409: Sexuality
Instructors
Stephanie Brandt, M.D.
Lissa Weinstein, Ph.D.
March 27 – May 22, 2024
Wednesdays, 7:00- 8:25 pm
Co-requisites
Candidates must have or have had at least two cases in supervised psychoanalysis to be eligible for upper level courses.
Course Description
This course will examine the place of sexuality in psychoanalytic thinking. The changing history of what is conceptualized as “pathological” will be discussed, as well as the history of the use of the term “perversion”. The range of sexual inhibitions and atypical sexual functioning will be reviewed focusing on the regressive adaptation and defensive alignments that are central to perverse enactments, structure and character. Clinical illustrations will be central to the discussion.
Educational Objectives: Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:
- Describe the history of psychoanalytic theories on sexuality
- Apply current theories on sexuality in the clinical situation.
Evaluation Method
Each student’s participation in class discussion and his or her demonstration of understanding of the course objectives and reading material is assessed in a written evaluation by the instructor(s).
These articles are protected under relevant copyright regulations. They are available in the New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute Electronic Reserve for your convenience, and for your personal use.
READINGS ARE CONFIRMED.
Part One – History and Theory
I. History of Psychoanalytic Theories of Sexuality
CLASS 1: March 27, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Freud, S. (1919). ‘A Child is Being Beaten’ A Contribution to the Study of the Origin of Sexual Perversions. The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XVII (1917-1919): An Infantile Neurosis and Other Works, 175-204.
Freud, S. (1927). Fetishism. The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XXI (1927-1931): The Future of an Illusion, Civilization and its Discontents, and Other Works, 147-158.
Freud, S. (1920). Beyond the Pleasure Principle. The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XVIII (1920-1922): Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Group Psychology and Other Works, 1-64.
Freud, S. (1938). Splitting of the Ego in the Process of Defence. The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XXIII (1937-1939)
II. Post-Freudian History of Psychoanalytic Theories on Sexuality (pre 1980s)
CLASS 2: April 3, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Bak, R.C. (1968). The Phallic Woman—The Ubiquitous Fantasy in Perversions. Psychoanal. St. Child, 23:15-36.
Laplanche, J. Pontalis, J.B. (1968). Fantasy and the Origins of Sexuality. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 49:1-18.
Stoller R. J. (1973). Overview: the impact of new advances in sex research on psychoanalytic theory. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 130(3): 241–251.
III. Post-Freudian History of Psychoanalytic Theories on Sexuality (Homosexuality)
CLASS 3: April 10, 2024
Guest Instructor: David Goldenberg, M.D.
REQUIRED READINGS
Goldenberg, D. & Brown, P. V. (2023). Fashioning Hate: Driving the Runway of Desire. International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 20:452-466.
Friedman, R.C., Downey, J.I. (1998). Psychoanalysis and the Model of Homosexuality as Psychopathology: A Historical Overview. Am. J. Psychoanal., 58: 249-270.
Isay, R.A. (1987). Fathers and their Homosexually Inclined Sons in Childhood. Psychoanal. St. Child, 42:275-294.
Phillips, S.H. (2001). The Overstimulation of Everyday Life: I. New Aspects of Male Homosexuality. J. Amer. Psychoanal. Assn., 49(4):1235-1267.
IV. Post-Freudian History of Psychoanalytic Theories on Sexuality (pre 1990s)
CLASS 4: April 17, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Chasseguet-Smirgel, J. (1991). Sadomasochism in the Perversions: Some Thoughts on the Destruction of Reality. J. Amer. Psychoanal. Assn., 39:399-415.
Khan, M. (1979). Reparation to Self as Idealized Internal Object. In: Alienation in Perversions. London: Routledge.
McDougall, J. (1972). Primal Scene and Sexual Perversion. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 53:371-384.
