Fetishism in a woman

Fetishism is generally considered to be a perversion occurring only in males. In this paper a clinical illustration of an adult woman with a fetishistic perversion is offered and considered within the context of the classic concept of fetishism originally described by Freud. Similarities and differences between male and female fetishism are discussed, with attention given to the greater complexity of the perversion as it occurs in a woman. The clinical example confirms the existence of fetishism in women and suggests that subtle forms of the perversion may go unnoticed and be more prevalent than previously realized.     

Abuser and abused: Perverse solutions following childhood abuse

This paper addresses the relationship between severe childhood physical abuse and both perverse states of mind and frank perversion in women. The psychic necessity for the perversion in these circumstances is discussed, together with the wide range of forms it may take. Psychoanalytic psychotherapy may pose great technical difficulties in such cases. This is because of both the strains the therapist must bear in the countertransference, and also the constant pressure on the therapist to enact with the patient her perverse internal object relationships.     

Female perversion: scenes and strategies in analysis and culture

The author presents some ideas derived from observation in analysis about differing positions of Freud and Jung on perversion and about probable differences in perverse structural elements of women in contrast to men. In general perversion is understood as a defence of the self; in particular with women it is seen as a defensive way of achieving a false wholeness, a pseudo-androgyny. A case study describes the unfolding of a perverted transference. The importance of reaching the analyst and being understood by the analyst through projective identification is stressed. Quite often a sexually abusing mother seems to play an important role in generating female perversion; the implications in analysis are discussed as well as some ideas about culture and gender.     

Gibt es ein weibliches ?quivalent zur m?nnlichen Perversion?

Starting with the new definition of paraphilia as planned for the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) it will be shown that the topic cannot be handled without a structural definition of the former perversion. Using the most advanced definition for male perversions it will be investigated if there are female counterparts covering the same structural deficits and pseudosexual solutions. This is done using an interpretation by Beyer of a fairy tale from the brothers Grimm which can be considered as typical for these solutions. The basic clinical background will be exemplified using several long-term psychoanalytical cases of women during which it became clear that the creation and destruction of children??s lives is an equivalent to the reparative function of the sexual act in the male perversion, temporarily stabilizing an extremely vulnerable narcissistic structure. It will be discussed whether there are other structural equivalents of perverse solutions, for example taking power of the child??s or the own body as in anorexia or Munchhausen by proxy syndrome.     

Talking With Chameleons: The Role of Language-Games and Setting: Commentary on Paper by Dana Amir

In this paper I take up Dana Amir's concept of the “chameleon language” of perversion considering Wittgenstein's idea of the language-game and the necessity of taking up the context of communication. The setting of psychoanalysis represents a new context for the language of perversion, one that at first implicitly and later explicitly recognizes the bid for tenderness beneath the stealth. I suggest it is the analyst's willingness to risk vulnerability in this game, as much as the interpretation of perverse pacts, that fosters clinical change.     

Das weibliche Körperselbst und die Perversion

Perversion has been traditionally the “domain of men”. The necessity and ability inherent in perversion of sexualizing aggression, of externalization and fetish formation were regarded as specific characteristics of male development. Perversions of women were not recognized, because they were looked for in the wrong place, without taking into account the significance of the particular female body experience for the psychosexual development of the woman. In the perversion of the woman the externalization and fetish formation refers to the whole of the own body and especially to the uterus and the child (as an own “product” or as a part of the own body). The female perversions are presented and interpreted here on the basis of case studies.     

Perverse thought

Based on Bion's work on the 'psychotic and non-psychotic parts of the personality', the author hypothesises the existence of a special type of thought disorder known as 'perverse thought'. First the author presents an overview of the major contributions to the concept of perversion that have a bearing on 'perverse thought'. These include Freud's splitting and disavowal concepts, Klein's projective identification concept, Bion's - K link and Meltzer's transference perversion. Then, by means of a case study and some vignettes, the author illustrates how this thought disorder is configured within the analytic process. The author focuses on three main aspects of this pathology: the specific modality of projective identification in a perverse scheme, the lie and some important clinical events that reveal an attack against knowledge through the formation of the - K link. Perverse thought is an important resistance mechanism in the analytic process. Its clarification is essential, given that its main objective is to attack the knowledge process, and therefore truth, in order to pervert the analytic relationship.     

