What do you think?
Rate this book
The Sexual Revolution: Toward a Self-governing Character Structure
In this book, Wilhelm Reich summarizes the criticism of the prevailing sexual conditions and conflicts as it resulted from his sex-economic medical experiences over a period of years. He demonstrates, by way of individual examples, the general basic traits of the conflicts in presentday sexual living, dealing particularly with the institution of marriage and the revolution in family life as well as with the problems of infantile and adolescent sexuality. He also presents a detailed and revealing study of the sexual revolution that occurred briefly in Soviet Russia in the first few years of their economic revolution.
"What we are living through," Reich stated, "is a genuine, deep-reaching revolution of cultural living [which] goes to the roots of our emotional, social and economic existence. ... The senses of the animal, man, for his natural life functions are awakening from a sleep of thousands of years."
The Sexual Revolution was first published in English in 1945. This revised fourth edition includes Reich's prefaces as well as all the other material that appeared in earlier editions.
312 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1936
58 people are currently reading
1532 people want to read
About the author
Wilhelm Reich
163 books721 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
July 26, 2023
Първата [документирана] сексуална революция, както се оказа, е … съветската от 1917 г!
Но хайде отначало. Нямах представа кой е Вилхелм Райх. Просто в книжарницата беше пряк съсед по корица на Фройд, Юнг, Фром и Мей. В добра компания, така да се каже. И ето ме на плажа в компанията на хер Райх. За малко да се откажа, когато в края на биографичната му справка се видя, че е починал през 1957 г. … в затвора в САЩ. А според повиканата на помощ Уикипедия сам си е признал, че лично е застрелял двама … извънземни. Не, не затова е лежал в затвора, макар че по времето на маккартизма това никак не би ме учудило. Не, хер Райх в края на живота си, по мое скромно мнение … откача. И се занимава с куп щуротии от сорта на строеж на огромен акумулатор … за оргонна енергия. Има и книга по въпроса, която не смятам да купувам. И да, тази енергия е в пряка връзка със сексуалната революция.
Ако някой дотук вече е отписал Райх като куку, е в дълбока грешка. Тази рожба на сецесиона и Австроунгарската империя е един от известните в началото на века виенски психиатри и консултанти по сексуалните въпроси. Убеден фройдист и едновременно с това убеден комунист, докато с гръм и трясък не скъсва и с двете. Но си остава яростен враг на нацизма.
——
На фона на нашата съвременност книгата все още има доста какво да предложи.
На първи място е интригуващ документ за нравите и правилата в интимната сфера от 20-те години на ХХ век в немскоезична Европа. Общо взето - ужас и безумие за жените, за бедните класи и за хората, които си търсят интимен партньор просто за удоволствие, а не за санкционирано от църквата възпроизводство, редувано с аскетизъм преди и след възпроизводствения етап.
Типът семейство, емблематичен за тази епоха, Райх дефинира като “авторитарен”. И с много просто и нагледни думи обяснява как неправилното възпитание на децата от най-ранна възраст за естествените неща от живота, включително касаещите собственото им тяло, незаличимо набива в главите им почти нелечими в бъдеще неврози, или - още по-зле - патологии, перверзии и ексцесии.
Веднъж пораснало и вече програмирано, такова дете е един страшно невеж, страшно нещастен и страшно зловреден възрастен. Липсата на истинска интимна реализация води до различни неудовлетворености във всяка друга сфера на живота. Просто част от обществените и църковни норми напълно отричат, че човекът има и тяло, и си е природно същество. И не само го отричат, но се опитват грубо да обърнат процеса в обратната посока, което завинаги праща на боклука менталното здраве на мнозина.
Райх в никакъв случай не е застъпник на анархията, където всичко е позволено. Напротив - той е застъпник на общество, в което единият партньор не е напълно икономически зависим от другия, където принудителните бракове са отживелица, където разводът и контрацептивите са нормална опция, както и правото на аборт. Където и двамата партньори имат контрол над самите себе си, а не единият да притежава другия в качеството му на възпроизводствен ресурс.
——
Такива възгледи са яростно отричани дори през 60-те, какво остава за 20-те, където едно от цитираните светила по сексология за него време проповядва, че е опасно за здравето по биологични причини да се прави секс преди 24-тата година… Райх е изумително земен, непретенциозен, остроумен и точен. Райх е естествен. Но в обществото на естествениците и днес се гледа доста накриво, а какво да кажем за неговото време - объркал е епохата…
——
Една от точките, по които категорично не съм съгласна с Райх, е убеждението му, че малките деца имат сексуалност. Малките деца имат огромен запас от любопитство към целия свят и към самите себе си. Но това е тяхното опознаване на устройството на света. Според мен то няма нищо общо с каквито и да е сексуални инстинкти, които се появяват и проявяват чак с пубертета.
——
Другата по-скучна част беше за несъстоялата се сексуална реформа в СССР в периода 1917 - 1934 г. В началото семейното законодателство в СССР наистина е силно прогресивно. Отпадат правото на родителите да вкарват децата си в затвора за неподчинение (дословна извадка от действалия царския кодекс), отпада криминализирането на изневярата, навлиза гражданският брак. Това не пожънва особени плодове предвид върлуващата гражданска война и глада. И през 1934 г. комунистите дават заден ход, затягайки свирепо гайките на семейните закони обратно към яростен авторитаризъм, което безкрайно ядосва Райх. Паралелът със сегашната ситуация в Путинова Русия е зловещо точен.
