SNP’s word of the day: Exteriorization

Word: Exteriorization

Meaning: The physical manifestation of an intangible or abstract thing; in psychiatry.

Usage: “‘Now this is a so-called catalytic exteriorization phenomenon,’ Jung insisted. ‘Oh, no, that is complete nonsense,’ Freud replied.” — Arts Journal

You should know it because: Prada showed a va-va-vroom collection last week, plastering auto motifs—cartoon flames, actual car decals—over leather skirts as sleek as Jaguar seats. It had to do with cars and women, and the way those two things are confused in the male imagination. This is Prada’s intellectual feminism manifested, in a bold and quite literal way, outside the body: hence, exteriorization. And the psychiatric definition fits, too. As more than one critic noted, it was a personal collection for Ms. Prada, so it fits the psychiatric definition of exteriorization—which I just learned from the David Cronenberg film A Dangerous Method, at TIFF—as well.