1st Edition
Asexuality and Freudian-Lacanian Psychoanalysis Towards a Theory of an Enigma
Biography
Kevin Murphy, PhD, is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist practising in Dublin, Ireland. He is a Registered Practitioner member of the Association for Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy in Ireland (APPI) and a Member of the Irish Council for Psychotherapy (ICP).
'In this richly researched work, Murphy draws on the libido theory of Freud and Lacan to give a compelling psychoanalytic account of what has come to be known as asexuality. As a recently recognised phenomenon, asexuality remains profoundly under-theorised. This book, written from the perspective of psychoanalysis, opens a new chapter in thinking about what Murphy rightly calls an enigma.'
Russell Grigg, psychoanalyst, member of the New Lacanian School, Melbourne Australia
'The usual view is that Freud’s "pansexualism" implies that all human behaviour is sexually motivated. Lacan questioned this when he stated "there is no sexual relation." In this important and timely book, Murphy goes even further. Starting from the undisputed evidence that there are asexual minorities in most cultures, he explores how the absence of sexual attraction can be non-pathological, demonstrating that such an exception proves that sexuality is not a rule. This brave investigation of a different desire makes us reconsider relationships, intimacy, and sexual identities.'
Patricia Gherovici, psychoanalyst and author of 'Transgender Psychoanalysis: A Lacanian Perspective on Sexual Difference' (Routledge, 2017)