——
Интересно пътуване в психологията и историята се оказа таи книга, така че чистосърдечно ми хареса. Без идеи като изложените там, животът за мнозина би бил зловещо място, диктувано от религиозен фундаментализъм и неумолимо реакционерство - каквото е Саудитска Арабия, а Русия, Турция и САЩ щастливо крачат натам, както и някои родни…консерватори с фашистки уклон.
3,5⭐️
Но хайде отначало. Нямах представа кой е Вилхелм Райх. Просто в книжарницата беше пряк съсед по корица на Фройд, Юнг, Фром и Мей. В добра компания, така да се каже. И ето ме на плажа в компанията на хер Райх. За малко да се откажа, когато в края на биографичната му справка се видя, че е починал през 1957 г. … в затвора в САЩ. А според повиканата на помощ Уикипедия сам си е признал, че лично е застрелял двама … извънземни. Не, не затова е лежал в затвора, макар че по времето на маккартизма това никак не би ме учудило. Не, хер Райх в края на живота си, по мое скромно мнение … откача. И се занимава с куп щуротии от сорта на строеж на огромен акумулатор … за оргонна енергия. Има и книга по въпроса, която не смятам да купувам. И да, тази енергия е в пряка връзка със сексуалната революция.
Ако някой дотук вече е отписал Райх като куку, е в дълбока грешка. Тази рожба на сецесиона и Австроунгарската империя е един от известните в началото на века виенски психиатри и консултанти по сексуалните въпроси. Убеден фройдист и едновременно с това убеден комунист, докато с гръм и трясък не скъсва и с двете. Но си остава яростен враг на нацизма.
——
На фона на нашата съвременност книгата все още има доста какво да предложи.
На първи място е интригуващ документ за нравите и правилата в интимната сфера от 20-те години на ХХ век в немскоезична Европа. Общо взето - ужас и безумие за жените, за бедните класи и за хората, които си търсят интимен партньор просто за удоволствие, а не за санкционирано от църквата възпроизводство, редувано с аскетизъм преди и след възпроизводствения етап.
Типът семейство, емблематичен за тази епоха, Райх дефинира като “авторитарен”. И с много просто и нагледни думи обяснява как неправилното възпитание на децата от най-ранна възраст за естествените неща от живота, включително касаещите собственото им тяло, незаличимо набива в главите им почти нелечими в бъдеще неврози, или - още по-зле - патологии, перверзии и ексцесии.
Веднъж пораснало и вече програмирано, такова дете е един страшно невеж, страшно нещастен и страшно зловреден възрастен. Липсата на истинска интимна реализация води до различни неудовлетворености във всяка друга сфера на живота. Просто част от обществените и църковни норми напълно отричат, че човекът има и тяло, и си е природно същество. И не само го отричат, но се опитват грубо да обърнат процеса в обратната посока, което завинаги праща на боклука менталното здраве на мнозина.
Райх в никакъв случай не е застъпник на анархията, където всичко е позволено. Напротив - той е застъпник на общество, в което единият партньор не е напълно икономически зависим от другия, където принудителните бракове са отживелица, където разводът и контрацептивите са нормална опция, както и правото на аборт. Където и двамата партньори имат контрол над самите себе си, а не единият да притежава другия в качеството му на възпроизводствен ресурс.
——
Такива възгледи са яростно отричани дори през 60-те, какво остава за 20-те, където едно от цитираните светила по сексология за него време проповядва, че е опасно за здравето по биологични причини да се прави секс преди 24-тата година… Райх е изумително земен, непретенциозен, остроумен и точен. Райх е естествен. Но в обществото на естествениците и днес се гледа доста накриво, а какво да кажем за неговото време - объркал е епохата…
——
Една от точките, по които категорично не съм съгласна с Райх, е убеждението му, че малките деца имат сексуалност. Малките деца имат огромен запас от любопитство към целия свят и към самите себе си. Но това е тяхното опознаване на устройството на света. Според мен то няма нищо общо с каквито и да е сексуални инстинкти, които се появяват и проявяват чак с пубертета.
——
Другата по-скучна част беше за несъстоялата се сексуална реформа в СССР в периода 1917 - 1934 г. В началото семейното законодателство в СССР наистина е силно прогресивно. Отпадат правото на родителите да вкарват децата си в затвора за неподчинение (дословна извадка от действалия царския кодекс), отпада криминализирането на изневярата, навлиза гражданският брак. Това не пожънва особени плодове предвид върлуващата гражданска война и глада. И през 1934 г. комунистите дават заден ход, затягайки свирепо гайките на семейните закони обратно към яростен авторитаризъм, което безкрайно ядосва Райх. Паралелът със сегашната ситуация в Путинова Русия е зловещо точен.
——
Интересно пътуване в психологията и историята се оказа таи книга, така че чистосърдечно ми хареса. Без идеи като изложените там, животът за мнозина би бил зловещо място, диктувано от религиозен фундаментализъм и неумолимо реакционерство - каквото е Саудитска Арабия, а Русия, Турция и САЩ щастливо крачат натам, както и някои родни…консерватори с фашистки уклон.
3,5⭐️
December 25, 2011
If possible read the first German edition of 1936. The American edition published in the early 40's bleached out the Marxist component of the book.
March 11, 2021
Wilhelm Reich is one author who actually mostly conforms to the stereotype used to represent him: he clearly did want a social form in which sexual gratification was unleashed on a wide scale without shame or negativity, or, in other words, widespread orgiastic fucking. Obviously, his ideas have plenty of complicating folds and digressions, but this basic image is an accurate one.
