Perversion - its ubiquity in infantile life and its persistence in the psychical and sexual lives of some adults - was a central element of Freud's lifelong empirical and theoretical work. The problem of perversion has since been revisited by many psychoanalytic schools and orientations. Some authors have sharpened the definition of perversion by differentiating it from perverse fantasies, so-called near-perversions and perverse traits, whereas others have sought to re-conceptualise perversion as an erotic form of hatred, a fixated anal object-relation, or a neo-sexuality. The result is that Freud's original view of perversion has been replaced by a large variety of - often contradictory - psychoanalytic perspectives on its aetiology, development and treatment. This bi-partite collection of essays offers a series of perspectives on perversion by a range of psychoanalytic practitioners and theorists, and a selection of papers by scholars from related fields who work with, or critique, psychoanalytic theories perversion. These unique and invaluable contributions to the study of psychoanalysis, perversion and culture stage a serious dialogue between the discipline of psychoanalysis and its critics and commentators on the controversial issue of non-normative sexuality. It is essential reading for students and practitioners of psychoanalysis, for cultural critics, and for anyone who wants to know more about the positions occupied by psychoanalysis in contemporary debates about sexuality. --- from the publisher |
