The development and organizing function of perversion: the example of transvestism

Area of Science:

• Psychoanalytic Theory
• Psychopathology
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Traditional psychoanalytic views linked perversion to Oedipal conflicts and neurosis.
• Contemporary perspectives increasingly emphasize pre-Oedipal and traumatic factors.
• Both viewpoints capture clinical reality, but often neglect drive derivatives.

Observation:

• Sexual and aggressive drive derivatives, conflicts, object relations, and symbolic enactments are crucial in the analytic setting.
• Organized perversions are complex, evolved, stable psychopathological formations at the neurotic level.
• These differ from borderline/psychotic syndromes using perverse mechanisms for defense.

Findings:

• The paper defines and characterizes 'organized perversion' as a distinct clinical entity.
• It contrasts organized perversions with transsexualism, which lacks this organized structure.
• Clinical material illustrates the evolution, manifestation, and analysis of organized perversions.

Implications:

• Reintegrating drive derivatives into the understanding of perversion offers a more comprehensive psychoanalytic model.
• Recognizing organized perversions aids in differentiating them from more severe dissociative or psychotic states.
• This framework enhances the analysis of specific psychopathological formations and their treatment.