The first half of the book is a skewering of sexual morality, which Reich viewed as the ideological underpinning and governmental logic of the patriarchal family, for him the basic social unit of authoritarian political forms. This kind of critique was strongest when Reich sussed out internal contradictions of sexuality as it appears in the works of the sexual moralists. The primary contradiction was that the vital force that supposedly binds two partners in marriage (sexual and romantic interest) are immediately denied, negated, and controlled after the marriage is made. So, for Reich, a force that binds people in marriage is also a force that threatens it from within.
Some of this reads like modern sex-positive self-help theory (he even uses the term "sex affirmative"), but what separates Reich from this crowd is his communist economic and political principles: for him, the sex negative family structure is the basic economic unit of capitalism and the basic political unit of authoritarianism and fascism. In Reich's discussion of the sexual double standard (men are seen as wildly sexual and forgiven for extra-marital affairs, etc while women are seen as sexually frigid and castigated for the same), he rightly points out that many individual sexualities are in large part determined or at least severely limited by economic matters. So, in this case, women were forced into dependencies within the family and more severely punished for stepping outside these limitations than men.
Some of Reich's ideas are just commonplace now, and it's interesting to note that he saw the trend of a progression loosening of sexual morals even in his time, and saw this as an absolute good. He predicted early on that lots of his ideas would become the norm in the future, or at least more normal. Others however are still contentious. Reich's ideas for women's sexuality (his term; these issues are not just about "women's" sexuality) are progressive even by today's standards: he wanted full access to abortion and contraceptives, comprehensive sex-positive education for all ages, and social structures to support sexual exploration for all interested individuals. These are (especially the last, which is certainly more utopian) still battles in the US at least.
The second section is an exploration of changes in laws, practices, and attitudes in the early days of the Russian Revolution and the eventual decline into reactionary forms like the family. I thought this section would be a mere supplement to the first, but it stands on its own as an original and interesting historical exploration.
His views on homosexuality were somewhat puzzling. To be clear: he believed that any inhibition of homosexuality or any other non-normative sexuality was wrong and strongly opposed any practical or ideological prevention measures. He does however make a strange distinction between true homosexuality and "emergency homosexuality," which he claims is practiced by sexually active people whose desires are frustrated by sex-negative practices. He has no issue per se with either but claims that the latter will decrease the absolute number of gay people when they have access to a heterosexual partner. I think history has proven him very wrong: many people were more likely "emergency heterosexuals" who were hiding their gayness. Nevertheless, I would have chosen Reich as an analyst over Freud any day of the week if I wanted to talk about being queer.
The first half of the book is a skewering of sexual morality, which Reich viewed as the ideological underpinning and governmental logic of the patriarchal family, for him the basic social unit of authoritarian political forms. This kind of critique was strongest when Reich sussed out internal contradictions of sexuality as it appears in the works of the sexual moralists. The primary contradiction was that the vital force that supposedly binds two partners in marriage (sexual and romantic interest) are immediately denied, negated, and controlled after the marriage is made. So, for Reich, a force that binds people in marriage is also a force that threatens it from within.
Some of this reads like modern sex-positive self-help theory (he even uses the term "sex affirmative"), but what separates Reich from this crowd is his communist economic and political principles: for him, the sex negative family structure is the basic economic unit of capitalism and the basic political unit of authoritarianism and fascism. In Reich's discussion of the sexual double standard (men are seen as wildly sexual and forgiven for extra-marital affairs, etc while women are seen as sexually frigid and castigated for the same), he rightly points out that many individual sexualities are in large part determined or at least severely limited by economic matters. So, in this case, women were forced into dependencies within the family and more severely punished for stepping outside these limitations than men.
Some of Reich's ideas are just commonplace now, and it's interesting to note that he saw the trend of a progression loosening of sexual morals even in his time, and saw this as an absolute good. He predicted early on that lots of his ideas would become the norm in the future, or at least more normal. Others however are still contentious. Reich's ideas for women's sexuality (his term; these issues are not just about "women's" sexuality) are progressive even by today's standards: he wanted full access to abortion and contraceptives, comprehensive sex-positive education for all ages, and social structures to support sexual exploration for all interested individuals. These are (especially the last, which is certainly more utopian) still battles in the US at least.
The second section is an exploration of changes in laws, practices, and attitudes in the early days of the Russian Revolution and the eventual decline into reactionary forms like the family. I thought this section would be a mere supplement to the first, but it stands on its own as an original and interesting historical exploration.
His views on homosexuality were somewhat puzzling. To be clear: he believed that any inhibition of homosexuality or any other non-normative sexuality was wrong and strongly opposed any practical or ideological prevention measures. He does however make a strange distinction between true homosexuality and "emergency homosexuality," which he claims is practiced by sexually active people whose desires are frustrated by sex-negative practices. He has no issue per se with either but claims that the latter will decrease the absolute number of gay people when they have access to a heterosexual partner. I think history has proven him very wrong: many people were more likely "emergency heterosexuals" who were hiding their gayness. Nevertheless, I would have chosen Reich as an analyst over Freud any day of the week if I wanted to talk about being queer.
