Sexual Dysfunction(s) in Iran: Imaginary Encounters with Otto Gross and Wilhelm Reich

Abstract

The article has two distinct but related aims. In the first part, I draw on previous research on Iranian sexual therapy, transgender studies, queer theory, psychoanalytic research and sexual economy to construct two clients. The first client is the subject of a Grossian, the second a Reichian, analysis. The symptoms were chosen to bring out the salient features of Gross and Reich's work, and to convey something of the complex psychological conflicts experienced by contemporary Iranians. In the second part of the article, I critique the limitations of Gross and Reich, while retaining those elements of their work still relevant to sexual emancipation.