Donald Trump’s Long Neckties are not Symbols of Impotence. Long Neckties are not Phallic Symbols. They tie the collar around the neck.

The two most noticeable features of Trump’s appearance are his changing, colorful hair and his often excessively long neckties. I don’t know why he wears such long neckties. Perhaps he thinks they are phallic symbols.

The idea that a long necktie is a phallic symbol is one of the silliest Freudian interpretations, for if the long necktie, which hangs limply, were a phallic symbol, it would symbolize impotence.

The key to understanding the necktie is its name, “necktie”: Its purpose is to tie something around the neck (a collar).

Why would anyone want to secure a collar around the neck? Because the neck, both in fact and symbolically, represents vulnerability, as in the expression “sticking your neck out.” It you want to kill someone, the neck is a prime target. And so anything that covers the neck will help protect the person and decrease the appearance of vulnerability.

My argument is supported, not disproved, by the slave collar, for a collar that someone else has imposed on you shows that they have taken control of you at your most vulnerable point, your neck.