January 22, 2021
Kitaba "duygusal zırhlanma" kitabının yazarının "cinsel devrim" i okuduktan sonra Reich'le çalışmak için çabaladığını söylemesi ve tek sağaltım öğrencisi olduğunu öğrenmemle başladım. Kitap uzun süredir rafımdaydı, bir dönem ciddi payel indirimi yakalamışken almıştım. Buraya kadar her şey normal. Okumaya başladığımda kafa ürünü gibi garip bir kavramla karşılaştım. Metin ilerledikçe çözerim umuduyla devam ettim, fakat Bertan Onaran maalesef kendince farklı tanımlamalar ekleyerek asla anlamını araştırma ile bulamayacağım bir çeviri uğraşına girişmiş. Onca kuramsal metin okumuşum kendime de konduramıyorum kargaşayı, devam ettim ve sonunu getirdim.
Çeviriden başımı alıp kitaba gelecek olursam, Reich'in Bedensel Boşalmanın İşlevi kitabını da okumuştum. Onda bunu çok yanlışlamadığım gibi hissetmesem de bu kitabında tam bir feminist bakış açısıyla yazdığını düşünüyorum. Cinselliğin çocuk yaşta başlayan yasaklarını, kadınlar üzerindeki baskısını, aile olmanın toplum olma gerekliliklerine hizmet eden, iktisadi bir bağlılık olduğu vurgusunu inanılmaz beğendim. Sadece çocuk yapmak için cinselliği kullanıyor olmak, bunun insani yönünün yasaklarla ve birtakım ahlaki temellerle sınırlandırılması, din gibi hatta din ile birleştirilerek yöneticilere yönetecek bir alan açmasına sebep olduğuna değiniyor. 1930lu yıllarda bunları konuştuğunu hayal ederek okuduğunuzda bir yandan aslında bizim ülkemizde hiçbir şeyin değişmediğine üzüldüm, değişenler için de Reich'in bir parmağı olduğunu hayal ettikçe umutlandım. Sıklıkla siyasi manevraların malzemesi olan cinselliğin, cinsiyetçilik damarından sıyrılıp özgürlük kaleminizden silinmemesi dileği ile.
Çeviriden başımı alıp kitaba gelecek olursam, Reich'in Bedensel Boşalmanın İşlevi kitabını da okumuştum. Onda bunu çok yanlışlamadığım gibi hissetmesem de bu kitabında tam bir feminist bakış açısıyla yazdığını düşünüyorum. Cinselliğin çocuk yaşta başlayan yasaklarını, kadınlar üzerindeki baskısını, aile olmanın toplum olma gerekliliklerine hizmet eden, iktisadi bir bağlılık olduğu vurgusunu inanılmaz beğendim. Sadece çocuk yapmak için cinselliği kullanıyor olmak, bunun insani yönünün yasaklarla ve birtakım ahlaki temellerle sınırlandırılması, din gibi hatta din ile birleştirilerek yöneticilere yönetecek bir alan açmasına sebep olduğuna değiniyor. 1930lu yıllarda bunları konuştuğunu hayal ederek okuduğunuzda bir yandan aslında bizim ülkemizde hiçbir şeyin değişmediğine üzüldüm, değişenler için de Reich'in bir parmağı olduğunu hayal ettikçe umutlandım. Sıklıkla siyasi manevraların malzemesi olan cinselliğin, cinsiyetçilik damarından sıyrılıp özgürlük kaleminizden silinmemesi dileği ile.
April 12, 2024
From Reich's telling of history in this book, it appears that in the early days of the Russian revolution, sexual activity went from being seen as counterproductive to one's engagement in the class-struggle to something that, in the view of the generation born after 1917, was necessary in order to prevent a person from being seen as petty bourgeois. Over the past hundred years, the vicissitudes of this outlook has progressed to the state that youth today has become sexually liberated, yet remains dysfunctional in a primary sense, as the recent trend of an increase in 'choking' activity derived from pornographic images in heterosexual intercourse among young adults makes clear. Reich points out in this book that Leon Trotsky affirmed the early Bolshevik-woman's right to her own name, domicile and citizenship-status, and it appears that American women today are benefiting from the changes Communism made to the status of women, such as increased participation in the military, educational opportunities and overall social mobility. Viva la Revolution! Three stars.
June 20, 2020
Libro muy interesante sobre las fundamentaciones psíquicas de la revolución sexual en la Unión Soviética, sus formas de llevarlas a la práctica, su fracaso y el porqué.
Trata los aspectos más importantes en gran profundidad, permitiendo observar la evolución hasta el momento actual si tienes conocimientos básicos sobre la materia y da pie a una búsqueda más avanzada sobre el tema.
Lo recomiendo si te parece interesante la revolución sexual
Un dato a tener en consideración es que la fuerza ideológica del texto varía de edición a edición por lo que lo mejor sería leer la edición original alemana o una traducción directa de esta.
En caso del español este libro de la colección Obras maestras del pensamiento contemporáneo es una traducción directa y supervisaba por la institución fundada en nombre de Wilhelm por sus hijos
Trata los aspectos más importantes en gran profundidad, permitiendo observar la evolución hasta el momento actual si tienes conocimientos básicos sobre la materia y da pie a una búsqueda más avanzada sobre el tema.
Lo recomiendo si te parece interesante la revolución sexual
Un dato a tener en consideración es que la fuerza ideológica del texto varía de edición a edición por lo que lo mejor sería leer la edición original alemana o una traducción directa de esta.
En caso del español este libro de la colección Obras maestras del pensamiento contemporáneo es una traducción directa y supervisaba por la institución fundada en nombre de Wilhelm por sus hijos
December 7, 2007
absolutly knowledgable, ...
