The Aspirational “We”

Drucilla Cornell’s early work established the imaginary as a right and freedom, useful for feminist analysis. Drawing on Lacan's version of the imaginary, but elaborating her own, the domain becomes a social phenomenon, not only a way of imagining bodily autonomy, but an indispensable element for any such imagining. This essay assesses Cornell’s innovative reformulation of the imaginary and suggests that it has further political implications than those that Cornell pursued in her early work.