Asexuality and Freudian-Lacanian Psychoanalysis: Towards a Theory of an Enigma

192 Pages·2022·4.47 MB·English

by  Kevin Murphy

In this richly researched work, Murphy draws on the libido theory of Freud
and Lacan to give a compelling psychoanalytic account of what has come to
be known as asexuality. As a recently recognised phenomenon, asexuality
remains profoundly under-theorised. This book, written from the perspective of
psychoanalysis, opens a new chapter in thinking about what Murphy rightly calls
an enigma.
Russell Grigg, psychoanalyst, member of the New
Lacanian School, Melbourne, Australia
The usual view is that Freud’s “pansexualism” implies that all human behaviour
is sexually motivated. Lacan questioned this when he stated, “there is no sexual
relation.” In this important and timely book, Murphy goes even further. Starting
from the undisputed evidence that there are asexual minorities in most cultures,
he explores how the absence of sexual attraction can be non-pathological,
demonstrating that such an exception proves that sexuality is not a rule. This brave
investigation of a different desire makes us reconsider relationships, intimacy, and
sexual identities.
Patricia Gherovici, psychoanalyst and author of Transgender
Psychoanalysis: A Lacanian Perspective on
Sexual Difference (Routledge, 2017)

Asexuality and Freudian-Lacanian
Psychoanalysis
Asexuality and Freudian-Lacanian Psychoanalysis: Towards a Theory of an
Enigma proposes that asexuality is a libidinally founded desire for no sexual
desire, a concept not included in psychoanalytic theory up to now.
“Asexuality” is defined as the experience of having no sexual attraction for
another person; as an emerging self-defined sexual orientation, it has received
practically no attention from psychoanalytic research. This book is the first
sustained piece of exploratory and theoretical research from a Freudian-Lacanian
perspective. Using Freudian concepts to understand the intricacies of human sexual
desire, this volume will also employ Lacanian conceptual tools to understand how
asexuality might sustain itself despite the absence of Other-directed sexual desire.
This book argues that asexuality holds a mirror to contemporary sexualized society
which assumes sexual attraction and eroticism as the benchmarks for experiencing
sexual desire. It also argues that asexuality may be a previously unrecognized
form of human sexuality which can contribute new understandings to the range
and breadth of what it means to be a sexual being.
This book will be of interest to anyone in the area of asexuality or sexuality –
psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, university lecturers,
researchers, students or those simply curious about the possibilities of the human
sex drive.
Kevin Murphy, PhD, is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist practising in
Dublin, Ireland. He is a Registered Practitioner Member of the Association for
Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy in Ireland (APPI) and a Member of the Irish
Council for Psychotherapy (ICP).

Asexuality and
Freudian-Lacanian
Psychoanalysis
Towards a Theory of an Enigma
Kevin Murphy
Cover image: ©iStock/Getty Images
First published 2023
by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Kevin Murphy
The right of Kevin Murphy to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
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or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
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or registered trademarks and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022022302
ISBN: 978-1-032-10357-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-10358-7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-21494-6 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003214946
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
This book is dedicated to my wife, Gina, who
has been a constant source of love, support and
encouragement.

Contents
Preface x
Acknowledgements xii
Introduction 1
1 What Research Has to Say about Asexuality 19
2 Towards a Freudian Understanding 37
3 Key Freudian Concepts and Their Relation
to Asexuality 60
4 Towards a Lacanian Understanding of Asexuality 82
5 The Challenge of Libido and the Annulment
of Sexual Desire 107
6 Asexual Jouissance and the Lacanian Sinthome 133
7 Conclusion 155
Index 175