Psychologist Barbie and Worker Ken

This chapter discusses the last consequence of the mirror stage proposed by Lacan: the introjection of the desire of the other as the desire of the ego. This is a way to introduce a Lacanian definition of communication, which destabilizes the notion of a ‘total’ self that interacts with others. Contemporary politics from many backgrounds, including what is called ‘woke’ or ‘alt-right’, propose diverse, although structurally similar ways, to encumber a total identity, an individual that is in harmony with it/self. The chapter offers a critique of identity politics, and the ways that this fantasy of an ‘identity’ even constructs the neoliberal labor market and psychological tests.