Object-Instinctual and Developmental Aspects of Perversion*

Perversion is a term which has been used in psychoanalytic literature to describe behavior such as fetishism, exhibitionism, voyeurism, transvestism, and, under certain circumstances, homosexuality. Classical psychoanalytic theory describes perversion as a reaction to castration anxiety which is characterized by a regression from genital sexuality to infantile sexuality, in order to preserve sexual release. Recent theory, however, has emphasized the preoedipal factors in perversion, suggesting that developmental disturbance in the first year or two of life undermines the ego and the stability of the self.

Phyllis Greenacre,11 in a consideration of the genetic and dynamic backgrounds of perversions (such as fetishism, transvestism, voyeurism, and exhibitionism) suggests that “due to early disturbances in the mother-infant relationship there is a severe impairment of object relationships which combines with a specifically determined weakness of the body and self-images, especially involving the genitals.” This paper will explore the preoedipal aspects of the development of perversions and the way in which they manifest themselves in self and object representations. Specifically, an attempt will be made to illustrate how transference anxiety can lead to a perverse acting-out behavior, autoerotic fellatio, which may be regarded as a response to an experienced unempathic object, a defense against narcissistic homosexual wishes, and a reaction to separation-engendered aggression. The phenomenon of autoerotic fellatio will be explored from the point of view of developmental arrest as well as object-instinctual conflict.