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The English translation of my book Seduction and Desire: The Psychoanalytic Theory of Sexuality since Freud was reviewed in JAPA 63/1 in February. The reviewer, Bradford Verter, seems disappointed that I wrote a book other than the one he expected: “From the title … one would expect to find … a comprehensive review of recent theoretical work on psychoanalytic approaches to sexuality” (p. 193). Yet I did try hard to provide just such an overview, not only of “recent theoretical work” but of psychoanalytic thinking about sexuality since Freud. The reviewer also finds fault with “three overly long chapters” (p. 193), though that doesn't exactly seem excessive given that my survey is of a good century's worth of theorizing. Worse, the reviewer claims the author made “her own contribution to the subject” (p. 193)—but what else should one expect of an author? A clear or consistent line of argument does not seem one of the reviewer's strengths, since only four lines after mentioning his expection that he would be reading about “recent theoretical work,” he complains about “synthetic reading” and a lack of “original research or casework” (p. 193). It is hard to do justice to such contradictory expectations. This carping tone, a mixture of ignorance and insinuation, unfortunately pervades this review.
However, as this is a theoretical presentation of my ideas, it is crucial they be represented clearly, which I do not feel the review has done.
In the book, I reconstruct exemplary positions in the psychoanalytic discourse on sexuality and gender, starting with Freud and the analysts of