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The Invasion of Compulsory Sex-Morality
This study of the invasion of compulsory sexual morality into human society was written in 1931 and now appears for the first time in the English language. It preceded "The Mass Psyhchology of Fascism" and "The Sexual Revolution" and was Reich's first step in approaching the answer to the problem of human mass neuroses. Growing out of his involvement with the crucial question of the origin of sexual suppression, this attempt to explain historically the problem of sexual disturbances and neuroses draws upon the ethnological works of Morgan, Engels and, in particular, Malinowski, whose remarkable studies of the sexual life and customs of the primitive people of the Trobriand Islands confirmed Reich's clinical discoveries.
248 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1932
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About the author
Wilhelm Reich
163 books720 followersWilhelm Reich (24 March 1897 – 3 November 1957) was a Jewish Austrian-American doctor of medicine, psychiatrist/psychoanalyst and a member of the second generation of analysts after Sigmund Freud. Author of several influential books, he became one of the most radical figures in the history of psychiatry.
Reich was a respected analyst for much of his life, focusing on character structure, rather than on individual neurotic symptoms. He promoted adolescent sexuality, the availability of contraceptives and abortion, and the importance for women of economic independence. Synthesizing material from psychoanalysis, cultural anthropology, economics, sociology, and ethics, his work influenced writers such as Alexander Lowen, Fritz Perls, Paul Goodman, Saul Bellow, Norman Mailer, A. S. Neill, and William Burroughs.
He was also a controversial figure, who came to be viewed by the psychoanalytic establishment as having gone astray or as having succumbed to mental illness. His work on the link between human sexuality and neuroses emphasized "orgastic potency" as the foremost criterion for psycho-physical health. He said he had discovered a form of energy, which he called "orgone," that permeated the atmosphere and all living matter, and he built "orgone accumulators," which his patients sat inside to harness the energy for its reputed health benefits. It was this work, in particular, that cemented the rift between Reich and the psychoanalytic establishment.
Reich, of Jewish descent and a communist, was living in Germany when Adolf Hitler came to power. He fled to Scandinavia in 1933 and subsequently to the United States in 1939. In 1947, following a series of critical articles about orgone and his political views in The New Republic and Harper's, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began an investigation into his claims, winning an injunction against the interstate sale of orgone accumulators. Charged with contempt of court for violating the injunction, Reich conducted his own defense, which involved sending the judge all his books to read, and arguing that a court was no place to decide matters of science. He was sentenced to two years in prison, and in August 1956, several tons of his publications were burned by the FDA. He died of heart failure in jail just over a year later, days before he was due to apply for parole.
Reich was a respected analyst for much of his life, focusing on character structure, rather than on individual neurotic symptoms. He promoted adolescent sexuality, the availability of contraceptives and abortion, and the importance for women of economic independence. Synthesizing material from psychoanalysis, cultural anthropology, economics, sociology, and ethics, his work influenced writers such as Alexander Lowen, Fritz Perls, Paul Goodman, Saul Bellow, Norman Mailer, A. S. Neill, and William Burroughs.
He was also a controversial figure, who came to be viewed by the psychoanalytic establishment as having gone astray or as having succumbed to mental illness. His work on the link between human sexuality and neuroses emphasized "orgastic potency" as the foremost criterion for psycho-physical health. He said he had discovered a form of energy, which he called "orgone," that permeated the atmosphere and all living matter, and he built "orgone accumulators," which his patients sat inside to harness the energy for its reputed health benefits. It was this work, in particular, that cemented the rift between Reich and the psychoanalytic establishment.
Reich, of Jewish descent and a communist, was living in Germany when Adolf Hitler came to power. He fled to Scandinavia in 1933 and subsequently to the United States in 1939. In 1947, following a series of critical articles about orgone and his political views in The New Republic and Harper's, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began an investigation into his claims, winning an injunction against the interstate sale of orgone accumulators. Charged with contempt of court for violating the injunction, Reich conducted his own defense, which involved sending the judge all his books to read, and arguing that a court was no place to decide matters of science. He was sentenced to two years in prison, and in August 1956, several tons of his publications were burned by the FDA. He died of heart failure in jail just over a year later, days before he was due to apply for parole.
