The Modern Erotic

Here are my highlights from a conference I attended at The Anna Freud Centre back at the beginning of June.

The Modern Erotic.

With Lou Andreas-Salome's 1911 book 'The Erotic' as the starting point, the conference day was about the exploration and discussion of changes over the last century in social and erotic behaviours, and how this affects the psychoanalytic approach today, in an age of the 'modern' erotic.
The full list of speakers and their abstracts/biographies can be viewed HERE



Susie Orbach and Jane Haberlin
The discussion was particularly interesting and they explored what the definition of a 'modern' erotic could be. There are new norms and new normals in the present day, and part of a psychoanalyst's job is knowing how to help people explore their own sexualities. 
It was noted that both Orbach and Haberlin had experiences with erotic anxieties from  young people. 
The sexual anxiety that many young men face is 'lack of sex', whilst for many young women it is an anxiety about an 'abundance of sex' . It is worth noting that generally women are still shamed for being sexually confident/expressive.

Using blow-jobs as an example, Orbach explains that young people's sexual repertoires are so much broader in terms of what is or is not seen as an 'intimate' sexual act, that giving head just isn't a big deal nowadays, compared to maybe our parent's or grandparent's generation where it may have been considered a more intimate act than penetrative sex. The broadening of young people's sexual knowledge is not a bad thing, it gives so many more options for exploring and expressing sexuality, however, it is observed that the core issues of sexual liberation may not have changed that much. Young women give blow jobs for boys' pleasure, but get no pleasure in giving. It was argued that the field of understanding of women's pleasure and sexual expression continues to remain very limited.

Using case studies it was explained that common themes arose in adult patients discussing their loss of libido. Women always explained their loss of libido in terms of a fault with themselves rather than blaming an 'object' of desire (partner). Whereas men always blamed their loss of libido on the 'object'.

It was agreed that the existing research and theory on the erotic isn't broad enough to help people in the present day and that studies need to made to encompass the diversities encountered today. What is considered the norm is changing, and the spectrum of sexualities so broad that the existing research on monogamous, hetero-normativity just isn't helpful nowadays.


Suzi Godson
The editor of moresexdaily.com 
We were shown various public submissions to the website that gave primary evidence of today's sexual diversity and the many different types of relationships people are exploring.


There were many, many more little jottings and notes I scribbled down throughout the day, and the speakers did a fantastic job of covering so many areas of erotic study. I came away with many ideas and interests to pursue within my art practice, as well as this small research list I hope to work my way through!

- Joyce Lockard: Erotic Complications
- Robert J Stoller: Sexual Excitement - Dynamics of Erotic Life
- Gerard Damiano: Deep Throat (film, 1972)
- Freud: Totem and Taboo
- Eros in Greece