Sex and Repression in Savage Society

by Bronisław Malinowski

Blurb

Sex and Repression in Savage Society is a 1927 book by anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski. It is considered "a famous critique of psychoanalysis, arguing that the 'Oedipus complex' described by Freud is not universal." Malinowski gives a partial explanation of the role of sex in social organization through the synthesis of psychoanalysis and anthropology, considered competing academic disciplines at the time. The book is considered an important contribution to psychoanalysis, which Malinowski acknowledged was a "popular craze of the day."
I have never been in any sense a follower of psycho-analytic practice, or an adherent of psycho-analytic theory; and now, while impatient of the exorbitant claims of psycho-analysis, of its chaotic arguments and tangled terminology, I must yet acknowledge a deep sense of indepbtedness to it for stimulation as well for valuable instruction in some aspects of human psychology.
The book is divided into four parts. In Part 1, he lays out the issues related to childhood sexuality through puberty and maternal roles. In Part 2 he examines myth and taboo related to family dynamics.

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