ABSTRACT
Anatomical sex is therefore not adequate to define the relational modalities; here the chapter deals with an age at which the knowledge of sexual difference has already been attained. If primary homosexuality exists, it forms the bedrock of the developing relational system. It is therefore an entire important part of early development that needs to be reformulated in terms of primary homosexuality. Thus the aim-inhibition of the drives in the primary homosexual relationship is constitutive of tenderness, just as the aim-inhibition of secondary homosexuality is constitutive of social ties. The 'asexual' quality of tender relations stems from both the desexualisation process and their origin in primary homosexuality, prior to the establishment of sexual difference. It is the recognition of sexual difference and its accession to the centre of psychic life that puts an end to primary homosexuality.
