Phallus: Encyclopedia - Phallus

Phallus

The Latin word phallus (from the Greek phallos) and its derived adjective phallic, adopted in English and in many modern languages, refers to the penis.

• Any object that visually resembles a penis or acts as a symbol for it may also be referred to as a "phallus"; however, such objects are more correctly referred to as being "phallic". Such symbols often represent the fertility and cultural implications that are associated with the male sexual organ.
• The word may also refer to a type of fungus having the cap hanging free around the stem.

Phallus - In physical anatomy

The phallus refers to the erect male penis or, more rarely, the clitoris of a female; particularly during fetal development before sexual differentiation is evident.

Phallus - In art

Ancient sculptures of phalli have been found in many parts of the world, notably among the vestiges of ancient Greece and Rome; it is also common in India where the phallus (i.e. lingam) is a symbol of Shiva. The Hohle phallus, a 28,000 year old siltstone phallus discovered in the Hohle Fels cave and first assembled in 2005, is among the oldest phallic representations known. Shakespeare often incorporated phallic symbols into his plays. Swords and knives, for example, were phallic symbols representing the masculinity of their wielders.

Phallus - Phallic symbols in religion

In anthropology, phallicism refers to the ritual adoration of the human penis, or the phallus. Elements of phallicism have been found in many cultures, including Ancient Greece, certain Hindu sects in India and in Sumeria.

Phallus - Shaivism

The lingam or Linga (Sanskrit: Gender as in purusha-linga : Phallus) by some etymologists, is still used in Shaivism as a symbol for the worship of the Hindu God Shiva. The use of this symbol as an object of worship is a timeless tradition in India; mainstream scholars connect the origin of the lingam to the early Indus Valley civilisation and to phallic worship in earlier prehistoric times. The lingam is usually found with the Yoni, the symbol for the female sexual organ.

Phallus - Ancient Greece

In traditional Greek religion, Hermes, before being associated as the messenger god was considered to be a phallic deity associated with male fertility. This may explain the conditions of his offspring, including Pan, who was often portrayed as having a constant erection.

Phallus - Ancient Scandinavia

The Norse god Freyr is considered to be a phallic deity, representing male fertility and love. A statuette of Freyr has been found in Sweden, where Freyr sports an erected organ, something that is confirmed by Adam of Bremen in his description of the statue of Freyr in the Temple at Uppsala. There is also the short story Völsa þáttr in which is described how a family of Norwegians worshiped a conserved horse's penis.

Phallus - Ancient Rome

Wearing phallic symbol jewelry was supposed to ward off the evil eye and bring good luck.

Phallus - In psychoanalysis

The symbolic version of the phallus, a phallic symbol is meant to represent male generative powers. According to the psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud, males possess a penis, but no one can possess the symbolic phallus. In Jacques Lacan's Ecrits: A Selection he includes an essay "The Signification of the Phallus," which articulates the difference between "being" and "having" the phallus. Men are positioned as men insofar as they are seen to have the phallus. Women, not having the phallus, are seen to "be" the phallus, within a heterosexual framework. The symbolic phallus is the concept of being the ultimate man, and having this is compared to having the divine gift of God.

In Judith Butler's Gender Trouble, she explores the Freud and Lacan discussions of the symbolic phallus by pointing out the connection that the phallus maintains to the penis. She writes, "The law requires conformity to its own notion of 'nature' and gains its legitimacy through the binary and asymmetrical naturalization of bodies in which the Phallus, though clearly not identical with the penis, nevertheless deploys the penis as its naturalized instrument and sign" (135). In Bodies that Matter, she further explores the possibilities for the phallus in her discussion of "The Lesbian Phallus." If, as she notes, "Freud enumerates a set of analogies and substitutions that rhetorically affirm the fundamental transferability of that property," that is, the transferability of the phallus from the penis elsewhere, then any number of other things might come to stand in for the phallus (62).

Phallus - Sociopolitical usages

In cultural terms, phallocentrism is used to describe a male-centered doctrine or behavior, and sometimes refers to patriarchy. The term gynocentrism is sometimes used to describe female-centered doctrine or behavior, and sometimes refers to matriarchy.

Phallus - Objects considered to be phallic symbols

• Bananas
• Buildings and structures
  • Monuments
    • Obelisk
    • The Statue of Liberty;
    • The Washington Monument;
    • Duc, a monument to Duc de Richelieu in Odessa. Richelieu holds a scroll, supposedly the declaration about the founding of the city, below the waist level. If watched at a certain angle, it appears that Duc holds his male dignity.
  • Religious buildings
    • The Ascension Church in Kolomenskoe, built to celebrate the long-awaited birth of Vasili III's son and heir;
    • Minarets
  • Skyscrapers
    • The One Canada Square, particularly before the construction of the two towers which neighbour it;
  • The Swiss Re Building, also known as the "Erotic Gherkin" or simply "The Gherkin".
  • The Wachovia Building;
  • Towers
    • The Eiffel Tower, built to celebrate the Exposition Universelle (1889);
    • The Sky Tower in Auckland, New Zealand.
    • The Space Needle;
• Flags
• Guitars
• Airplanes
• Guns
• Hotdogs
• Lingams
• Maypoles
• Ties
• Totems

See also

• Cerne Abbas giant
• Lingam
• Middle finger
• Shiva
• Warrior of Hirschlanden
• The freedom-torch of Wageningen*

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Phallus", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki