By Raha Boshra
When it comes to sexology, there are discussions on its popular pioneers who have shared their theories, findings, knowledge, and thoughts on sex and sexuality. Richard von Krafft-Ebing, Havelock Ellis, and Magnus Hirschfeld, to name a few. However, they all have different perceptions of what is considered “normal” and “abnormal”. A popular example is Sigmund Freud, who is known for his strange concepts on the psychology behind sex.
Eventually breaking away from sexology, establishing his own science of sexuality, and outlining a general theory of human psychology, Sigmund Freud outshone Krafft-Ebing and changed our conception of humanity and sexuality. Freud’s perspective became known as psychoanalysis (Seidman, 2014).
The works of Krafft-Ebing focus on the “norm”, being heterosexuality; meanwhile, Freud makes the point that many areas of the body are erotic and there are many ways of experiencing sexual satisfaction. Even Seidman states that the fourth key idea of sexology reveals that the sexual instinct is by nature heterosexual.
I believe that these “rules” and labels on what is “normal” take the bigger image of sexuality away, even causing bigotry like homophobia and transphobia. Sex and sexuality are not black and white, and it is not limited to heterosexuality just for procreation. If anything, the main point of sex is pleasure, not to reproduce. Whereas sexologists defined the sexual instinct as reproductive and naturally heterosexual, Freud argued that the sexual instinct is oriented to pleasure. Moreover, humans get pleasure not only from sexual intercourse but also from kissing, touching, caressing, looking, and sometimes dominating and being dominated (Seidman, 2014). This is why I often agree with the points that Sigmund Freud makes on sexology, because he has a wider view on sexuality and the psychology behind it, even when many might think that his ideas were “bizarre”.
Freud also coined the idea of the stage theory of psychosexual development, which includes different stages throughout childhood to adulthood. However, Freud’s idea caused public outrage, much like his other ideas. Gradually, as the child matures, the “oral phase” is replaced by the “anal stage.” Eventually, the child arrives at the “genital stage.” Freud believed that the genital stage marks the beginning of adult development, as the individual is no longer self-stimulating but is oriented to other individuals (Seidman, 2014).
With more input from Seidman, Sigmund Freud’s work is important for three reasons.
First, sexuality is understood as beyond and more than genital intercourse for purposes of reproduction. Sexuality is a wide subject, and so is the drive to experience pleasure. This leads to the second reason, as Freud insists that normal sexuality includes a wide range of desires and acts beyond procreation. Freud presents a very modern view of sexuality by framing sexuality as a diffuse drive for bodily pleasure (Seidman, 2014). The third reason is that Freud approached sexuality as a social phenomenon, even though he saw sex as rooted in biologically based drives and physical pleasures. This is proven by Freud’s sexual theories in stages of the human life and how simple behaviors can reflect something deeper, starting from childhood to adulthood. Freud also believed that sex goes beyond physical, as it can involve fantasies and wishes of desire for pleasure. To Freud, sex was a matter of the mind and the body, and the mind is shaped by social dynamics (Seidman, 2014).
Freud opened the way to thinking about sex as a fundamentally psychosocial reality; however, Freud never abandoned the sexological view that sex is natural. His successors in psychoanalysis were divided between those who developed the biological aspects of his ideas and those who explored the interpersonal context of psychosexual development (Seidman, 2014).
References:
Seidman, S. (Oct. 10, 2014). The Social Construction of Sexuality, 3rd Edition. [[VitalSource Bookshelf version]]. Retrieved from vbk://9780393270235
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