Introduction

Traveling outside of Europe (mainly in non-Western countries), I realized how important it is to encounter a different culture for recognizing one’s own culture. We may find our way of thinking “natural” until we encounter a different discourse. Then we have an opportunity to understand that the way we think is rooted in some culture as well, and thus what we think and see is grounded on some assumptions. This perspective is also important for the development of psychoanalytic theory. For example, traveling in Southeast Asia, I became gradually dissatisfied with the explanations offered by some psychoanalysts concerning transsexualism and psychosis; I felt their approach in some cases to be overly dogmatic and universalistic. Instead my observations in such different cultural contexts revealed a wider range of possible theoretical elaborations, and by contrast showed the inconsistencies, limits, and contradictions of “classic” interpretations. It became clear to me that an operation of cultural relocation would be needed, so in 2010 I ventured to

Hong Kong. Since then, I have been conducting my research at a university. In Hong Kong, I decided to reside in Mongkok, one of the most densely populated areas in the world, an area which is an expression of the very local culture, and which unsurprisingly has very few Western residents. At university in Hong Kong, quite contrary to my previous experiences in Europe, I found much freedom to experiment, because in Chinese culture, the theory does not suffocate the practice. In fact, Chinese culture has never developed any dogma, preferring a practical attitude to life.