ABSTRACT
This essential and ubiquitous role of sexuality is nowhere more vividly illustrated than in the perversions: here the observation of the contortions that man’s sexuality is willing to undergo in pursuit of its master’s wellbeing cannot fail to convince one of this point. This is acknowledged in one way or another by all those analysts who have worked in the field of the perversions (such as Chasseguet-Smirgel 1978; Gillespie 1956; Glasser 1979; Glover 1933; Khan 1979; Limentani 1976; McDougall 1980;
Rosen 1979; Stoller 1975). However, the organizers of this Conference asked me not to centre this talk on the perversions and I must say I welcome this constraint since the points I would like to make would stand the risk of being discredited on the grounds of a bias in my illustrative clinical material.
