The Psychopathology of Fetishism and Transvestitism

The subject of the sexual perversions and anomalies, with the possible exception of homosexuality, has hitherto been regarded as a field in which the concepts of Freudian psycho-analysis are especially applicable. Analysts of other schools have made few contributions to the study of these conditions; and psychiatrists who are more interested in classification than in treatment have been content to relegate these cases to the diagnostic scrap-heap of psychopathic personality.

Since I believe that the theoretical concepts of analytical psychology can further our understanding of these conditions, I have attempted to put down in this paper various tentative conclusions from my own experience with patients. Most of the paper is concerned with the perversions of fetishism and transvestitism; but there are also some remarks on sadism, masochism, and male homosexuality.

The psycho-analytic explanation of the perversions of fetishism and transvestitism can be found in the papers of Freud, Fenichel, and Gillespie. Can analytical psychology add anything to the psycho-analytic point of view?

One of the most valuable insights which Jung has given us is that symptoms, however bizarre or unpleasant they may seem, have a positive value for the development of the personality. If this concept is applied to the study of the sexual perversions, it can, I believe, be demonstrated that these disorders represent a striving towards normality rather than a flight away from it. Moreover, we can also detect in the perversions evidence of the compensatory function of the unconscious, which is such an important concept in analytical psychology, and comparatively neglected by psycho-analysis.

Psycho-analysis is principally concerned with tracing the genesis of symptoms; analytical psychology with their prospective implications. I hope to show that the teleological point of view can add something to the reductive.