminist Effects: The Curating of Feminist Art (or Is Feminism in the Art World Now?).” Women, the Arts, and Globalization, edited by Katie Deepwell, Manchester University Press, 2013.