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June 7, 2022Cinsel Ahlakın Boygöstermesi kitabı, daha evvel okuduğum Kadının Evrimi 1-2(yazar Evelyn Reed) kitaplarının özeti gibi başladı. Wilhelm Reich Kadının Evrimi kitabından farklı olarak şunu söylemek istiyordu; anaerkil klandan evvel de ataerkin izleri vardı. O sebeple ataerkil düzene tekrar dönüşmesi çok zor olmamıştı. Reich, Vahşilerin Cinsel yaşamı kitabının yazarı Bronislaw Molinowski'nün anlatımlarını özetliyornve bir başka antropolog Geza Roheim'ı da sık sık eleştiriyor. Özellikle Roheim'ın kadınları tek eşliliğe itmek için gerçekleştirilen ve dirimsel gücü (cinsel istek) yok eden uygulama olan kadın sünnetini övmesiyle çokca dalga geçiyor. Roheim, kadının bu cinsel eylemden haz almamasının, aile birliğini bozacak aldatma eylemlerine girişmemesi için yapılmasını öyle korkunç bir erk yapı kurgusunda aktarmış ki, cidden tiksindirici idi. Cinselliğin çeşitli tabu ve yasaklarla kısıtlandıkça bu baskı menzilleri insanları zaman geçtikçe ruhsal rahatsızlıklara, absürd ve kapalı kapılar ardında türlü sadist düşlere yönlendirdiğine değiniyor. Tüm bunların değişmesi için belki milim milim özgürleşme temelinde aldığı yolun bile kıymetli olduğuna da değiniyor. El ele tutuşmayı, öpüşmeyi yasakladığınız yerde o çok şaşırdığınız seks görüntülerini görmek bir tesadüf asla değil. Bknz. #bebek
Anne babasının birbirine sarıldığını, öptüğünü görmeyen çocuklara sevmenin, bu hislerin özgürleşmesinin normalliğini anlatırken attığınız kırk taklayı düşünün. Sonra bu kırk taklanın erkekleri birçok konuda bağlamadığını, o hiç konuşulmayanın belli bir yaşa geldiğinde birdenbire özgürleşmesinin getirdiği sapkınlıklarını. Özellikle kadınlar üzerinde çok uzun süre kalan baskının ise deneyimsiz, bilgisiz ve kör cahil eylemlere ittiğini. Konuşulamayan, bilgisizliğin dibinde yaşadığımız eylemle doğuruyor, çoğalıyor; olmamasının artçı psikolojik etkilerinin ilaçlarla baskılamaya çalışıyoruz. Hepimize topyekün tedavi gerektiği kesin. Yine de milim milim aldığımız yolu azımsamayalım diyip bitireyim.
Anne babasının birbirine sarıldığını, öptüğünü görmeyen çocuklara sevmenin, bu hislerin özgürleşmesinin normalliğini anlatırken attığınız kırk taklayı düşünün. Sonra bu kırk taklanın erkekleri birçok konuda bağlamadığını, o hiç konuşulmayanın belli bir yaşa geldiğinde birdenbire özgürleşmesinin getirdiği sapkınlıklarını. Özellikle kadınlar üzerinde çok uzun süre kalan baskının ise deneyimsiz, bilgisiz ve kör cahil eylemlere ittiğini. Konuşulamayan, bilgisizliğin dibinde yaşadığımız eylemle doğuruyor, çoğalıyor; olmamasının artçı psikolojik etkilerinin ilaçlarla baskılamaya çalışıyoruz. Hepimize topyekün tedavi gerektiği kesin. Yine de milim milim aldığımız yolu azımsamayalım diyip bitireyim.
January 31, 2014
This important book should have been welcomed by the feminist movement back in 1931 when it was first published in German (first English version was the 3rd edition in 1951). The author was primarily concerned with the origins of sexual suppression but he also discovered the origins of Patriarchy, as these phenomena are inseparable. This is then a potentially ground breaking book, but as it is very near the truth!
The author shows that primitive horticultural or pastoral societies had some social stratification into haves and have-nots, but they were generally quite relaxed and quite free in their premarital sexual relations, also most marriages could be easily dissolved should the need arise. Only the Chief’s family and first cousins had much sexual suppression and their marriages had to endure! The Chief did this to protect his power, status, and wealth as and when his children married. The dominant men still traced descent via the female line (matrilineal), as they were ignorant of the role of semen in propagation, believing that if a woman became pregnant it was the work of spirits! This amounts to incipient patriarchy.
Once the role of semen was discovered/realized the dominant men traced descent and inheritance to the male line and imposed strict sexual suppression, particularly for the women, to ensure that the line was pure and thus the inheritance secure.
The author shows that primitive horticultural or pastoral societies had some social stratification into haves and have-nots, but they were generally quite relaxed and quite free in their premarital sexual relations, also most marriages could be easily dissolved should the need arise. Only the Chief’s family and first cousins had much sexual suppression and their marriages had to endure! The Chief did this to protect his power, status, and wealth as and when his children married. The dominant men still traced descent via the female line (matrilineal), as they were ignorant of the role of semen in propagation, believing that if a woman became pregnant it was the work of spirits! This amounts to incipient patriarchy.
Once the role of semen was discovered/realized the dominant men traced descent and inheritance to the male line and imposed strict sexual suppression, particularly for the women, to ensure that the line was pure and thus the inheritance secure.
