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S E V E N The Dialectics of Desire Sexuality In understandin g huma n sexuality , ther e are , accordin g t o Laplanche' s interpretation o f Freud , "tw o terms , tw o 'signifiers ' " tha t mus t b e "th e guiding thread, " drive an d instinct (L&D , 9) . Instinc t i s " a performe d behavioral pattern , whos e arrangemen t i s determine d hereditaril y an d which i s repeate d accordin g t o modalitie s relativel y adapte d t o a certai n type of object/' an d 'the sexual object' is defined as 'the person from who m the sexua l attraction proceeds ' " (L&D , 10-11). Laplanch e quotes th e fol lowing passag e fro m Freud : "Ou r stud y o f thumb-suckin g o r sensua l sucking has already given us the three essential characteristics of an infan tile sexual manifestation . A t it s origin i t attaches itsel f t o one of th e vita l somatic functions ; i t ha s a s yet n o sexua l object , an d i s thus auto-erotic ; and it s sexua l ai m i s dominated b y a n erotogeni c zone. I t is to be anticipated tha t thes e characteristic s wil l b e foun d t o appl y equall y t o mos t of th e othe r activitie s o f th e infantil e sexua l instincts " (SE , VII , 182) . Laplanche calls the notion of attaching itself to "propping"': "Th e phenomenon Freu d describe s i s a leaning of the drive, th e fac t tha t emergen t sexuality attache s itsel f t o an d i s propped upo n anothe r proces s whic h i s both simila r and profoundly divergent : th e sexual drive is propped upon a non-sexual, vita l functio n or , a s Freu d formulate s i t i n term s whic h def y all additiona l commentary , upo n a 'bodil y functio n essentia l t o life ' " (L&D, 16). The paradigmatic example of propping is where, in infancy, "simultane ous wit h th e feedin g function' s achievemen t o f satisfactio n i n nourish ment , a sexual process begins to appear" tha t involve s both the mouth of 171 The Dialectics of Desire 172 th e infant an d the breast o f the mother, with the result that, "I n the very act o f feeding , th e proces s o f proppin g ma y b e reveale d i n a culminatin g satisfaction tha t alread y resembles orgasm" (L&D , 17-18). "W e pass progressively fro m th e erotogeni c zone , as a privileged place for stimulation , to a fa r mor e extende d serie s o f processes. " Freud , Laplanch e posits , generalizes furthe r unti l h e i s eventuall y le d t o th e positio n tha t "ever y function and , finall y ever y huma n activit y ca n be erotogenic" (L&D , 21). For Freud , th e emotions , whic h ar e conceptualize d withi n th e physica l contact between mother and infant, hav e a sexual component or fall within his explicatio n o f th e sexual . A t th e sam e time, Freu d maintain s tha t th e nerve system , whic h produce s th e eroti c or sexua l feeling s tha t ar e mor e centrally focuse d i n th e genitals , ar e sprea d throughou t th e ski n o f th e human bod y and are also concentrated i n certain areas such as the breasts, the mouth, and the anus. These Freud calls erotogenic zones. Freu d main tains tha t ther e ar e certai n bodil y function s an d huma n actions , centere d on th e erotogeni c zones , tha t produc e a sexua l excitation . Thes e action s include the infant suckin g a t her mother' s breas t o r the ac t of defecation . The distinctio n tha t Freu d draw s betwee n biologica l se x an d sexualit y i s reflected i n th e simila r distinctio n h e draw...

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