That Obscure Subject of Desire: Freud's Female Homosexual Revisited Book

That Obscure Subject of Desire is an interdisciplinary collection of essays on the topic of Freud's "Psychogenesis of a Case of Homosexuality in a Woman." Freud's case study has received very little attention, which the editors argue is a sign of the marginalizing of lesbians both in psychoanalytic theory and in culture. This book provides a much-needed forum to discuss the case and its relevance to contemporary concerns --including the compatibility of psychoanalysis and queer theory and the viability of writing unbiased psychoanalytic accounts of lesbian development. The collection also brings to life two dramas played out in Freud's case: the personal drama of his power struggle with his subject, and the pervasive anti-Semitism of his social world, which he projected onto women and gay/lesbian individuals. Putting Freud's vision into context, the contributors provide a corrective to the current trend of dismissing his works and show that there remains much to consider and value in his thinking.Read More