Lacan's psychoanalytic take on what makes a pervert perverse is not the fact of habitually engaging in specific "abnormal" or transgressive sexual acts, but of occupying a particular structural position in relation to the Other. Perversion is one of Lacan's three main ontological diagnostic structures, structures that indicate fundamentally different ways of solving the problems of alienation, separation from the primary caregiver, and castration, or having limits set by the law on one's jouissance. The perverse subject has undergone alienation but disavowed castration, suffering from excessive jouissance and a core belief that the law and social norms are fraudulent at worst and weak at best. In Perversion, Stephanie Swales provides a close reading (a qualitative hermeneutic reading) of what Lacan said about perversion and its substructures (i.e., fetishism, voyeurism, exhibitionism, sadism, and masochism). Lacanian theory is carefully explained in accessible language, and perversion is elucidated in terms of its etiology, characteristics, symptoms, and fundamental fantasy. Referring to sex offenders as a sample, she offers clinicians a guide to making differential diagnoses between psychotic, neurotic, and perverse patients, and provides a treatment model for working with perversion versus neurosis. Two detailed qualitative clinical case studies are presented-one of a neurotic sex offender and the other of a perverse sex offender-highlighting crucial differences in the transference relation and subsequent treatment recommendations for both forensic and private practice contexts. Perversion offers a fresh psychoanalytic approach to the subject and will be of great interest to scholars and clinicians in the fields of psychoanalysis, psychology, forensic science, cultural studies, and philosophy.

Gynaecologist William Howell Masters and psychologist Virginia Eshelman Johnson pioneered research into the nature of human sexual response and the diagnosis and treatment of sexual disorders and dysfunctions from 1957 until the 1990s. This book examines their influential scientific sex research and its groundbreaking implications for sex therapy and the study of human sexuality. Until now, these developments have been largely ignored in sociology. The book illuminates how Masters and Johnson have constructed their apparently scientific ideas about sexual function and dysfunction with reference to dominant Western discourses about sexuality. In addition, the book will explore some of the wider theoretical, conceptual and historical issues relating to the study of human sexuality. These will include a critical evaluation of conventional accounts of the history of the sociology of sex, particularly in the United States, major theoretical frameworks used in the study and understanding of human sexuality, and some of the key concepts underpinning sex research and sex therapy.

Success for Modern Day Relationships: Working with Dating, Engaged, and Married Couples by Barbara R. Cohl, PhD, is a compilation of practical, effective, empirically tested techniques and interventions that allow a therapist to evaluate and treat an array of marital issues. By using colorful and instructive vignettes derived from her private practice, Dr. Cohl provides lessons she has learned from happy and successful couples, and teaches her couples as well as her readers how to avoid the pitfalls that unhappy couples share. Success for Modern Day Relationships covers all of the different stages of romantic relationships, from the first date to engagement, marriage, and sometimes to separation and divorce. Through her book, Cohl helps readers to essentially take the guesswork out of creating a successful relationship.

In a personal, nontechnical, and informal style, eminent researcher Ira L. Reiss discusses the many situations he has encountered during the past fifty years while researching sexuality and developing useful and innovative explanations of its different aspects. Most of the problems that were present during those years are still confronting those who work on human sexuality. Reiss discusses his experiences in sexual science in areas such as premarital sex, the sexual revolution, Masters and Johnson's therapy, feminism and sexuality, crises in sexual organizations, responses to HIV/AIDS, child and adolescent sexuality, radical social constructionism, biology versus sexual science, international trends, and the movement toward a Ph.D. in sexual science. The insights and solutions Reiss proposes are of great importance to all those who are interested in the sexual issues that affect people today.

This landmark book is the first and only historical, cultural, and theoretical account of how male homosexuality has been viewed-and frequently misconstrued and distorted-by the psychoanalytic tradition from Freud through the 1980s. In this groundbreaking survey, Kenneth Lewes shows how the original psychoanalytic ideals of understanding and compassion were betrayed by later psychoanalytic clinicians and theorists. Reconsidering Freud and his early followers in a new light, Lewes shows how they posited a model of psychological development that included homosexuality as one of its natural variants. But psychoanalysis, in its later attitudes toward homosexuality, soon changed from an open-minded and humane discipline into an insular and calcified orthodoxy. Exposing the basis of the acrimony and alienation that have characterized relationships between homosexuals and psychoanalysis, Psychoanalysis and Male Homosexuality is a sometimes shocking account of intolerance, hostility, and close mindedness. But it also carefully and fairly documents a parallel story of unexpected sensitivity as it explores the future possibilities-as well as the limits-of psychoanalysis as a humane science. This twentieth anniversary edition includes a new introduction by the author, in which he reflects on the changes that have occurred in the past twenty years between the psychoanalytic establishment and people who are homosexual. It also includes two forewords by prominent analysts, Gilbert Cole and Donald Moss, who discuss the personal and historical importance of Lewes's work.

