“The Body Is the Body” and Other Failures

Abstract

Sexual abuse does not preclude the possibility of sexual pleasure, particularly
when there is no fear or threat involved. Indeed, Freud’s sexual theories
depend on the erotogenesis of the body, particularly during early childhood
years. The author presents a case of the sexual seduction of a four-year old
girl, its complex psychological consequences, and the author’s counter-transference
struggle to acknowledge what she was saying in terms of the sheer
empowering ecstasy of the experience. Associations led to his own psychoanalytic
formation, current reverberations of “Me-too,” and the reward of
mutuality and aliveness when counter-resistance is overcome.