Homosexuality or Homoeroticism?: ‘Narcissistic Eroticism’

It may be dangerous for a psychoanalyst to let him/herself be influenced by the social and media pressure that proposes the use of the term ‘homosexual’ to describe the affective functioning of a homophile, for this assumes—from the outset—that it is of a truly sexual nature. However, following certain Freudian writings and the works of Férenczi in 1911, we know the different mechanisms of the narcissistic register that come into play in the quite particular relational behaviour that should more relevantly be called ‘homoeroticism’. On the other hand, our diagnostic and therapeutic approach will benefit from not considering, at the outset, all the economically and psychogenetically very different varieties of homoeroticism, male or female, latent or manifest, in too global a fashion, with reference also to the Freudian concept of psychic bisexuality. The French psychoanalytical research team working with the author has focused on these important issues for a number of years now. This article aims to give a fairly brief account of its work, with the objective of opening up a discussion amongst psychoanalysts, within the framework of Freudian thought.