This book brings together the most recent work of Caribbean psychologists in the English-speaking islands of Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad on gender and sexuality. The authors analyse the unique challenges posed by contradictions between cultural values and modern sexual expression in the region. They examine a broad range of topics such as conceptions of gender roles in primary school children, sexual behavior and emotional social intelligence in adolescents, and sexual identities and orientations in adults. Chapters cover issues including how women who have sex with women (WSWs) self-identify, the 'Lebenswelt' (life world) of men who have sex with men (MSM) in Jamaica, transsexual care and its psychological impact, the influence of music on sexuality, how intimacy is defined, as well as the relationship between identity formation and the fear of intimacy in Jamaica, and the practice of polyamory in Jamaica and Trinidad. This distinctive collection is the first of its kind, grounded in both qualitative and quantitative research. It presents a sophisticated comparative analyses of the cultures of the Anglophone Caribbean represented by Trinidad, Jamaica and Barbados to offer a broader discussions of intimacy and relationships. With practical implications for therapy, it will be of great interest to scholars and practitioners of gender and sexuality studies, psychology and culture.

The concept of "gender" has recently become one of the symbols of what many consider "a clash of civilizations" between the West and Muslim countries. Recent events highlight how gender issues are emblematic of the basic traits of a country's culture, and thus constitute some of the elements allowing for the construction of dividing lines between cultures, arbitrarily distinguishing between the "evolved" and "backward" ones, therefore with the aim to establish demarcation lines between "Us" and the "Others". The existential condition of migration leads to formation of multiple and diasporic identities, deterritorialized and reassembled at the individual level. In this scenario the integration of migrants is the result of a two-way process, in which rely significantlythe social representations that migrants are being built on the population and of the host society (before and after the arrival) and intangible resources (cognitive and relational) experienced by migrants. Gender studies usually employing a constructionist perspective have seldom dealt with the issue of migration by analysing the experiences of the migrants themselves. The few studies have highlighted how migrants' gender and sexuality underline the persistence of a model of domination and alteration typical ofthe colonial era, emphasizing the social identity allocation mechanisms used by Western societies that follow essentialist visions of migrants' ethnic and sexual identity, that is, of a social status considered as inferior and undesirable. There are several theoretical and methodological challenges calling for a perspective that takes into account the interconnection between gender, sexuality and migration. Studies on sexuality have now taken two roads, often strongly polarized and non-communicating between them: on the one hand, also because of the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, appeared a new generation of surveys on sexual behaviour of Western (and others) populations and on the changes in sexual behaviour along the main socio-economic and cultural fractures. On the other, a research trend on sexuality (New Sexuality Studies) has developed with mixed purposes, both analytical and critical-emancipatory ones. This branch, which focuses almost exclusively on the study of minority sexual subcultures, portrayed sexuality mostly through the lens of power and regarded with suspicion any attempt to develop a systematic and methodologically documented analysis of sexuality.The book will have repercussions on the progress of knowledge from a macro dimension represented by the growth and the transformation of migration flows across the Mediterranean to Europe to meso dimension of social representations of gender and sexuality that the migrant builds himself and the population of the host society; finally, the micro dimension through the analysis of case studies. From these problems, the book aims to initiate a transdisciplinary reflection on such issues and sexuality, in part by reducing the clear vacuum in scientific research taking shape as an experimental laboratory of new research perspectives because we recognize, critically, how the methods of the social sciences do not simply reproduce the phenomena under study, but also contribute - a greater or lesser degree - to their construction. And at the same time making an issue of sex, sexuality and the multiple identifications of gender of and in migration, involving migratory experiences both on the side of leaving a country and on that of arriving to another.

When in therapy, women inevitably present both sexual and spiritual issues of importance. However, there has yet to be brought forth an integrating approach to women s sexuality and spirituality. The book fills this gap, integrating these two diverse yet connected aspects of therapy. This innovative exploration of women s experiences of their sexuality and spirituality is presented from a feminist psychological perspective, clearly illustrating the dichotomy that exists in Western culture and offering a unique approach for convergence. This book provides therapists with positive and self-affirming viewpoints and practical strategies to help harmonize sexual and spiritual issues in women clients.

The book uses a synergistic perspective to facilitate healing for women s psycho/sexual/spiritual growth and development. Therapists are provided with invaluable tools for personal understanding and clinical practice when considering sexuality and spirituality and how they interact in a client s life.

