Ars erotica or scientia sexualis? : post-jungian reflections on the homosexualities

V. Lingiardi

Homosexualities, like heterosexualities, are numerous and the psychological type of "the homosexual" does not exist. The binary schema of hetero/homo allows us to understand very little of the sexualities of other times and other cultures. Categorization runs the risk of flattening the sexual discourse as human sexuality cannot be completely summed up by using psycho(patho)logical or biological models. In speaking of how men and women love, we find ourselves in the territory of culture, narration and language. Therefore, contemporary psychoanalytic inclusiveness promotes an interdisciplinary and transcultural dialogue which serves the purpose of the author's eclectic (post-Jungian and relational) approach. In light of contemporary emerging perspectives on the multiplicities of sex and gender, this paper also tries to illustrate its points by examining the prevailing attitudes within the Italian psychoanalytic community toward gay/lesbian people.