ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book shows the complex interplay between history and the understanding of desire, which points to the importance of understanding same gender sexual desire not as a universal construct across time and place but as embedded in a society of a particular time and place. It discusses changing understandings of homosexuality within contemporary psychoanalysis. The book also shows the contributions of clinical psychoanalytic study of same gender desire and sexual orientation for analyst and analysand alike. It explores the implications of a clinical psychoanalytic perspective for the study of gay and lesbian lives. The book considers the dynamics of the development of a lesbian identity. It provides a timely overview of contemporary approaches to the study of sexual orientation within psychoanalysis and highlights issues important in psychoanalytic treatment with lesbians and gay men.
