Sexuality and Procreation in the Age of Biotechnology (The New Library of Psychoanalysis)

205 Pages·2021·3.001 MB·English

by  Paola Marion

‘This is an important book because it illuminates a difficult and
controversial development. Paola Marion discusses psychoanalytic
theory as it relates to the scandal of sexuality in the light of modern
conceptions, addressing the problems posed by the present time,
including not only the new forms of procreation but also the cruxes
faced by current society in terms of the evolution of sexuality such as
the queer and the transgender. These new forms of identity constitute
a real challenge for psychoanalysts whose clinical practice compels
them to question their own theories.’
Anna Maria Nicolò, Past President of
the Italian Psychoanalytic Society
‘What happens when procreation is no more “only” the combination
between a man and a woman, since the “cold third” of technology
brings something else and/or someone else into the process which
generates a new human being? When other genetic material than the
one of the couple (or at least, material treated by a medical figure)
enters the Freudian primal scene? And what with the new homo-
sexual or sexually polymorphic parenthoods? Paola Marion master-
fully investigates these crucial points from an updated and deeply
integrative psychoanalytic perspective.’
Stefano Bolognini, Past President of
the International Psychoanalytic Association

Sexuality and Procreation in
the Age of Biotechnology
Through the lens of psychoanalytic thought about sexuality, the book examines
changes in the area of procreation and generation, the disjunction between
sexuality and procreation introduced by biotechnology and some new methods of
reproduction, and their impact on the essential moments of existence (birth,
illness, death) and the most intimate aspects of personal identity (sexuality,
procreation, body).
At the centre of this book is the thesis that the disjunction between sexuality and
procreation brought about by biotechnology represents a new scenario and
introduces elements of discontinuity. What kind of effects on individuals will the
modifications introduced by biotechnologies in the field of procreation have?
How can these changes affect even the most profound aspects of personal identity,
including body and sexuality? How might they interfere with the sphere of desire?
The book investigates the new scenarios and the consequences which are
emerging, such as an alteration of personal boundaries, both in spatial and
temporal terms, which is reflected in our way of thinking about ourselves and our
relationships and the assertion of an unconscious fantasy that the limits imposed by
sexuality and death can be surpassed.
Offering a psychoanalytic reading of changes introduced in this field, this book
will appeal to training and practising psychoanalysts, as well as philosophers,
psychologists, and gynaecologists.
Paola Marion is a Training and Supervising Analyst for the Italian Psychoanalytic
Society and a Child and Adolescent Psychoanalyst. She is past Chair of the IPA
Outreach Committee for Europe (2011–2013) and past Editor (2017–2021) of the
Rivista Italiana di Psicoanalisi. She has published papers in the International Journal of
Psychoanalysis (IJP) and other reviews and collections.
THE NEW LIBRARY OF PSYCHOANALYSIS
General Editor: Alessandra Lemma
The New Library of Psychoanalysis was launched in 1987 in associa-
tion with the Institute of Psychoanalysis, London. It took over from
the International Psychoanalytical Library which published many
of the early translations of the works of Freud and the writings of most
of the leading British and Continental psychoanalysts.
The purpose of the New Library of Psychoanalysis is to facilitate a
greater and more widespread appreciation of psychoanalysis and to
provide a forum for increasing mutual understanding between psycho-
analysts and those working in other disciplines such as the social sciences,
medicine, philosophy, history, linguistics, literature and the arts. It aims to
represent different trends both in British psychoanalysis and in psycho-
analysis generally. The New Library of Psychoanalysis is well placed to
make available to the English-speaking world psychoanalytic writings
from other European countries and to increase the interchange of ideas
between British and American psychoanalysts. Through the Teaching
Series, the New Library of Psychoanalysis now also publishes books that
provide comprehensive, yet accessible, overviews of selected subject areas
aimed at those studying psychoanalysis and related fields such as the social
sciences, philosophy, literature and the arts.
The Institute, together with the British Psychoanalytical Society, runs
a low-fee psychoanalytic clinic, organizes lectures and scientific events
concerned with psychoanalysis and publishes the International Journal of
Psychoanalysis. It runs a training course in psychoanalysis which leads to
membership of the International Psychoanalytical Association – the body
which preserves internationally agreed standards of training, of profes-
sional entry, and of professional ethics and practice for psychoanalysis as
initiated and developed by Sigmund Freud. Distinguished members of
the Institute have included Michael Balint, Wilfred Bion, Ronald
Fairbairn, Anna Freud, Ernest Jones, Melanie Klein, John Rickman and
Donald Winnicott.
Previous general editors have included David Tuckett, who played
a very active role in the establishment of the New Library. He was
followed as general editor by Elizabeth Bott Spillius, who was in turn
followed by Susan Budd and then by Dana Birksted-Breen. Current
members of the Advisory Board include Giovanna Di Ceglie, Liz
Allison, Anne Patterson, Josh Cohen and Daniel Pick.
Previous members of the Advisory Board include Christopher
Bollas, Ronald Britton, Catalina Bronstein, Donald Campbell,
Rosemary Davies, Sara Flanders, Stephen Grosz, John Keene, Eglé
Laufer, Juliet Mitchell, Michael Parsons, Rosine Jozef Perelberg,
Richard Rusbridger, Mary Target and David Taylor.
For a full list of all the titles in the New Library of Psychoanalysis main
series as well as both the New Library of Psychoanalysis “Teaching” and
“Beyond the Couch” subseries, please visit the Routledge website.

Sexuality and Procreation in
the Age of Biotechnology
Desire and its Discontents
Paola Marion
Translated by Adam Elgar
First published 2022
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 Paola Marion
Translated by Adam Elgar
This book was originally published in Italy by Donzelli Editore under the title
Il disagio del desiderio © 2017 Donzelli Editore, Roma.
The right of Paola Marion to be identified as author of this work has been asserted
by her 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, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks 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
Names: Marion, Paola, 1951- author.
Title: Sexuality and procreation in the age of biotechnology : desire and its
discontents / Paola Marion ; translated by Adam Elgar.
Other titles: Il disagio del desiderio. English
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2021. | Series: New
library of psychoanalysis | “Originally published in Italy by Donzelli
Editore”‐‐Title page verso. | Includes bibliographical references and
index. Identifiers: LCCN 2020058089 (print) | LCCN 2020058090 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781032003603 (hbk) | ISBN 9781032003689 (pbk) | ISBN
9781003173830 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Sexual freedom. | Sex (Psychology) | Birth control. |
Reproduction.
Classification: LCC HQ21 .M4555 2021 (print) | LCC HQ21 (ebook) | DDC
306.7‐‐dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020058089
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020058090
ISBN: 978-1-032-00360-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-00368-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-17383-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by MPS Limited, Dehradun
Contents
Introduction by Leslie Caldwell x
PART I
The scandal of sexuality 1
1 The return of the repressed 3
2 The world of yesterday: The end of innocence 12
3 Psychosexuality: A new form of thought 35
4 Time in sexuality 59
PART II
Being born in the age of biotechnology 85
5 The new forms of procreation 87
6 Sexuality and biotechnology 101
7 One sexuality or several? 119
8 The logic of pleasure and the discontent of desire 145
Bibliography 171
ix