Polymorphous perversity is
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...
's descriptive term for the non-specific nature of
childhood sexuality in its primordial form. In psychoanalytic theory, infantile sexual energy (
libido
In psychology, libido (; ) is psychic drive or energy, usually conceived of as sexual in nature, but sometimes conceived of as including other forms of desire. The term ''libido'' was originally developed by Sigmund Freud, the pioneering origin ...
) is yet to be definitively channelled into specific aims and objects, and is capable of focusing itself in any direction and on any object. The term points to the amorphous and changeable nature of the libido prior to being shaped in the processes of
socialization
In sociology, socialization (also socialisation – see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is the process of Internalisation (sociology), internalizing the Norm (social), norm ...
and
psycho-sexual development.
Sexual pleasure
Sexual stimulation is anything that leads to sexual arousal or orgasm. This thing can be physical or of other senses, and is known as a stimulus.
Sexual stimulation is a broad term, usually understood to mean physical touching of the genitals ...
in this sense is not merely genital, but potentially present in all sensual interactions, including touching, smelling, sucking, viewing, exhibiting, rocking,
defecating,
urinating
Urination is the release of urine from the bladder through the urethra in placental mammals, or through the cloaca in other vertebrates. It is the urinary system's form of excretion. It is also known medically as micturition, voiding, uresi ...
, hurting, and being hurt.
It is this original non-specificity of the libido in early childhood that makes possible the variations of the sexual drive that later manifest as so-called 'perversions' in the adult.
Freud's theory
Freud theorized that some are born with unfocused pleasure/
libidinal drives, deriving pleasure from any part of the body. The objects and modes of pleasurable satisfaction are multifarious, directed at every object that might provide pleasure. Polymorphous perverse sexuality continues from infancy through about age five, progressing through three distinct
developmental stages: the
oral stage
In Freudian psychoanalysis, the term oral stage denotes the first psychosexual development stage wherein the mouth of the infant is their primary erogenous zone. Spanning the life period from birth to the age of 18 months, the oral stage is the ...
,
anal stage
The anal stage is the second stage in Sigmund Freud's theory of psychosexual development, taking place approximately between the ages of 18 months and three years. In this stage, the anal erogenous zone
An erogenous zone (from Greek , ''ér� ...
, and
genital/phallic stage. Only in subsequent developmental stages do children learn to constrain drives towards pleasure-satisfaction to socially accepted norms, culminating in adult
heterosexual
Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions ...
behavior focused on the genitals and reproduction or sublimations of the procreative drive.
Freud thought that during this stage of undifferentiated impulse for pleasure,
incest
Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...
uous and
bisexual
Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
urges are normal. Lacking knowledge that certain modes of gratification are forbidden, the polymorphously perverse child seeks gratification wherever it occurs. In the earliest phase, the
oral phase, the child forms a libidinal bond with the mother via the inherent pleasure gained from
suckling at the breast.
For Freud, "perversion" is a non-judgmental term. He used it to designate behavior outside the socially acceptable norms of his era.
See also
*
Oedipus complex
In classical psychoanalytic theory, the Oedipus complex is a son's sexual attitude towards his mother and concomitant hostility toward his father, first formed during the phallic stage of psychosexual development. A daughter's attitude of desire ...
*
Sexual fetishism
Sexual fetishism is a sexual fixation on an object or a body part. The object of interest is called the fetish; the person who has a fetish is a fetishist. A sexual fetish may be regarded as a mental disorder if it causes significant psychoso ...
*
Paraphilia
A paraphilia is an experience of recurring or intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, places, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. It has also been defined as a sexual interest in anything other than a legally consenting human ...
References
Sources
* Freud, Sigmund. ''The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud''. Trans. James Strachey. 24 vols. London: Hogarth, 1953–74.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polymorphous Perversity
Freudian psychology
Paraphilias
Psychoanalytic terminology
Sexual orientation and psychology
Sexual attraction
Sexual fetishism