Jacques Lacan has been acknowledged as one of the giants of psychoanalysis, whose influence has spread far from the clinical psychology that his theories were rooted in, to become a touch point in English, social science, philosophy and perhaps most radically, feminism. Moreover, his key work on the constitution of identity and the recognition of self have enabled feminism to move with the times and adapt its theories to a new political climate. Nominal equality at least may have largely been achieved for many women in the western world - but the old questions still haunt the thinking of gender relations, and require fresh input if trenchant criticism is to remain alive.