ظاهرن "گوش کن آدمک" تنها اثر ویلهم رایش، روانشناس، پژوهشگر و زیباشناس آلمانی ست که توسط حسین آقایاری به فارسی ترجمه شده و البته در خارج از کشور چاپ و منتشر شده است. انتشارات نوید، آلمان، 1365
دکتر رایش که به متخصص امور جنسی هم مشهور است و آثار تکان دهنده ای در این زمینه نوشته، بانی نگاهی تازه به مساله جنس ، بدن زن و مرد و بنیادهای فیزیکی و روانی مسایل جنسی ست.
اثار او بصورت گسترده ای در همه ی زبان های اروپایی مورد استفاده قرار گرفته و در اکثر انستیتوها جزو ماده های درسی بوده است
ظاهرن "گوش کن آدمک" تنها اثر ویلهم رایش، روانشناس، پژوهشگر و زیباشناس آلمانی ست که توسط حسین آقایاری به فارسی ترجمه شده و البته در خارج از کشور چاپ و منتشر شده است. انتشارات نوید، آلمان، 1365
دکتر رایش که به متخصص امور جنسی هم مشهور است و آثار تکان دهنده ای در این زمینه نوشته، بانی نگاهی تازه به مساله جنس ، بدن زن و مرد و بنیادهای فیزیکی و روانی مسایل جنسی ست.
اثار او بصورت گسترده ای در همه ی زبان های اروپایی مورد استفاده قرار گرفته و در اکثر انستیتوها جزو ماده های درسی بوده است
February 11, 2017
I gave the book 2 stars, but for content 1 would be enough. However, it is interesting to learn what sexual revolutionary thinkers thought.
Reich is from the Freudian-left school, and then moved (escaped?) to the US in the late 30s where his fame really grew. It must have been weird for him to imagine 2017: emancipated LGBT community, high-profile companies like facebook allow dozens of genders & polyamory is just one of those things some people do.
So I hoped to read in this book something about the ideas behind free love & liberalizing morals. But no. It's mostly fact-free philosophizing.
Reich is from the Freudian-left school, and then moved (escaped?) to the US in the late 30s where his fame really grew. It must have been weird for him to imagine 2017: emancipated LGBT community, high-profile companies like facebook allow dozens of genders & polyamory is just one of those things some people do.
So I hoped to read in this book something about the ideas behind free love & liberalizing morals. But no. It's mostly fact-free philosophizing.
July 5, 2018
Didn't really got past page 50 or so. Didn't enjoy the writing style of Wilhelm Reich and just gave up reading. Also some facts mentioned seems very questionable, probably way outdated. I would have given it 1 star but information in this book could be useful for social science or people interested in history of sexual revolution/change in soviet union, 2 star seems reasonable.
August 28, 2016
Make love not war.
February 10, 2016
Make love not war.
April 26, 2020
Tutumbilim? Dirimsel? Eytişim? Anamalcılık? Lütfen bu kitabı başka bir çevirmenle yeniden basın.
August 2, 2023
The Sexual Revolution (Die Sexualität im Kulturkampf in its original, superior title) was first published in 1936. My edition is from 1972, with the newest foreword being from 1949.
The book was published before the Western sexual revolution of the 1960/70s, and in many ways seems like it was ahead of its time. Perhaps in some ways it is still ahead of its time.
The book is divided into two parts, the first looks at how bourgeoise sexual morals, and the second part looks at how the Soviet Union failed in its sexual revolution after the communists took over. The first part is by far the most interesting, but the second half does illustrate the challenges behind implementing Reich's visions, and might help to explain challenges society still deals with.
In the first part, Reich claims that sexual repression leads to neurosis, and that the way society stigmatizes youth for having sexual desires (ranging from children exploring their own bodies to teenagers engaging in sex) is a tool of the authoritarian, capitalist system to keep people in check. People are forced to marry to live out their sexuality, but by the time people are old enough to marry, they are already neurotic and the marriage is doomed to be unhappy.
Very basic summary: let people masturbate from an early age, and everyone should be swingers.
"Moral regulation represses and keeps from gratification the natural biological needs. This results in secondary, pathologically antisocial impulses. These, in turn have to be inhibited of necessity. Thus, morality does not owe its existence to the necessity of inhibitiing antisocial tendencies. It developed, in primitive society, when a certain upper class with economic superiority began to attain power; for economic reasons, this class had an interest in suppressing the natural needs, though they, in themselves, in no way disturbed sociality."
Many of the things Reich propsed are now standard in most of the West. Access to contraception, legalization of abortion, sex education, it is common for teenagers to engage in sex, premarital sex is the norm, homosexuality is not a crime. Some things he propses have not become reality yet, such as the abolition of the monogamous marriage institution and the access to private rooms for people to engage in intercourse away from their families that they live in.
Was Reich wrong? It is interesting to see how some huge steps taken by Western societies during the sexual revolution that Reich foreshadowed are now on the return, such as the recent American Supreme Court ruling on Roe. vs. Wade. There is also a lot of right-wing hysteria about "protecting the children against groomers" etc. Is this the same phenomenon that Reich describes in part 2 of the book, when the Soviet Union went from being sex-positive to being reactionary and moralistic? Or is it an understandable counter-reaction to an over-sexualized society? Perhaps a bit of both?