June 11, 2020
Reich debruça-se sobre o estudo que o antropólogo Bronisław Malinowski, fez acerca da sociedade matriarcal trobriandesa, para assim talvez se fundamentar, numa sociedade o mais simples possível, em termos de economia sexual.
Lamento o facto de Wilhelm Reich nunca ter tido a oportunidade de estudar os bonobos, o animal mais próximo dos humanos, que também funcionam em sociedade matriarcal e resolvem os seus conflitos com base no sexo.
Em tempos de distanciamento social, é curioso notar que os nossos "parentes" também o praticam, como forma de evitar doenças. Não poderá ter sido a escolha e manutenção de um só parceiro sexual, entre os antepassados humanos, com o objectivo de evitar doenças sexualmente transmissíveis, a origem do casamento? E a infracção deste comportamento a origem da moral sexual, como forma de "proteger" os indivíduos?
Lamento o facto de Wilhelm Reich nunca ter tido a oportunidade de estudar os bonobos, o animal mais próximo dos humanos, que também funcionam em sociedade matriarcal e resolvem os seus conflitos com base no sexo.
Em tempos de distanciamento social, é curioso notar que os nossos "parentes" também o praticam, como forma de evitar doenças. Não poderá ter sido a escolha e manutenção de um só parceiro sexual, entre os antepassados humanos, com o objectivo de evitar doenças sexualmente transmissíveis, a origem do casamento? E a infracção deste comportamento a origem da moral sexual, como forma de "proteger" os indivíduos?
October 14, 2020
العصاب هو سمة المجتمع الأبوي
إذا كان الجزء الأكبر من المجتمع يعيش الجنس اقتصاديًا ، فلا يمكن أن تكون هناك أمراض عصابية ، وذلك ببساطة لأن هذه الاضطرابات تنشأ عن الحياة التناسلية المثبطة. هذا هو الاستنتاج الذي يجب أن نتوصل إليه إذا اتبعنا باستمرار نظرية الغريزة الجنسية ونظرية العصاب. ومن النتائج الأخرى لتحقيقاتنا الاجتماعية في أصل وتأثير النظرة السلبية للجنس هو اكتشاف أن هذه الأخلاق هي التي تجلب القمع الجنسي و تثير ركودًا جنسيًا. من خلال ذلك ، فإنها تحول النزاعات النفسية اليومية إلى صراعات عصابية.
علاوة على ذلك ، نستنتج من التحقيق في التحليل النفسي للانحرافات أنها ، في نهاية المطاف ، هي نتيجة لانحراف الطاقة الجنسية عن هدفها التناسلي الطبيعي. من خلال هذا يتم تحميل كل الطلبات قبل الولادة بالطاقة الزائدة ، بحيث تظهر في ظروف معينة على أنها انحرافات. إن تثبيط الهدف الغريزي الطفولي ، والذي تعتبره نظرية التحليل النفسي كأساس للانحرافات ، هو في حد ذاته نتيجة لإعاقة حياة الحب التناسلي الطبيعي للأطفال والمراهقين من خلال النظام الجنسي النافي للجنس الذي يكون وكلاءه التنفيذيون الوالدين . بما أن التربية الجنسية الأخلاقية تدخل تاريخ البشرية مع الاهتمام بالمكاسب الاقتصادية وتتطور معها ، فإن العصاب هو سمة من سمات المجتمع الذي لديه منظومة أبوية.
Wilhelm Reich
The Invasion Of Compulsory
Translated By #Maher_Razouk
إذا كان الجزء الأكبر من المجتمع يعيش الجنس اقتصاديًا ، فلا يمكن أن تكون هناك أمراض عصابية ، وذلك ببساطة لأن هذه الاضطرابات تنشأ عن الحياة التناسلية المثبطة. هذا هو الاستنتاج الذي يجب أن نتوصل إليه إذا اتبعنا باستمرار نظرية الغريزة الجنسية ونظرية العصاب. ومن النتائج الأخرى لتحقيقاتنا الاجتماعية في أصل وتأثير النظرة السلبية للجنس هو اكتشاف أن هذه الأخلاق هي التي تجلب القمع الجنسي و تثير ركودًا جنسيًا. من خلال ذلك ، فإنها تحول النزاعات النفسية اليومية إلى صراعات عصابية.
