27 Apr Sigmund Freud’s Views on Sexuality
Posted
in Industry Knowledge
Although there are a lot of theories of Sigmund Freud that we now reject, the Austrian neurologist and the forefather of psychoanalysis contributed an enormous amount to how we understand the mind and sexuality. Not only did he influence the major developers of psychological therapies we still use today, but he built the theory of the unconscious mind that we now take for granted as being a major influence on all facets of ourselves, whereas previously it existed only in the realm of artists and poets. In a previous piece, I talked about the views of sexuality that Carl Jung proposed; Freud and Jung collaborated for an intense period of time before their relationship broke down due to major theoretical differences. Although the relationship between these two giants of psychology and psychotherapy is interesting and worthy of a deep dive, in this piece, I will talk about some of the ideas about sexuality that Freud developed and that are still applicable today, almost 90 years after his death.
DESIRE FOR PLEASURE
Patient sessions were a major source of evidence for Freud’s theories, and from the talking therapy he developed, he gained insight about how sexuality progresses over the lifespan. He theorised that sexuality develops like other human capacities, such as speech and motor function, and is not fixed. The development of the human sexual capacity is an arc that begins at the start of our lives and has milestones like other capacities.
Furthermore, Freud posited that every part of the body is erotic, not just those specifically for sexual functions. This links to the development of alternative sexual behaviours where people experience pleasure from the stimulation and interaction with seemingly non-sexual items. These often misunderstood fetishes and experiences of pleasure make sense when viewed through Freud’s lens of everything being linked to the erotic, and the pursuit of sex and pleasure being a prime motivator and common denominator amongst humans.
SEXUALITY IS CONNECTED TO INTIMATE, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL CONNECTIONS
Freud believed that early caregiving relationships were extremely important, as these were the places where we learned to love and develop intimate connections with others. Freud saw this phenomenon appear in the relationship with his patients, where “transference” regularly occurred; this is when a person is reminded of another key, intimate relationship (such as that with a parent) when developing a relationship with someone else. This phenomenon is so well accepted that it is included in training for counsellors and psychotherapists, so that they can recognise and address it when it occurs.
Freud also identified how we incorporate aspects of those we love into ourselves, pointing to how powerful these relationships are in shaping our thoughts and behaviour. The depth of connections that demonstrate this phenomenon and process of internalisation are seen in expressions we used to describe loved ones, which point almost to absorption; for example, “my spouse is my better half” or “I am searching for my soulmate.”
HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT A MENTAL ILLNESS
In contrast to other mental health clinicians at the time, Freud did not believe that homosexuality was a vice, a symptom of degradation or a mental illness. He believed that neither heterosexuality nor homosexuality could be assumed to be innate. In fact, he signed a public statement in 1930, supporting the repealing of a law that criminalised homosexuality. He viewed homosexuality as a natural variation in human sexuality and did not support conversion therapies, as he felt that patients only pursued treatment for this issue due to social pressure, a motivator that he did not believe would achieve successful results for any problem a patient presented with.
FANTASY AS A FACTOR IN SEXUAL EXCITEMENT
We often create all kinds of strange and “perverse” scenarios to increase sexual excitement and lead to climax. As opposed to thinking at the time (and even today when we see the increasing censorship in the adult industry around taboo scenarios in our content), Freud viewed this as being a normal facet of sexuality. We may not actually want to engage in these scenarios when it comes to sexual encounters in real life, but imagining them as a way to heighten our sexual experiences was seen by Freud as normal in the pursuit of pleasure, a fundamental human drive.
Rem Sequence is an Australian adult content creator, blogger, and internationally published alt model. She has a background in psychology, philosophy and political science and worked in health and sex education, youth work and trauma counselling for almost two decades. Now, she works full time in the adult industry, as well as indulging her passion for arts, writing and music in numerous side projects.
Although there are a lot of theories of Sigmund Freud that we now reject, the Austrian neurologist and the forefather of psychoanalysis contributed an enormous amount to how we understand the mind and sexuality. Not only did he influence the major developers of psychological therapies we still use today, but he built the theory of the unconscious mind that we now take for granted as being a major influence on all facets of ourselves, whereas previously it existed only in the realm of artists and poets. In a previous piece, I talked about the views of sexuality that Carl Jung proposed; Freud and Jung collaborated for an intense period of time before their relationship broke down due to major theoretical differences. Although the relationship between these two giants of psychology and psychotherapy is interesting and worthy of a deep dive, in this piece, I will talk about some of the ideas about sexuality that Freud developed and that are still applicable today, almost 90 years after his death.
DESIRE FOR PLEASURE
Patient sessions were a major source of evidence for Freud’s theories, and from the talking therapy he developed, he gained insight about how sexuality progresses over the lifespan. He theorised that sexuality develops like other human capacities, such as speech and motor function, and is not fixed. The development of the human sexual capacity is an arc that begins at the start of our lives and has milestones like other capacities.
Furthermore, Freud posited that every part of the body is erotic, not just those specifically for sexual functions. This links to the development of alternative sexual behaviours where people experience pleasure from the stimulation and interaction with seemingly non-sexual items. These often misunderstood fetishes and experiences of pleasure make sense when viewed through Freud’s lens of everything being linked to the erotic, and the pursuit of sex and pleasure being a prime motivator and common denominator amongst humans.
SEXUALITY IS CONNECTED TO INTIMATE, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL CONNECTIONS
Freud believed that early caregiving relationships were extremely important, as these were the places where we learned to love and develop intimate connections with others. Freud saw this phenomenon appear in the relationship with his patients, where “transference” regularly occurred; this is when a person is reminded of another key, intimate relationship (such as that with a parent) when developing a relationship with someone else. This phenomenon is so well accepted that it is included in training for counsellors and psychotherapists, so that they can recognise and address it when it occurs.
Freud also identified how we incorporate aspects of those we love into ourselves, pointing to how powerful these relationships are in shaping our thoughts and behaviour. The depth of connections that demonstrate this phenomenon and process of internalisation are seen in expressions we used to describe loved ones, which point almost to absorption; for example, “my spouse is my better half” or “I am searching for my soulmate.”
HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT A MENTAL ILLNESS
In contrast to other mental health clinicians at the time, Freud did not believe that homosexuality was a vice, a symptom of degradation or a mental illness. He believed that neither heterosexuality nor homosexuality could be assumed to be innate. In fact, he signed a public statement in 1930, supporting the repealing of a law that criminalised homosexuality. He viewed homosexuality as a natural variation in human sexuality and did not support conversion therapies, as he felt that patients only pursued treatment for this issue due to social pressure, a motivator that he did not believe would achieve successful results for any problem a patient presented with.
FANTASY AS A FACTOR IN SEXUAL EXCITEMENT
We often create all kinds of strange and “perverse” scenarios to increase sexual excitement and lead to climax. As opposed to thinking at the time (and even today when we see the increasing censorship in the adult industry around taboo scenarios in our content), Freud viewed this as being a normal facet of sexuality. We may not actually want to engage in these scenarios when it comes to sexual encounters in real life, but imagining them as a way to heighten our sexual experiences was seen by Freud as normal in the pursuit of pleasure, a fundamental human drive.
Rem Sequence is an Australian adult content creator, blogger, and internationally published alt model. She has a background in psychology, philosophy and political science and worked in health and sex education, youth work and trauma counselling for almost two decades. Now, she works full time in the adult industry, as well as indulging her passion for arts, writing and music in numerous side projects.
