Overview

This book presents an overview of present-day psychoanalytic thinking about the perverse spectrum: perverse thinking (disavowing reality), perverse modes of relating (manipulating others for one’s own gain at the other’s expense), and perverse character structure (toying with another’s sense of reality), culminating in a clinical exploration of the challenges associated with treating patients who manifest perverse transference reactions. Stoller’s contested theories about gender identity, sexual fantasy, and perversity constitute a model of male psychological development that contradicts Freud’s belief about the advantages of being born male. When a boy realizes his body differs from that of his mother, noted Stoller, the boy ceases to feel as close to her as he once felt, which is a calamity the boy must bear and mourn. The boy’s burgeoning sense of superiority, associated with the phallic narcissistic stage of development, helps counter the loss. Fixation at this stage is not the norm as Stoller had imagined, rather it helps account for what is colloquially referred to as “toxic masculinity.” The task of individuating from mother colors a man’s subsequent relationships with women, beginning with the boy’s efforts to break free of mother followed by a subsequent struggle against the urge to be reunited with the primal mother, which contributes to men’s dread of women. Rereading Stoller challenges present-day thinking about gender and gender identity, and it clarifies the role objectification/fetishization, sexualization, and perversity play in the lives of men—the extent male fantasy is tinged with hostility. With fascinating clinical vignettes and a deep understanding of the source material, this is key reading for psychoanalysts and psychotherapists working with men.

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9781032974750

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Reviews

‘This re-examination of the work of Robert Stoller in the light of contemporary thinking offers psychoanalysts a unique and thoughtful perspective, free from the rhetoric and ideology of political correctness and culture wars on gender, core gender identity, sexual excitement, sexual fantasy and the erotic lives of humans. In doing so, it reaffirms the rightful place of sexuality as a subversive force in the psychoanalytic understanding of the individual, as it advances a robust theory about the psychological and emotional development of the male specie.’ Howard B. Levine, Editor-in-Chief of The Routledge W.R. Bion Studies Series; and Editor-in-Chief of French Psychoanalysis: Contemporary Voices, Classical Texts (Karnac). ‘In this engaging, clearly written, and scholarly book, Richard Tuch offers his readers a sorely needed rediscovery of his esteemed teacher, Robert Stoller’s original thinking about perversity, fetishization, and pornography. Calling attention to an overlooked aspect of Stoller's work, a deeper appreciation of the complexity of male psychological development is provided. In an era of “toxic masculinity” and attacks on the “feminine,” this unique book delivers important understandings to clinical practitioners and analytically-oriented social theorists alike.’ Michael J. Diamond, Ph.D, Training and Supervising Analyst, Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies; author, Masculinity and Its Discontents: The Male Psyche and the Inherent Tensions of Maturing Manhood (Routledge) and Ruptures in the American Psyche: Containing Destructive Populism in Perilous Times (Karnac). ‘Richard Tuch, M.D., has written a much-needed reconsideration of the psychoanalytic theories of the great American psychiatrist, Robert J. Stoller, M.D., whose work shined a light on marginal populations and enriched our understanding of normal sexuality and perversity. This thoughtful and long overdue study of Stoller’s work provides insight into the role that fantasy, fetishization, and arousal play in the development of the male psyche.’ Gilbert Herdt, PhD, anthropologist and author of Guardians of the Flutes, Intimate Communications: Erotics and the Study of Culture (co-authored with Robert J. Stoller), and Third Sex, Third Gender.

Author Information

Richard Tuch is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles. He is a Training and Supervising Analyst at The New Center for Psychoanalysis (Los Angeles) and the Psychoanalytic Center of California (Los Angeles). His interest in the work of Robert Stoller is directly related to personal experiences he had being taught by Professor Stoller when he was in psychiatric training at UCLA.

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