''Sex and Repression in Savage Society'' is a 1927 book by anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski. It is considered "a famous critique of

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...

, arguing that the '

Oedipus complex The Oedipus complex (also spelled Œdipus complex) is an idea in psychoanalytic theory. The complex is an ostensibly universal phase in the life of a young boy in which, to try to immediately satisfy basic desires, he unconsciously wishes to hav ...

' described by Freud is not universal."Connell, R. W. (2002). ''Gender'', p. 122. Wiley-Blackwell, Malinowski gives a partial explanation of the role of

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

social organization In sociology, a social organization is a pattern of relationships between and among individuals and social groups. Characteristics of social organization can include qualities such as sexual composition, spatiotemporal cohesion, leadership, s ...

through the synthesis of psychoanalysis and anthropology, considered competing

academic discipline An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

s at the time.Young, D. (1928). Malinowski's ''Sex and Repression in Savage Society'' (review). Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 25, p. 490. The book is considered an important contribution to psychoanalysis, which Malinowski acknowledged was a "popular craze of the day."Malinowski, Bronislaw (1927). ''Sex and repression in savage society.'' Routledge Classics (Psychology Press),

I have never been in any sense a follower of psycho-analytic practice, or an adherent of psycho-analytic theory; and now, while impatient of the exorbitant claims of psycho-analysis, of its chaotic arguments and tangled terminology, I must yet acknowledge a deep sense of indebtedness to it for stimulation as well for valuable instruction in some aspects of human psychology.

The book is divided into four parts. In Part 1 (The Formation of a Complex), he lays out the issues related to

childhood sexuality Development of sexuality is an integral part of the development and maturation of children. It includes a range of sensory, emotional, and consequent sexual activities that may occur before or during early puberty, but before full sexual maturit ...

through

puberty Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a bo ...

and maternal roles. In Part 2 (The Mirror of Tradition) he examines myth and

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

related to family dynamics. In Part 3 (Psycho-analysis and Anthropology), he examines the rift between the two disciplines and looks at the role

parricide Parricide refers to the deliberate killing of one’s own father and mother, spouse (husband or wife), children, and/or close relative. However, the term is sometimes used more generally to refer to the intentional killing of a near relative. It ...

may have as a foundation of

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

. In Part 4 (Instinct and Culture), he examines how humans made the transition from animalistic instincts to organized

society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...

, situating the family as "the cradle of nascent culture." He describes how

s that develop within a society must then be enforced through authority and repression. Malinowski's studies of the Trobriand islanders challenged the Freudian proposal that

psychosexual development In Freudian psychology, psychosexual development is a central element of the psychoanalytic sexual drive theory. Freud believed that personality developed through a series of childhood stages in which pleasure seeking energies from the child b ...

(e.g. the

) was universal.Doniger, Gertrude (1930. The Oedipus complex in savage society. In Sanger, Margaret (Ed.). ''Birth Control Review'', p. 288. He reported that in the insular matriarchal society of the Trobriand, boys are disciplined by their maternal uncles, not their fathers; impartial, avuncular discipline. Malinowski reported that boys dreamed of feared uncles, not of beloved fathers, thus,

power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

— not sexual jealousy — is the source of Oedipal conflict in such non–Western societies. In a brief passage in his 1979 book '' Broca's Brain'', the late science populariser Carl Sagan criticised Malinowski for thinking that "he had discovered a people in the Trobriand Islands who had not worked out the connection between sexual intercourse and childbirth", arguing that it was more likely that the islanders were simply making fun of Malinowski. Mark Mosko wrote in 2014 that further research on Trobriand people affirmed some of Malinowski's claims about their beliefs on procreation, adding that the dogmas are tied to a complicated system of belief encapsulating magic into beliefs about human and plant procreation, but he also stated that "the preponderance of ethnographic evidence ... refutes Malinowski’s notorious claims of Islanders’ supposed “ignorance of physiological paternity”".

References

External links

*
''Sex and Repression in Savage Society''
full text via

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{{Bronisław Malinowski 1927 non-fiction books Anthropology books Books about psychoanalysis Books by Bronisław Malinowski Non-fiction books about sexuality