Reich should also be read up against Michel Houellebecq and his critique of the sexual revolution, which can be summarized as: the sexual liberation led to a sexual free market, and thus you have clear winners and losers, just like in the economic market. Of course Reich could counter Houellebecq's claims by pointing at capitalism as the root problem both pre- and post-revolution. But Reich does not engage with the issue of people who struggle to find sexual partners (perhaps not as big of an issue at his time? Afaik Bourdieu was one of the earliest to write explicitly about this as a social challenge, but I might be wrong). What would Reich have said about the incel movement?
It does also seem like he was unable to predict how capitalism would turn sexuality into a commodity. Current society is indeed thoroughly soaked in sex, and arguably not in the healthiest way (in the past weeks I've read at least two articles asking where the normal, loving "vanilla" sex has gone in media, as it is mostly kinky, rough etc.). Reich would probably not be very happy with the result of the sexual revolution in these respects. I was a bit surprised when he, near the end of the book, claims that "any kind of literature which creates sexual anxiety must be prohibited. This includes pornography" (emphasis mine). In his defense, he does warn about utopian dreams.
Some scattered, rambling thoughts about a book that has been unread on my nightstand for way too long. Interesting, engaging, and enjoyable, albeit a bit too dragged-out. It has lost its social actuality, but not its historical relevance.
The book was published before the Western sexual revolution of the 1960/70s, and in many ways seems like it was ahead of its time. Perhaps in some ways it is still ahead of its time.
The book is divided into two parts, the first looks at how bourgeoise sexual morals, and the second part looks at how the Soviet Union failed in its sexual revolution after the communists took over. The first part is by far the most interesting, but the second half does illustrate the challenges behind implementing Reich's visions, and might help to explain challenges society still deals with.
In the first part, Reich claims that sexual repression leads to neurosis, and that the way society stigmatizes youth for having sexual desires (ranging from children exploring their own bodies to teenagers engaging in sex) is a tool of the authoritarian, capitalist system to keep people in check. People are forced to marry to live out their sexuality, but by the time people are old enough to marry, they are already neurotic and the marriage is doomed to be unhappy.
Very basic summary: let people masturbate from an early age, and everyone should be swingers.
"Moral regulation represses and keeps from gratification the natural biological needs. This results in secondary, pathologically antisocial impulses. These, in turn have to be inhibited of necessity. Thus, morality does not owe its existence to the necessity of inhibitiing antisocial tendencies. It developed, in primitive society, when a certain upper class with economic superiority began to attain power; for economic reasons, this class had an interest in suppressing the natural needs, though they, in themselves, in no way disturbed sociality."
Many of the things Reich propsed are now standard in most of the West. Access to contraception, legalization of abortion, sex education, it is common for teenagers to engage in sex, premarital sex is the norm, homosexuality is not a crime. Some things he propses have not become reality yet, such as the abolition of the monogamous marriage institution and the access to private rooms for people to engage in intercourse away from their families that they live in.
Was Reich wrong? It is interesting to see how some huge steps taken by Western societies during the sexual revolution that Reich foreshadowed are now on the return, such as the recent American Supreme Court ruling on Roe. vs. Wade. There is also a lot of right-wing hysteria about "protecting the children against groomers" etc. Is this the same phenomenon that Reich describes in part 2 of the book, when the Soviet Union went from being sex-positive to being reactionary and moralistic? Or is it an understandable counter-reaction to an over-sexualized society? Perhaps a bit of both?
Reich should also be read up against Michel Houellebecq and his critique of the sexual revolution, which can be summarized as: the sexual liberation led to a sexual free market, and thus you have clear winners and losers, just like in the economic market. Of course Reich could counter Houellebecq's claims by pointing at capitalism as the root problem both pre- and post-revolution. But Reich does not engage with the issue of people who struggle to find sexual partners (perhaps not as big of an issue at his time? Afaik Bourdieu was one of the earliest to write explicitly about this as a social challenge, but I might be wrong). What would Reich have said about the incel movement?
It does also seem like he was unable to predict how capitalism would turn sexuality into a commodity. Current society is indeed thoroughly soaked in sex, and arguably not in the healthiest way (in the past weeks I've read at least two articles asking where the normal, loving "vanilla" sex has gone in media, as it is mostly kinky, rough etc.). Reich would probably not be very happy with the result of the sexual revolution in these respects. I was a bit surprised when he, near the end of the book, claims that "any kind of literature which creates sexual anxiety must be prohibited. This includes pornography" (emphasis mine). In his defense, he does warn about utopian dreams.
Some scattered, rambling thoughts about a book that has been unread on my nightstand for way too long. Interesting, engaging, and enjoyable, albeit a bit too dragged-out. It has lost its social actuality, but not its historical relevance.
August 7, 2021
Luckily I read it in the Russian edition so the Marxism is not sanitized. So, what could I say. I can see very well that for many people it could definitely be a starting point to start seeing how political and economic oppression is directly linked with sexuality. No fewer than the number of people who might take the advantage of reflecting on their experience in relationships, and re-thinking the concepts of love, appreciation, and gratitude. These both would be important enough things so I could already recommend reading it for most of us. However, I also wanna note down a couple of points.
One should still see how idealistic and, let's put it that way, not-educated of teenager relationships (obviously, not his fault, there was no data available at his time) Dr. Reich was. His hope that once left alone they would self-organize, figure out their feelings and start expressing their sexuality in the most healthy way smells lightly of a "noble savage" story. Too bad he couldn't pay for Netflix premium and watch some Sex Education to see how hard it could be to fight the patterns. He also doesn't go into how grownups should be controlled not to get sexually involved with teenagers, drawing the line is tricky and not that seggzy. Anyways, just in between the Russian Revolution and WWII it was OK to be an idealist but it's interesting to think of it if you enjoy the practical implementation of some radical (so-called) theories.