Why perversion?: False love and the perverse pact1

In this paper, the author works with the awareness that perversion is a socially, historically and theologically loaded term, at the same time as it may be the latest frontier in psychoanalysis, both clinically, and in relation to contemporary art and culture which emphasize the perverse. Positioning itself against tendencies to deny the existence of a category of perversion or, inversely, to abuse it for the power that accrues from the act of diagnosing, she also points to other liabilities in the history of the treatment of this term, such as the narrowing down of perversion to the exclusively sexual domain, or, alternatively, the overextension of it to polymorphously erotic practices that enhance sexual excitement. The paradoxes of perversion and the difficulties of distinguishing the perverse from the non‐perverse are addressed. The case is also made that, in order to understand perversion, one must unlink it from the narrow notion of sexual practice and see what is involved on a deeper level an approach initiated when psychoanalysis turned to perversion as a defense against psychotic anxieties, and began considering the necessary place of perversion in the transference countertransference. Two features common to both sexual and non‐sexual perverse relations are the seductive and bribing aspects of perversion, and its means‐ends reversal. Perversion is a haven for the disguising of hatred and suspicion as excitement and (false) love. Displaced child and beating father, entitled child and seductive mother, are both prototypes of psychoanalytic refiection on parents who excite, deceive and corrupt their children and establish perverse pacts with them. The notion of the perverse pact is foregrounded in Alice's analysis, where first the resurrection and then the dismantling of such a pact were effected through various analytic means.     

Technology,Perversion, and Dehumanization: Response to Discussions of My Paper

In this paper, I expand my claim that technological advances are significantly altering self-definition and relationship. I address the mixed reactions to the concept of perversion and argue that, despite its problematics, the term should be retained. I respond to Kieffer’s and Coen’s request for additional clinical material and highlight Hartman’s many misreadings of my paper.     

Sex,Disorder and Perversion

Abstract

This paper aims to describe an objective account of sexual perversion. That is, it seeks to characterize sexual perversion as something which is not simply a deviation from a statistical norm but rather as something which violates an objective naturalistic norm. The central point is that perversion consists in the introduction of a strange and extraneous loop in the aetiology of sexual sensations, and this extraneous loop makes it possible to characterize sexual perversion as an objective disorder which is in need of therapy.     

A metasynthesis of published case studies through Lacan's L‐schema: Transference in perversion

Transference in perversion is characterized by specific problems such as a defiant and polemic attitude, erotic transference, projections, and aggression. Such transference poses particular problems in the treatment of perversion and might render analytical work with these patients impossible. The authors propose that Lacan's L‐schema can contribute to separating productive from counterproductive aspects of transference as it distinguishes between an Imaginary and a Symbolic dimension in transference. In this meta‐synthesis of 11 published case studies on sexual perversion, patterns of transference are analysed. On the Imaginary dimension, the authors found that patients with perversion tend to (un)consciously engage the analyst in a relationship characterized by identification, fusion and rivalry. On the Symbolic dimension, they found that perverse patients are able to question their motives, lapses, symptoms, and subjective identity. The thematic analysis revealed the importance of the position of the analyst in this work, which is described within the L‐schema as being the representative of the otherness in the Other. Implications for clinical practice and recommendations for further research are outlined.     

On the psychodynamics of collecting1

The urge to collect is a ubiquitous phenomenon which has anthropological, sociobiological and individual psychodynamic roots, but occurs far more frequently among men than women. The author examines the reasons for this gender difference and defi nes systematic collecting to distinguish it from addictive, obsessive and messy collecting, and from related phenomena such as perversion. The mode of collecting and choice of object are important indicators as to the unconscious psychodynamics of a collector and offer opportunity to describe his structural level. Collecting ranges across a broad spectrum, from an ego‐syntonic integrated mode, i.e. sublimation, to a neurotic defence against pre‐oedipal or oedipal traumas and confl icts. Alongside this drive‐theoretical approach, object and Kleinian theory are also applied to the understanding of collecting. Collecting represents a specifi c form of object relating and way of handling primary loss trauma, which is different from addiction, compulsion, or perversion. Under certain circumstances collecting can also result in a successful Gestalt or way of life. The paper concludes with a case study showing how collecting develops from a pre‐oedipal to a more integrated oedipal mode during the course of the analysis, which is refl ected in changes in the transference.     

Perverse relationships: The perspective of the perpetrator

The author examines the theme of perverse relationships within the couple, focusing on the question of men's maltreatment of their female partners, particularly in the psychological sense. Various aspects of the perpetrator's personality and relational style are described. The author takes as her starting point and discusses in depth the concepts of narcissistic perversion (Racamier, 1992) and relational perversion (Pandol, 1999), considered useful for understanding and identifying this type of pathology. She postulates that maltreating behaviour, in fact, originates from the encounter of particularly non–empathic relational styles which are typical of certain personalities (mainly, but not exclusively, of the narcissistic disorder) with perversity, that is, perversion, understood as a character trait. The author makes a distinction between relational perversion and sado–masochistic relationship, and presents a clinical picture deriving from the analysis of a man who maltreats his companion, in order to shed light on the above–mentioned aspects, touching on some problems arising in the analysis of such patients. In conclusion, she considers some aspects of the experience of victims of maltreatment.     

