Perversity, Pornography, and the Psychology of the Male Species An Overdue Rethinking of Robert Stoller’s Gender Theories

1. Being a Gendered Being: Maleness Versus Manliness  2. The Realm of Perversity  3. Fetishization and the Campaign to Alter Reality  4. Male Pride, Men’s Dread of Women, and the Effort to Neutralize Female Power  5. Sons and Mothers: D. H. Lawrence’s Treatise on Male Psychology  6. Variations on a Theme: The “Doing to” and “Being Done to” Forms of Perversity  7. Internet Porn (IP): A Place to Hole up and Hide out  8. Beyond Fantasy and Pornography: An invitation to join in  9. Perverse Transferences  10. So What? Providing Perspective

Biography

Richard Tuch is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles. He is a Training and Supervising Analyst at The New Center for Psychoanalysis (Los Angeles) and the Psychoanalytic Center of California (Los Angeles). His interest in the work of Robert Stoller is directly related to personal experiences he had being taught by Professor Stoller when he was in psychiatric training at UCLA.

‘This re-examination of the work of Robert Stoller in the light of contemporary

thinking offers psychoanalysts a unique and thoughtful perspective, free from the

rhetoric and ideology of political correctness and culture wars on gender, core

gender identity, sexual excitement, sexual fantasy and the erotic lives of humans.

In doing so, it reaffirms the rightful place of sexuality as a subversive force in the

psychoanalytic understanding of the individual, as it advances a robust theory

about the psychological and emotional development of the male specie.’

 

Howard B. Levine, Editor-in-Chief of The Routledge W.R. Bion Studies Series; and

Editor-in-Chief of French Psychoanalysis: Contemporary Voices, Classical Texts

(Karnac).

‘In this engaging, clearly written, and scholarly book, Richard Tuch offers his readers a sorely needed rediscovery of his esteemed teacher, Robert Stoller’s original thinking about perversity, fetishization, and pornography.  Calling attention to an overlooked aspect of Stoller's work, a deeper appreciation of the complexity of male psychological development is provided.  In an era of “toxic masculinity” and attacks on the “feminine,” this unique book delivers important understandings to clinical practitioners and analytically-oriented social theorists alike.’

Michael J. Diamond, Ph.D, Training and Supervising Analyst, Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies; author, Masculinity and Its Discontents: The Male Psyche and the Inherent Tensions of Maturing Manhood (Routledge) and Ruptures in the American Psyche: Containing Destructive Populism in Perilous Times (Karnac).

‘Richard Tuch, M.D., has written a much-needed reconsideration of the psychoanalytic theories of the great American psychiatrist, Robert J. Stoller, M.D., whose work shined a light on marginal populations and enriched our understanding of normal sexuality and perversity.  This thoughtful and long overdue study of Stoller’s work provides insight into the role that fantasy, fetishization, and arousal play in the development of the male psyche.’

Gilbert Herdt, PhD, anthropologist and author of Guardians of the Flutes, Intimate Communications: Erotics and the Study of Culture (co-authored with Robert J. Stoller), and Third Sex, Third Gender.

‘Tuch traces Stoller's understanding of core gender identity and the ongoing discussion of that topic in the psychoanalytic literature. He illustrates the power of Stoller's ideas in our understanding of fetishes, perversions, pornography, and their appearance in art and in life. He does this with a writing style that recalls that of Stoller--clear, jargon-free, and straightforward.’

Robert Michel, MD, Emeritus University Professor of Psychiatry, Cornell University, Former Joint Editor-in-Chief International Journal of Psychoanalysis