Customer Reviews

Structure and Perversions

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I purchased this book because I am interested in the idea of "perversion" as a social phenomenon and because psychoanalytic narratives are among my favorite forms of fiction. The introdution promises the reader a new interpretation of perversion, not as aberrant behavior but as an operation of the human psyche, a "structure." Unfortunately, Joel Dor relies on incredibly outmoded analytical models, selectively citing Freud and Lacan, but failing to deeply integrate either Freudian or Lacanian thinking into his readings. He draws on scientific studies from the 1970s to support the "biological" arguments he presents, and fails to substantiate with more current research, including in the immensely expanding field of brain science. Finally, offering up horrendous case studies from his own bewildering practice as evidence of the structural nature of perversion, Dor seems to be unaware of his own predispositions in analytical interpretation.

For example, the case he presents, in truncated and anonymous form, of a homosexual man reads like a dime store novel from the 50s. This young man allows his perverse homosexuality to evolve because of the trauma of sexuality with his over-bearing mother and absent, unloving father. I can't believe this type of thinking still persists in France, and I pity the poor patients whom Dor serves.

On a positive note, the translation is excellent and, despite some of the arcane language, readable. Too bad the actual content is so unsatisfying.