This book is crucial reading for psychotherapists, counselors, social workers, educators, pastoral counselors, and anyone interested in learning more about the intersections between sexuality and spirituality.

This book was published as a special issue of Women & Therapy: A Feminist Quarterly.

When in therapy, women inevitably present both sexual and spiritual issues of importance. However, there has yet to be brought forth an integrating approach to women s sexuality and spirituality. The book fills this gap, integrating these two diverse yet connected aspects of therapy. This innovative exploration of women s experiences of their sexuality and spirituality is presented from a feminist psychological perspective, clearly illustrating the dichotomy that exists in Western culture and offering a unique approach for convergence. This book provides therapists with positive and self-affirming viewpoints and practical strategies to help harmonize sexual and spiritual issues in women clients.

The book uses a synergistic perspective to facilitate healing for women s psycho/sexual/spiritual growth and development. Therapists are provided with invaluable tools for personal understanding and clinical practice when considering sexuality and spirituality and how they interact in a client s life.

This book is crucial reading for psychotherapists, counselors, social workers, educators, pastoral counselors, and anyone interested in learning more about the intersections between sexuality and spirituality.

This book was published as a special issue of Women & Therapy: A Feminist Quarterly.

The books commonly known as the Kinsey Report were Dr Alfred C. Kinsey s monumental scientific publishing achievement in 1948, often compared to the atomic bomb for its impact on the American public. On the sexagennial anniversary of the publication of Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, this book focuses on Alfred C. Kinsey s work and life. Sixteen chapters consider the Kinsey legacy, tracing the development of modern American bisexuality, and posing an intriguing and illuminating look at many aspects of bisexuality in Kinsey s life as depicted and lived in popular biographical culture and media.

Contributors to this stellar collection of outstanding writing include the final surviving member of Kinsey's original research team, Dr Paul H. Gebhard, PhD, as well as leading names in the fields of sex research, GLBTIQA activism, and bisexual writing.

This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Bisexuality and was a Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Excellence in Bisexual Literature.

Sexuality is an important area of clients' lives yet it is often neglected, both in the consulting room and in training. This book examines issues of sexuality in a positive and affirming light and considers how sexuality-related issues can be introduced into therapy and training. Sex and sexuality are important to consider in psychotherapy, psychology, counselling and health provision across a variety of contexts and are relevant to clinicians and therapists working in health and mental health settings as well as in specialist services such as sexual and reproductive health and HIV.

Sex, Sexuality and Therapeutic Practice opens with a general discussion of sex and sexuality before considering how the therapists can think and talk about sexuality in practical and self-reflective ways in different circumstances. Each chapter in the book focuses on a specific topic with areas covered including:

• sexual diversity across the lifespan
• health and disability
• sexual and gender minority issues
• how culture and sexuality interact.

The manual provides up-to-date information, further reading, handouts for clients, self-reflective exercises and examples of training exercises for workshops and teaching. It is an essential resource for health professionals, therapists, clinicians, academics and trainers, and will support the practicing therapist as well as those in training.

The last half-century has seen enormous changes in society s attitude toward sexuality. In the 1950s, homosexuals in the United States were routinely arrested; today, homosexual activity between consenting adults is legal in every state, with same-sex marriage legal in Massachusetts and Connecticut. In the 1950s, ambitious women were often seen as psychopathological and were told by psychoanalysts that they had penis envy that needed treatment; today, a woman has campaigned for President of the United States.

Mark Blechner has lived and worked through these startling changes in society, and Sex Changes collects papers he has written over the last 45 years on sex, gender, and sexuality. Interspersed with these papers are reflections on the changes that have occurred during that time period, both within the scope of society at large as well as in his personal experiences inside and outside of the therapeutic setting. He shows how changes in society, changes in his life, and changes in his writing on sexuality - as well as changes within psychoanalysis itself - have affected one another.

One hundred years ago, psychoanalysis was at the cutting edge of new ideas about sex and gender, but in the latter half of the 20th Century, psychoanalysts were often seen as reactionary upholders of society s prejudices. Sex Changes seeks to restore the place of psychoanalysis as the "once and future queer science," and aims for a radical shift in psychoanalytic thinking about sexuality, gender, normalcy, prejudice, and the relationship of therapeutic aims and values.