V. Contemporary Psychoanalytic Theories of Sexuality
CLASS 5: April 24, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Wynn, N. [ContraPoints]. (2024, March 1). Twilight [Video]. YouTube. [Read transcript and watch Part 4: Power 1:51:28; Part 5: Death 2:22:12; Part 6: Identity]
WATCH AT THIS LINK: https://youtu.be/bqloPw5wp48?si=BAIWvDfT7xAfgRh8
Bach, S. Schwartz, L. (1972). A Dream of the Marquis De Sade—Psychoanalytic Reflections on Narcissistic Trauma, Decompensation, and the Reconstitution of a Delusional Self. J. Amer. Psychoanal. Assn., 20:451-475.
Weinstein, L. (2007). When Sexuality Reaches Beyond the Pleasure Principle: Attachment, Repetition, and Infantile Sexuality. In D. Diamond, S. J. Blatt, & J. D. Lichtenberg (Eds), Attachment and Sexuality. Routledge. 10.4324/9780203837566-5.
Saketopoulou, A. (2014). To Suffer Pleasure: The Shattering of the Ego as the Psychic Labor of Perverse Sexuality. Studies in Gender and Sexuality, 15(4):254-268.
Part Two – Clinical Aspects of Sadomasochism
VI. Modern and Developmental Theories of Sadomasochism
CLASS 6: May 1, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Bach, S. (2002). Sadomasochism in Clinical Practice and Everyday Life. J. Clin. Psychoanal., 11(2):225-235.
Cooper, A. M. (1988). The narcissistic-masochistic character. In R. A. Glick & D. I. Meyers (Eds.), Masochism: Current psychoanalytic perspectives (pp. 117–138). Analytic Press, Inc.
Novick, J. & Novick, K. (2022). A Metapsychological Framework for Sadomasochism. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 103:1038-1056.
Olesker, W. (2011). The Story of Sam: Continuities and Discontinuities in Development, Transforming Into and Out of a Perversion. Psychoanal. St. Child, 65:48-78.
VII. Sadomasochism: BDSM, Technology/Inanimate Objects and Consent
CLASS 7: May 8, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Aubrey, S. (Producer), & Gillespie, C. (Director). (2007). Lars and the Real Girl [Motion picture]. United States: MGM Distribution Co.
WATCH AT THIS LINK: https://youtu.be/zMiXFD32NJY?si=ITsERvqyTrSSd-30
BDSM – handouts will be distributed to the class
Knafo, D. (2015). Guys and Dolls: Relational Life in the Technological Era. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 25:481-502.
Saketopoulou, A. (2019). The Draw to Overwhelm: Consent, Risk, and the Retranslation of Enigma. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 67:133-167.
VIII. Sadomasochism in Clinical Practice (Masochistic presentations)
CLASS 8: May 15, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Blum, H. P. (2011). Masochism: Passionate Pain and Erotized Triumph. Psychoanalytic Review, 98:155-169.
Brandt, S. & Rudden, M. (2020). A Psychoanalytic Perspective on Victims of Domestic Violence and Coercive Control. International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 17:215-231.
Frankel, J. (2004). Identification with the Aggressor and the ‘Normal Traumas’: Clinical Implications. International Forum of Psychoanalysis, 13:78-83.
Gaitskill, M. (1988). Secretary. In: Bad Behavior. New York: Poseidon Press.
IX. Sadomasochism in Clinical Practice (Sadism – Sexual Sadism, Pedophilia and Child Abuse)
CLASS 9: May 22, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Burris, C. & Leitch, R. (2016). Your Pain, My Gain: The Interpersonal Context of Sadism. In K. Aumer (Ed)., The Psychology of Love and Hate in Intimate Relationships. (pp. 85-103). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39277-6_6
Follingstad, D. & DeHart, D. (2000). Defining Psychological Abuse of Husbands Toward Wives. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15(9): 891-920.
Morgan, E. (2023). Dissociation and multiple-personality disorder in incarcerated women: Observations from the Washington, D.C. Detention center. Jail 1987–1989. International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 20(3): 435-451.