Another problem is that for Reich the sexual liberation automatically leads to healthy mind/relationship/life condition (whatever it means) and so every deviation from that is explained by political, economical, and cultural oppression we experience. But chains can be fun too! if you know what I mean.
Again, given that now it's time when Jordan Peterson fairy tales are far more popular than Reich theories... It kind of overcompensates his obsolescence I guess.
One should still see how idealistic and, let's put it that way, not-educated of teenager relationships (obviously, not his fault, there was no data available at his time) Dr. Reich was. His hope that once left alone they would self-organize, figure out their feelings and start expressing their sexuality in the most healthy way smells lightly of a "noble savage" story. Too bad he couldn't pay for Netflix premium and watch some Sex Education to see how hard it could be to fight the patterns. He also doesn't go into how grownups should be controlled not to get sexually involved with teenagers, drawing the line is tricky and not that seggzy. Anyways, just in between the Russian Revolution and WWII it was OK to be an idealist but it's interesting to think of it if you enjoy the practical implementation of some radical (so-called) theories.
Another problem is that for Reich the sexual liberation automatically leads to healthy mind/relationship/life condition (whatever it means) and so every deviation from that is explained by political, economical, and cultural oppression we experience. But chains can be fun too! if you know what I mean.
Again, given that now it's time when Jordan Peterson fairy tales are far more popular than Reich theories... It kind of overcompensates his obsolescence I guess.
July 8, 2022
El psicoanálisis freudiano tuvo cambios estructurales con el paso del tiempo. Nació el neopsicoanálisis y la psicología analítica. Pero también, se puede decir, hubo un enfoque más “científico”, donde uno de sus principales exponentes fue Wilhem Reich, psicoanalista austrohúngaro, alumno directo de Sigmund Freud. La separación de Reich con Freud fue debido a su interés social-socialista y su reinterpretación de las pulsiones básicas; he ahí que sus principales aportes sean de carácter sexual, llegando a tal punto de postular un manifiesto de higiene y enfoque psicoanalista-socialista para la ruptura de la cultura privativa.
Wilhem Reich es un personaje polémico debido a sus afirmaciones y experimentos, que lo condujeron al encarcelamiento y censura, pero que, en mi apreciación a su pasión, espíritu y entrega a la ciencia, demuestra su genialidad y visión por encima del resto de teóricos. Decir, por ejemplo, que la familia no es el núcleo social de la sociedad, sino que es un componente más y que hay que abolir el concepto de familia tradicional; que el matrimonio es más un fenómeno antisexual por cómo se concibe; o que se tenga ciertos mecanismos que eliminen la interacción sexual tradicionalista, puesto que estas producen el neuroticismo y afecciones a la higiene sexual, son aportes distintos a lo que se solía decir en aquella época (1936).
Es de los pocos autores psicoanalistas que refutan a Freud por su hermetismo y, en algún punto de su libro, mostrar contradicciones en cuanto a la relevancia del medio social con la sexualidad individual.
La primera parte del libro es la que abarca el contenido teórico de su propuesta (y es la más interesante, a mi parecer). La segunda parte es la comparativa social y su estilo de vida sexual de la población de los países socialistas y comunistas.
Wilhem Reich es un personaje polémico debido a sus afirmaciones y experimentos, que lo condujeron al encarcelamiento y censura, pero que, en mi apreciación a su pasión, espíritu y entrega a la ciencia, demuestra su genialidad y visión por encima del resto de teóricos. Decir, por ejemplo, que la familia no es el núcleo social de la sociedad, sino que es un componente más y que hay que abolir el concepto de familia tradicional; que el matrimonio es más un fenómeno antisexual por cómo se concibe; o que se tenga ciertos mecanismos que eliminen la interacción sexual tradicionalista, puesto que estas producen el neuroticismo y afecciones a la higiene sexual, son aportes distintos a lo que se solía decir en aquella época (1936).
Es de los pocos autores psicoanalistas que refutan a Freud por su hermetismo y, en algún punto de su libro, mostrar contradicciones en cuanto a la relevancia del medio social con la sexualidad individual.
La primera parte del libro es la que abarca el contenido teórico de su propuesta (y es la más interesante, a mi parecer). La segunda parte es la comparativa social y su estilo de vida sexual de la población de los países socialistas y comunistas.
January 2, 2023
I’m giving this book a five star rating not necessarily because it is the best book that I have ever read, but because the ideas I encountered in this book are so revolutionary and have shaken me at my core.
I really love books that completely change and challenge my worldview and this is one of them.
As a human, we sometimes have a sense that something is wrong but we can’t quite put a finger on it. On sexuality, this book not only lay a finger on but vigorously shakes with both hands the idea of sexuality as it is traditionally taught and introduces new ideas.
New ideas in the way the information is disseminated but old ideas in the sense that we are asked to revert to a more naturally state of sexuality and refuse the ascetic, sex negating culture that currently dominates most of the world still.
Side note: I love how Reich doesn’t miss an opportunity to trash religion.
I really love books that completely change and challenge my worldview and this is one of them.
