Chapter 5 From Bisexuality to the Feminine

The concept of bisexuality, introduced by Freud from the very beginning of his work (Freud, 1950 [1892–99], p. 238), is not without some ambiguity. This is why it is necessary to clarify the use one makes of the concept. Mainly, bisexuality is considered with reference to identifications to both sexes – identifications that are the result of what is called “the decline of the Oedipus complex”. In this sense, bisexuality is linked with neurotic functioning. It implies the free use of attributes associated with genital identifications, masculine and feminine. On this level, analysis is concerned with the conflictualization of that use, as it refers to the oedipal organization. Even if this level of analysis remains essential, it is not sufficient to resolve the troubles that prevent the unfolding of a harmonious bisexuality. My clinical experience has led me to question the substructure of the neurotic organization on which the genital organization of bisexuality has been built.

It is the bisexuality of women that I have been particularly interested in. Clinical experience has led me to discover a primary core of the organization of bisexuality in women. My hypotheses are based on particular cases, connected with particular situations, and after a very long analysis. But I think that these hypotheses, even their exaggerated character, can contribute to understanding the complexities of bisexuality in women in general.

I am referring to women whose mothers present a psychotic structure that is more or less compensated. These mothers show character features that are deeply insecure for their little girls.

Unstable, unreliable in daily life and unpredictable, they tend to create an anxious atmosphere. Sometimes tender and appealing, they suddenly become stand-offish and contemptuous, capable of a disrespectful intrusion into the girl’s psyche – even into her body. Their psychic absences evoke the syndrome Green has called the “the dead mother complex” (1983). Their pres