New Psychoanalytic Views on Bisexuality

Abstract

The concept of psychic bisexuality appeared early in the history of psychoanalysis (in Freud’s letter to Fliess dated 6th December 1896), and undoubtedly played a role in the discovery and description of the Oedipus complex in both its positive and negative aspects. But it has not, perhaps, been allowed to give its full measure, in particular in the analysis of pre-Oedipal development and the working of the mind in this early period. It is true, of course, that Melanie Klein’s description of the early stages of the Oedipus conflict constituted a decisive step in the exploration of the early phases of psychic bisexuality. I feel, however, that a further step remains to be taken - that of examining the relevance of the idea of psychic bisexuality at the most primitive levels of the origins of the mind and the deep-seated strata of the psychic apparatus, as Tustin suggested. These are the configurations which lie at the root of narcissism and support individuation and they correspond to what W.R. Bion called the container, Bick the psychic skin and D, Anzieu first the skin-ego then the psychic envelope, this implies that we consider three levels where psychic bisexuality is involved and where the problem of integrating masculine and feminine aspects arises first, the psychic envelope, then part-object relations, and, finally, whole object relations.