The issues of domination and submission central to insult have an often hidden, often not (“Up yours!”), sexual significance. Central are anal erotism and phallic aggression, which are written large in insult rituals and cultural practices in Turkey and other Mediterranean cultures, Mexico, Ancient Greece, modern prisons, and elsewhere. Anxieties over gender, masculinity-femininity, and activity-passivity play out in the language and customs of insult. The psychoanalysis of sado-masochistic fantasy and the “narcissism of minor differences” can help us understand the power play and the issues of identity at work in insult.
Keywords: anal erotism, phallic, aggression, domination, submission, gender, masculinity, femininity, activity, passivity, psychoanalysis, sado-masochistic, fantasy, narcissism