The place and value of bestophilia in perversions

An attempt is made to place bestophilia in cultural, clinical, and theoretical perspective. Archeological and anthropological documentation and records of the widespread appearance in mythology of this practice are cited. This archaic form of perversion is still practiced in rural environments and isolated communities. The treatment of a man who grew up in such an environment gave the author the opportunity to study this form of perversion. The correlation of clinical findings with culturally sanctioned bestophilia provides a bridge between the understanding of psychopathology and anthropological variation.     

Psychoanalytic perspectives on paraphilias and perversions

Since Freud’s exposition of the nature of perversion in his seminal work, Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality there has been a multitude of rich and varied explorations of human sexual fantasies and behaviours that are considered as perversions within the psychoanalytic literature. However, with more recent societal shifts towards the acceptance of sexual orientations and practices which would previously been categorized as deviant, perversion has become a pejorative term seen as stigmatizing and debasing those whose sexual preferences do not conform to the traditional norm. In this paper I argue that certain psychoanalytic concepts of perversion retain utility in how we might think about and help individuals whose sexual desires and practices cause distress to themselves and/or others, particularly in the realm of intimate relationships. Historical and contemporary theories about the nature and origins of perverse fantasies and behaviour are presented and explored, focusing on how perversion may be conceptualized as a defence against early anxieties and disturbances in the mother–infant relationship. Such ideas inform a psychoanalytic approach to the treatment of perversions, particularly in consideration of transference and countertransference dynamics. The ideas in this paper are based on my work at the Portman Clinic in London, UK.     

Female exhibitionism: identification, competition and camaraderie

The ancient figure of Baubo plays a pivotal role in the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone with an exhibitionistic act that brings Demeter out of her depression. The Baubo episode raises questions about the meaning of female exhibitionism, suggesting divergences from earlier psychoanalytic conceptualizations as either a perversion or a compensation for the lack of a penis. In line with contemporary thinking about primary femininity, such as that of Balsam or Elise, the authors propose a more inclusive understanding of female exhibitionism, which would encompass pleasure in the female body and its sexual and reproductive functions. They argue that female exhibitionism can reflect triangular or "oedipal" scenarios and the need to attract the male, identification with the mother, competition or camaraderie with other women, a sense of power in the female body and its capacities, as well as homoerotic impulses. The authors posit a dual early desire and identification with the mother that underlie and characterize female sexual development. The authors present clinical data from adolescent and adult cases of female exhibitionism which illustrate these Baubo-like aspects and discuss the technical issues that are involved in such cases.     

The analyst's excitement in the analysis of perversion

The author believes that unconscious sexual excitement in the transference and countertransference is an especially problematic aspect of the analysis of perverse character pathology and that perverse sexual gratifi cation deserves a more prominent position in the clinical theory of analyzing perversion than that which has been assigned tacitly through analysts' routine focus on the defensive and destructive dynamics of perversion. He presents clinical material from the analysis of a perverse patient that illustrates the role of excitement in the transference perversion established in this analysis; and he asserts that gratifying perverse enactments occurring in the transference perversion can appear not only as conscious or unconscious excitement in the transference but also, at times most clearly, as the analyst's excitement. The author suggests that using a clinical theory that supports the analyst in understanding his excited responses as perverse countertransferences-i.e. evoked excitement complementary to the sexual component of a perverse transference-will assist him in locating and thinking about gratifying, perverse excitement in the transference where it is most usefully analyzed. Finally, he discusses some of the reasons why analysts might deny, suppress or otherwise avoid perverse countertransferences and in so doing contribute to sustaining perverse resistances.     

Pentheus rather than Oedipus: On perversion,survival and analytic ‘presencing’1

Following an introductory review of the main developments in the psychoanalytic thinking on perversion, the author focuses on her own understanding of perversion and its treatment, based on the psychoanalytic treatment of patients with severe sexual perversions. This paper uses the term ‘autotomy’ (borrowed from the fi eld of biology) to describe perversion formation as an ‘autotomous’ defence solution involving massive dissociative splitting in the service of psychic survival within a violent, traumatic early childhood situation; thus, a compulsively enacted ‘desire for ritualised trauma’ ensues. The specifi c nature of the perverse scenario embodies the specifi c experiential core quality of the traumatic situation. It is an actual repetition in the present of the imprint of a past destructive experience which is pre‐arranged and stage‐managed; it thus encounters haunting scenes of dread or psychic annihilation while, at the same time, controlling, sanitising and disavowing them. Hence, the world of severe perversion is no longer oedipal, but rather the world of Pentheus, Euripides's most tragic hero‐a world dominated by a mixture of a mother's madness, devourment, destruction and rituals of desire. According to this view, the (diffi cult) psychoanalytic treatment of perversion focuses on patient‐analyst interconnectedness‐brought about by the analyst's ‘givenness to being present’ or ‘presencing’‐at a deep, primary level of contact and impact (the emphasis being on the ontological dimension of experience). This evolving therapeutic entity creates and actualises a new, alternative experiential‐emotional reality within the pervert's alienated world, eventually generating a change in the perverse essence. The author illustrate this approach with three clinical vignettes.