As a human, we sometimes have a sense that something is wrong but we can’t quite put a finger on it. On sexuality, this book not only lay a finger on but vigorously shakes with both hands the idea of sexuality as it is traditionally taught and introduces new ideas.
New ideas in the way the information is disseminated but old ideas in the sense that we are asked to revert to a more naturally state of sexuality and refuse the ascetic, sex negating culture that currently dominates most of the world still.
Side note: I love how Reich doesn’t miss an opportunity to trash religion.
July 14, 2020
A essential read that had definitely vitalised me for future measure of making the my life as well as other worth living.
This book cleared lot of questions that has risen overtime during my understanding of life and sex and have also show me the most appropriate path to be taken in ensuring a world with love, peace and content.
To whomever looking out for a revolution/change to save oneself from the miseries of the world should also look at what is the root cause of those miseries at the first place. Like always Knowledge leads to awareness that leads to Realisation which ends with Revolution within or out.
This book cleared lot of questions that has risen overtime during my understanding of life and sex and have also show me the most appropriate path to be taken in ensuring a world with love, peace and content.
To whomever looking out for a revolution/change to save oneself from the miseries of the world should also look at what is the root cause of those miseries at the first place. Like always Knowledge leads to awareness that leads to Realisation which ends with Revolution within or out.
January 17, 2021
Un'indagine rivoluzionaria sul rapporto tra moralismo sessuale e struttura economica e politica della società conservatrice. La funzione sociale della repressione sessuale. Un libro letto un milione di anni fa che andrebbe consigliato a chi vuol capire la formazione di una struttura umana capace di autogestione.
July 25, 2025
Una continuación imprescindible de la obra “La Función del Orgasmo.” Aunque no sé hasta qué punto los descubrimientos del autor se adaptan al mundo de hoy, su punto de mira y su manera de poner en cuestión lo “incuestionable”, hacen la obra una oda a la rebeldía y una profundización súper interesante sobre la relación del sexo y el bienestar de las personas.
April 23, 2018
wilhelm reich kitaplarının içine eden çevirileri için payel ve bertan onarana çok teşekkürler
March 5, 2021
He was right
April 6, 2022
This was one of the first metaphorical bombs in the form of a book that blew up in my face (in my junior year of college); the other was the Marquis de Sade's Justine.
May 7, 2024
Menos realista que Wilhelm Reich.
September 12, 2024
Brillante, real.
December 29, 2024
An impressive thesis. Ahead of its time.
December 22, 2020
Reichian sex-pol freedom versus Christian fascist sexual slavery. A must for all those who seek liberation, sexual, personal, and political.
October 19, 2015
Both astounding and confirmatory. A full scale assault, under the guise of science, on traditional sexual morality, promising Utopia, if sexual expression at all levels is promoted and achieved. Reich also blends Marxism with sexuality, giving sexuality primary historical basis for causing economic exploitation of the masses. Written decades before the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the USSR, the Marxist cant gets repetitive and a little distracting. However, much of the proposed sexual freedom program advocated by Reich has been put in place in the West. But, not surprisingly, no golden age has arrived. We may be sexually freer, but are in fact no better off socially. A final comment regarding a claim of Reich: juvenile delinquency is due to teens not having a private room to engage in unrestricted sex (paraphrased, but not far off the original). I suppose the police should say to the kid who has just robbed the convenience store: "get a room."
Onward and downward.
Onward and downward.
Read
November 25, 2009Brave Reich qui a eu le courage de s'opposer à Freud frontalement et qui fut à l'origine de la libération sexuelle avant 1960 et ce, de manière scientifique. On lui doit Les Enfants de SummerHill à Ipswich, entre autre. Comme l'ingénuité n'advient pas par hasard W.Reich a connu son lot de souffrance et une fin tragique en défiant l'autorité américaine avec sa théorie Orgone.
Brave W. Reich!
Come and have a look at what free education was at summerhill:
- PICTURES:
http://images.google.cn/images?hl=zh-...
- OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF A.S. NEIL'S TEACHING:
http://www.summerhillschool.co.uk/
Brave W. Reich!
Come and have a look at what free education was at summerhill:
- PICTURES:
http://images.google.cn/images?hl=zh-...
- OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF A.S. NEIL'S TEACHING:
http://www.summerhillschool.co.uk/
March 17, 2017
Pretty interesting. The part analyzing the Soviet Revolution was particularly interesting. However, there's a lot of bad opinions in here. Reich, for example, believes homosexuality is in most cases caused by the inhibition of heterosexual impulses, and that if we all have access to free, fulfilling heterosexual sex, homosexuality will disappear. Reich's attitudes towards mental illness also are bad and potentially oppressive in my opinion. I think this book would be interesting if rewritten after the beginning(s) of the Gay Liberation movement(s) and after other people's critiques of psychoanalysis and psychiatry. But then it'd be a pretty different book.
April 24, 2016
Honestly, I only read the first half—not because I didn't like it, but because I'm reading it to write a paper, and I think the first half gave me what I need for now. I'll go back and get the rest another time (maybe).
I was led to believe it would be excessively "dense," but I didn't find it too bad. Maybe I had a good translation or something. I appreciated Reich's theories and observations about the connections between sexual morality and the authoritarian state, although I often wished he'd provide more evidence of his claims.
I was led to believe it would be excessively "dense," but I didn't find it too bad. Maybe I had a good translation or something. I appreciated Reich's theories and observations about the connections between sexual morality and the authoritarian state, although I often wished he'd provide more evidence of his claims.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews