Mercader, Patricia <br/><br/>
Bisexuality and Sex Difference in John Irving’s Works 

 -  2001.<br/>							 
<br/><br/> 21 
<br/><br/> The purpose of this paper is to explore some representations of sex and gender related to the theme of trans-sexualism, through an analysis of three novels by the talented and well-known John Irving. In these novels, the theme and the trans-sexual characters are related to one of the organizing phantasies of Irving’s works: a war between men and women. Trans-sexuals, seen as both man and woman in a single person (i.e., as a kind of hermaphrodite) seem at first to embody the dream of reconciliation, but it soon appears that actually they personify the most lethal aspects of this war. This leads us to compare the hermaphroditic phantasy, which denies sex differences, and mental bisexuality (secondary identification to sexed parents), which recognizes it. When the latter prevails, the conflict that necessarily goes with differences and limitations is contained in the individual’s psyche, while when the former does, the conflict is projected onto social reality.