"Gender as Soft Assembly" weaves together insights from different disciplinary domains to open up new vistas of clinical understanding of what it means to inhabit, to perform, and to be, gendered. Opposing the traditional notion of development as the linear unfolding of predictable stages, Adrienne Harris argues that children become gendered in multiply configured contexts. And she proffers new developmental models to capture the fluid, constructed, and creative experiences of becoming and being gendered. According to Harris, these models, and the images to which they give rise, articulate not only with contemporary relational psychoanalysis but also with recent research into the origins of mentalization and symbolization.
In urging us to think of gender as co-constructed in a variety of relational contexts, Harris enlarges her psychoanalytic sensibility with the insights of attachment theory, linguistics, queer theory, and feminist criticism. Nor is she inattentive to the impact of history and culture on gender meanings. Special consideration is given to chaos theory, which Harris positions at the cutting edge of developmental psychology and uses to generate new perspectives and new images for comprehending and working clinically with gender.

The only book about research on sex and gender with critical thinking as its core theme! "Thinking Critically about Research on Sex and Gender "3e is written to be easily accessible in very short chapters. The authors demonstrate that most of the claims about sex and gender are not well supported by research and then provide readers with critical tools they can apply to come to realistic, constructive conclusions. All of this is provided in a concise, inexpensive volume by a best-selling trade author and instructor team. This book covers topics ranging from whether there are sex differences in the brain and hormones; sexuality and sexual orientation; math, spatial, and verbal abilities; aggression, dependency, and masochism; and mother-blame.

First published in 1986. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

A jaw-dropping re-evaluation of everything we thought we knew about men, women, and sex.

Men are biologically programmed to want sex with lots of different women, whereas women are designed to stay true to one person, right?

Wrong.

In Untrue, New York Times -bestselling author Wednesday Martin reveals that we are just at the beginning of understanding women’s sexuality properly. From New York to Namibia to a conference of sex researchers in Montreal, she takes us on a journey to understand women who refuse monogamy, posing questions about why we became sexually exclusive in the first place.

Martin attends all-female sex parties where married straight women fulfill their fantasies; considers contemporary societies where women take many lovers; analyses how the invention of the plough suppressed female autonomy; and presents fascinating research about why women stray (their motivations are not so different from men’s).

Frank and myth busting, Untrue validates the desires of women everywhere, including the ‘silent majority’ in committed relationships who struggle with staying faithful.

The true role of biology in determining sexual orientation is an oft-debated issue in both the popular media and scientific communities, and evaluating the literature on the topic can be daunting. "Nature's Choice: What Science Reveals About the Biological Origins of Sexual Orientation" offers both a comprehensive review of the scientific literature and a fresh perspective on this complex and politically charged subject. Respected researcher, speaker, and author Dr. Cheryl L. Weill offers readers of all backgrounds an enlightening analysis of findings from over twenty years of research on the factor of biology in the determination of sexual orientation. "Nature's Choice: What Science Reveals About the Biological Origins of Sexual Orientation" brilliantly distills complicated studies and research findings dealing with brain anatomy, genetics, sex-typical behavior in children, auditory, startle reflex, and many other areas. Spanning a wide range of important topics including human sexual development and the effects of hormones, Ellis and Ames' Gestational Neurohormonal Theory, the ins, outs, and implications of how scientific research is funded, and a model of the role of testosterone in determining human sexuality, "Nature's Choice" is an exciting book to educate and inspire readers from scientific and non-scientific backgrounds equally. For a complete Instructor's Manual and other supplementary materials see: www.natures-choice.info

The true role of biology in determining sexual orientation is an oft-debated issue in both the popular media and scientific communities, and evaluating the literature on the topic can be daunting. "Nature's Choice: What Science Reveals About the Biological Origins of Sexual Orientation" offers both a comprehensive review of the scientific literature and a fresh perspective on this complex and politically charged subject. Respected researcher, speaker, and author Dr. Cheryl L. Weill offers readers of all backgrounds an enlightening analysis of findings from over twenty years of research on the factor of biology in the determination of sexual orientation. "Nature's Choice: What Science Reveals About the Biological Origins of Sexual Orientation" brilliantly distills complicated studies and research findings dealing with brain anatomy, genetics, sex-typical behavior in children, auditory, startle reflex, and many other areas. Spanning a wide range of important topics including human sexual development and the effects of hormones, Ellis and Ames' Gestational Neurohormonal Theory, the ins, outs, and implications of how scientific research is funded, and a model of the role of testosterone in determining human sexuality, "Nature's Choice" is an exciting book to educate and inspire readers from scientific and non-scientific backgrounds equally. For a complete Instructor's Manual and other supplementary materials see: www.natures-choice.info

