Adolescent exaltation before its idol will considered as a fundamentally religious moment. To grasp the psychical stakes of this social phenomenon, the author suggests that its metapsychological coordinates and function be considered in light of the scene of Hiflosigkeit – the matrix of religious representations. The idol will be understood as the perceptive image which saturates the gaze, thus annihilating the blind spot which establishes perception from the starting point of lack (la Chose). Paradoxically, this passion for the idol will be turn out to be a rampart against desire. This reading enables us to understand better the unusual strategy of the monotheistic Jewish religion against idolatry – which de-totalizes the figure that cannot withstand lack. Finally, to understand how the idol is a specifically adolescent phenomenon, the author offers a rereading of the idea of sexual trauma, as revealed by the moment of adolescence.

Adolescence, 2013, T. 31, n°4, pp. 885-896.