علاوة على ذلك ، نستنتج من التحقيق في التحليل النفسي للانحرافات أنها ، في نهاية المطاف ، هي نتيجة لانحراف الطاقة الجنسية عن هدفها التناسلي الطبيعي. من خلال هذا يتم تحميل كل الطلبات قبل الولادة بالطاقة الزائدة ، بحيث تظهر في ظروف معينة على أنها انحرافات. إن تثبيط الهدف الغريزي الطفولي ، والذي تعتبره نظرية التحليل النفسي كأساس للانحرافات ، هو في حد ذاته نتيجة لإعاقة حياة الحب التناسلي الطبيعي للأطفال والمراهقين من خلال النظام الجنسي النافي للجنس الذي يكون وكلاءه التنفيذيون الوالدين . بما أن التربية الجنسية الأخلاقية تدخل تاريخ البشرية مع الاهتمام بالمكاسب الاقتصادية وتتطور معها ، فإن العصاب هو سمة من سمات المجتمع الذي لديه منظومة أبوية.
Wilhelm Reich
The Invasion Of Compulsory
Translated By #Maher_Razouk
March 14, 2010
from back of the book:
"This study of the invasion of compulsory sexual morality into human society was written in 1931 and now appears for the first time in the English language. It preceded The Mass Psychology of Fascism and The Sexual Revolution and was Reich's first step in approaching the answer to the problem of human mass neuroses.
Growing out of his involvement with the crucial question of the origin of sexual suppression, this attempt to explain historically the problem of sexual disturbances and neuroses draws upon the ethnological works of Morgan, Engels and, in particular, Malinowski, whose remarkable studies of the sexual life and customs of the primitive people of the Trobriand Islands confirmed Reich's clinical discoveries.
----
well, having read this, Reich does a good job of dissecting Malinowski's studies into Trobriand Islanders sexual life, and also how other researchers have gone completely wrong on various things. it was a very long book, and Reich took his time in explaining things, i'd say the content that i valued in this was 50 pages, and that would've made a great book. this is still worth researching, if you've read other books by reich too.
"This study of the invasion of compulsory sexual morality into human society was written in 1931 and now appears for the first time in the English language. It preceded The Mass Psychology of Fascism and The Sexual Revolution and was Reich's first step in approaching the answer to the problem of human mass neuroses.
Growing out of his involvement with the crucial question of the origin of sexual suppression, this attempt to explain historically the problem of sexual disturbances and neuroses draws upon the ethnological works of Morgan, Engels and, in particular, Malinowski, whose remarkable studies of the sexual life and customs of the primitive people of the Trobriand Islands confirmed Reich's clinical discoveries.
----
well, having read this, Reich does a good job of dissecting Malinowski's studies into Trobriand Islanders sexual life, and also how other researchers have gone completely wrong on various things. it was a very long book, and Reich took his time in explaining things, i'd say the content that i valued in this was 50 pages, and that would've made a great book. this is still worth researching, if you've read other books by reich too.
June 3, 2018
"Why you're fucked up sexually, how it happened, and how to treat it so you can finally have the awesome splurging multiple semen explosions that you deserve"
It's like this book was written for me.
And no one's fucking read it.
Comeon guys. Am I the only one who cares about great sex?
Anyway, bare eye opening, and puts in perspective a lot of the baseless and fearful sexual views of modern culture.
It's like this book was written for me.
And no one's fucking read it.
Comeon guys. Am I the only one who cares about great sex?
Anyway, bare eye opening, and puts in perspective a lot of the baseless and fearful sexual views of modern culture.
April 6, 2018
Life-changing
February 28, 2023
An important--and surprisingly feminist--investigation into the material basis for the development of patriarchy out of matriarchal culture and the impact that had on sexual behaviour and the formation of character structure and neurosis. Some of the terminology is dated, and it would have been nice to see a broader sample of cultures, but the book is well worth reading even today. Especially as a companion piece to Engels's Origin of the Family.
April 24, 2024
I don’t review most the books I read as it takes time away from me reading the next book. I felt like I had no choice for this one. If you’re open minded and are wishing to challenge yourself as an individual this is a fantastic choice. The writer challenges all forms of sexual morality and has a way to connect these rules with the exploitation of weaker individuals in society at the benefit of the few. Well researched and eye opening reflective and challenging.
March 30, 2021
Marxist sociology + Psychoanalysis = This book
All around excelent. Just two things: Reich could have mentioned the social or political problems of the cultural group he studied (just for more context and be somewhat more critical) and that ending... Oh god is it cringy (that is the sole reason why I don't give the book 5 stars).
All around excelent. Just two things: Reich could have mentioned the social or political problems of the cultural group he studied (just for more context and be somewhat more critical) and that ending... Oh god is it cringy (that is the sole reason why I don't give the book 5 stars).
November 4, 2025
exceptionally readable despite its age, incredibly insightful in its explanation and surprisingly modern in its views. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and have been bothering people in my life with excited summaries of what I'd read thus far.
the appendix which is essentially a 40 page take-down of some researcher called Roheim is hilarious. I laughed out loud multiple times reading it
the appendix which is essentially a 40 page take-down of some researcher called Roheim is hilarious. I laughed out loud multiple times reading it
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June 7, 2012Not for the faint of heart.
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