The subject of homosexuality, and especially male homosexuality, has received a great deal of publicity in England and America. The furor began with Kinsey's famous reports on sexual behavior, which brought out the fact that a far higher proportion of the population than was commonly supposed deviated from accepted standards of normality and morality. Taking courage from the apparent safety of large numbers, the sexually unorthodox and their sympathizers began to challenge the criteria of normality, and to question whether sexual habits that were widespread and so deeply entrenched could justifiably be written off as immoral. D.J. West's "Homosexuality" dissects the myths and paranoia surrounding this topic by examining the nature and roots of homosexuality.The politico-legal controversy has tended to overshadow the more fundamental psychological questions concerning the nature and causes of homosexuality. In this field, no striking discoveries have resulted from the increased public interest. Nevertheless, a body of factual data has accumulated, and a number of theories are available. The author's main purpose is to summarize as clearly as possible what is known, to draw what practical conclusions may be possible, and to point out where we are still groping and ignorant.This book deals mainly with male homosexuality because in men the condition causes more clear cut social problems and has been studied more intensely by psychiatrists. Unfortunately, though strongly held opinions abound, hard facts about homosexuality and its possible causes are difficult to obtain. Even now, serious medical and sociological investigations in this subject are scandalously few considering the importance of the questions in human terms. This resistance becomes acutely apparent when a social until a large section of the public is prepared to face the facts squarely and rationally and to support adequate research, our knowledge will remain rudimentary. This book clears away the debris of myth and misunderstanding in a vital area of social concern.

Lewis Carroll's photographs of young girls, Julia Margaret Cameron's photographs of Madonnas and the photographs of Hannah Cullwick, "maid of all work", pictured in masquerade - Carol Mavor addresses the erotic possibilities of these images, exploring not ony the sexualities of the girls, maids and Madonnas, but the pleasures taken - by the viewer, the photographer, the model - in imagining these sexualities.

The past decade has seen dramatic growth in every area of the prison enterprise. Yet knowledge of the inner life of the prison remains limited. This book redresses this research gap by providing insight into various aspects of the daily life of prison staff. The book provides a serious exploration of their work and, in doing so, draws attention to the variety, value, and complexity of work within prisons. Understanding Prison Staff provides information on relevant research studies, key debates, and on operational and procedural matters. It includes reflective material which academic staff can adopt for core or specialist modules which focus on prison management, prison officer training, and the occupational cultures of prison staff.

Changes in biological processes, relationships, and community interactions influence the emergence of sexuality in all young people. The process is more complex and difficult for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) teenagers. Fortunately, the cultural changes that have allowed LGB youths to become more open about themselves at earlier ages have also allowed social and behavioral scientists the opportunity to study them. The essays in this volume explore the psychological dimensions of LGB identities from puberty to adulthood. The essays focus on three general areas: theoretical frameworks that are important in understanding the development of sexual orientation in adolescence, challenges faced by LGB youth, and issues related to interventions and services for LGB youths in community settings. This volume presents authoritative, research-based reviews of this ever-increasing area of study and social concern.

Gynaecologist William Howell Masters and psychologist Virginia Eshelman Johnson pioneered research into the nature of human sexual response and the diagnosis and treatment of sexual disorders and dysfunctions from 1957 until the 1990s. This bookaexamines theirainfluential scientific sex research and its groundbreaking implications for sex therapy and the study of human sexuality.

Until now, these developments have been largely ignored in sociology. The bookailluminates how Masters and Johnson have constructed their apparently scientific ideas about sexual function and dysfunction with reference to dominant Western discourses about sexuality. In addition, the book will explore some of the wider theoretical, conceptual and historical issues relating to the study of human sexuality. These will include a critical evaluation of conventional accounts of the history of the sociology of sex, particularly in the United States, major theoretical frameworks used in the study and understanding of human sexuality, and some of the key concepts underpinning sex research and sex therapy. "

The papers featured in "Attachment and Sexuality "create a dense tapestry, each forming a separate narrative strand that elucidates different configurations of the relationship between attachment and sexuality. As a whole, the volume explores the areas of convergence and divergence, opposition, and integration between these two systems. It suggests that there is a bi-directional web of influences that weaves the attachment and sexual systems together in increasingly complex ways from infancy to adulthood.
The volume's unifying thread is the idea that the attachment system, and particularly the degree of felt security, or lack thereof in relation to early attachment figures, provides a paradigm of relatedness that forms a scaffold for the developmental unfolding of sexuality in all its manifestations. Such manifestations include infantile and adult, masturbatory and mutual, and normative and perverse. Also central to the papers is the idea that the development of secure attachment is predicated, in part, on the development of the capacity for mentalization, or the ability to envision and interpret the behavior of oneself and others in terms of intentional mental states, including desires, feelings, beliefs, and motivations. Topics discussed in the book will help to shape the direction and tenor of further dialogues in the arena of attachment and sexuality.