Continuing the previous Post, the period in which sexual energy arises is known as self-sexual stage. It is also an awakening time for bodies that still don’t know what it is like to have an active relationship with sexual energy. Going through self-sexual stage works as a sort of filter that helps us to understand how psychological atmospheres were introjected during childhood. If children already know how to use masturbation as a discharging channel and feel comfortable exploring their bodies as a source of pleasure, they will probably undergo self-sexual stage successfully. If they had imbibed inhibitory experiences, however, they may have developed blocks in different levels that will prevent idealization and projection from happening. And these are the necessary conditions for completing identity transition. For example, if children experience intense abandonment and rejection, such atmospheres may be introjected and turn into self-rejection (rejection for their own bodies). These are hard cases in which the psychotherapeutic strategy must focus on developing interaction skills, whatsoever, to, then, start focusing on sexual relationships. “Blurred” feminine and masculine infantile models, such as gossips, lies, disavowing behaviours/competition between parents/carers, scarce affective and material structure, among other inhibitory atmospheres, won’t prevent S.I development from happening. This is a genetically predicted species event that will happen anyway. However, they may prevent idealization from happening, since both parents’ models (feminine and masculine) are blocked. Retentions in self-sexual stage may have a deep impact on two levels of emotional development:
1) Pubers are not able to project idols’ admired traits in a real person (great friends).
People who are blocked at this stage usually have a hard time with interactions in general. This way, they may get stuck in the first step of the idealization. Hence, they don’t get over the first projection stage. These are cases of severe blocks in S.I.
2) Pubers go through the first projection stage, but not through the fusion stage, since infantile models are blocked. It means feminine and masculine models aren’t available to be merged with new identity references. Hence, pubers don’t conclude identity fusion stage. These are cases of mild blocks in S.I.
When people have mild blocks, they feel sexually attracted by others. Their difficulty is keeping eroticized situations with the desired person –the one who is the object of the erotic fantasy. And this is the necessary condition for heating and reaching the top of erotic escalation.
To be continued in the next Post
Anguishes that are triggered by Sexual Identity development blocks
For more details see Dias, in Post 3 – Self-sexual Identity blocks, Post 4-Consequences of Self-sexual Identity blocks and Post 5-Homosexual Phase- intimacy with specular bodies, in Sexual Identity
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