The Castration Complex

This book illustrates that the Castration Complex and the question of the distinction between the sexes are enmeshed in psychoanalytic theories. The subjective negotiation of this distinction impacts the future sexual positions taken up (or not) by the subject, indicating that human sexuality is by no means a given or a natural occurrence in psychoanalysis. Engagement with the psychoanalytic theory of castration provides the reader with a different perspective on the current society’s insistence on gradually dissolving the differences between the sexes. For Freud, castration complex is the key to understanding the psychical consequences of the anatomical distinction between the sexes. For Lacan, castration introduces the subject to his/her very existence as a sexed being. Mou Sultana illustrates how these two revolutionary theorists came to such conclusions by close reading of the core texts, interpreting them and highlighting their relevance both within and outside the clinic of modern times.

This early work by Sigmund Freud was originally published in 1908 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'On the Sexual Theories of Children' is a psychological work on sexual development. Sigismund Schlomo Freud was born on 6th May 1856, in the Moravian town of Příbor, now part of the Czech Republic. He studied a variety of subjects, including philosophy, physiology, and zoology, graduating with an MD in 1881. Freud made a huge and lasting contribution to the field of psychology with many of his methods still being used in modern psychoanalysis. He inspired much discussion on the wealth of theories he produced and the reactions to his works began a century of great psychological investigation.

From fashion to football, in dreams and in epiphanies, the effects of castration anxiety, claims Ivan Ward, are ever-present.

"... a work that builds a substantial bridge between Freudian psychoanalysis and radical feminist thought, particularly on the subject of lesbianism.... Presenting a complex argument about an issue vital to the psychoanalytic endeavor as well as to feminist theory, The Practice of Love should stimulate a reconsideration of 'perversion' and the construction of sexual fantasy. The illumination of the fantasies that make lesbian desire distinctive will necessarily open up our understanding of all sexuality." --Jessica Benjamin, New York Times Book Review "Teresa de Lauretis has entwined three books into one: a critical history of psychoanalytic theories of female homosexuality; a bold study of how lesbians keep disappearing from popular culture, especially film; and an original speculation on the dynamics of lesbian desire." --Elisabeth Young-Bruehl "An important and original contribution not only to lesbian and gay studies, but also to psychoanalytic theory and film criticism. De Lauretis brings a unique and valuable perspective to issues of great importance today in all these areas." --Leo Bersani "De Lauretis's influential theory gets top marks from sapphic scholars who know best." --Out In an eccentric reading of Freud through Laplanche and the Lacanian and feminist revisions, Teresa de Lauretis delineates a model of "perverse" desire and a theory of lesbian sexuality. The Practice of Love discusses classic psychoanalytic narratives of female homosexuality, contemporary feminist writings on female sexuality, and the evolution of the original fantasies into cultural myths or public fantasies.

This Encyclopedia provides a comprehensive overview of individual differences within the domain of personality, with major sub-topics including assessment and research design, taxonomy, biological factors, evolutionary evidence, motivation, cognition and emotion, as well as gender differences, cultural considerations, and personality disorders. It is an up-to-date reference for this increasingly important area and a key resource for those who study intelligence, personality, motivation, aptitude and their variations within members of a group.

No modern writer has affected our views on women as powerfully as Sigmund Freud. And none has been so virulently attacked for both his theories of femininity and for his alleged elevation of personal prejudice to universal pronouncement. FREUD'S WOMEN examines that bold collaboration with his female patients which made psychoanalysis as much their creation as the young Viennese doctor's. It explores Freud's family life, his relations with daughter Anna, his 'Antigone', and his friendships with his followers. From the writer and turn of the century 'femme fatale', Lou Andreas Salome, to the socialist feminist, Helene Deutsch, early theorist of femininity, to Princesse Marie Bonaparte, who moved from couch to royal court with amazing facility and became head of the French psychoanalytic movement, Freud's women friends and pupils were extraordinary.

The classic manifesto of the liberated woman, this book explores every facet of a woman's life.