Oedipal Experiences in Same-Sex Families

Dr. Yifat Eitan-Persico is a practicing clinical psychologist and a candidate in the Israel Psychoanalytic Society. She is a translator and editor of psychoanalytic writings, and a lecturer in post-graduate psychoanalytic programs. The Hebrew edition of this book was awarded the prestigious Bahat Prize for the best academic book, 2021.

Introduction: A bridge between two islands: psychoanalytic thinking and the research field Part I: What does Oedipal development have to do with the parents' sex, anyway? 1.“I want to marry you, Mommy”: On Oedipal configurations in same-sex families 2.Oedipal Configurations: Mutual illumination of theory and research findings Part II: What does genetics have to do with kinship, anyway? 3. On biological affiliation and kinship 4. A new hierarchy: Asymmetry between the birth mother and social mother in lesbian couples 5. Back to the closet: The issue of the child’s genetic origin among gay fathers 6. The dual role of the extended family. 7. The power of interpellation: kinship conceptualization among same-sex parents and their children Part III: What does procreation have to do with parental coitus, anyway? 8. Between longing and dread: representations of gamete donors and surogates in the children's inner-worlds. 9. Gamete donation in light of the primal scene: The parental challenge of integrating the donor’s imago Part IV: Afterword 10. Oedipus for Everyone? Biases in the Oedipal model: their roots and how to overcome them 11. How to work with same-sex families? Coda. The Kids Are All Right: a psychoanalytic reading in Lisa Cholodenko's film. Appendix A Appendix B.