Identification and its vicissitudes as observed in the perversions

This paper aims to contribute to the clarification of the different meanings of the concept of identification and the different processes involved in the making of an identification, by considering the perversions as disorders of internalization. The different forms of internalization are regarded as lying along a continuum of which identification is at one extreme and involves the incorporation of (part of) the object-representation into the self-representation. The pervert is shown to be unable to carry out the process of identification because he is fixated at an early developmental phase which I refer to as the 'core complex': instead of identification he has to make use of 'stimulation' in which the subject unconsciously models himself on (parts of) the object. The crucial role the body plays in these dynamics is considered. Exploration of these issues highlights how, in order for identification to take place, the issues of the core complex need to be adequately resolved in the course of normal development.