"Acting out the oedipal wish": Father-daughter incest and the sexuality of adolescent girls in the United States, 1941-1965

Journal of Social History

Volumn 38, Issue 3, 2005, Pages

  Devlin, Rachel ^a,b  

^a TULANE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b Department of History ^*  (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 17544364871     PISSN: 00224529     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/jsh.2005.0027     Document Type: Article

References (124)

1. This interpretation is put forward by Judith Lewis Herman in Father-Daughter Incest (Cambridge, 1981). See also Elizabeth Fleck, Domestic Tyranny: The Making of American Social Policy Against Family Violence From Colonial Times to the Present (New York, 1987); Linda Gordon, Heroes of Their Own Lives (New York, 1988), p. 208.
2. This interpretation is put forward by Judith Lewis Herman in Father-Daughter Incest (Cambridge, 1981). See also Elizabeth Fleck, Domestic Tyranny: The Making of American Social Policy Against Family Violence From Colonial Times to the Present (New York, 1987); Linda Gordon, Heroes of Their Own Lives (New York, 1988), p. 208.
3. This interpretation is put forward by Judith Lewis Herman in Father-Daughter Incest (Cambridge, 1981). See also Elizabeth Fleck, Domestic Tyranny: The Making of American Social Policy Against Family Violence From Colonial Times to the Present (New York, 1987); Linda Gordon, Heroes of Their Own Lives (New York, 1988), p. 208.
4. Pleck, Domestic Tyranny, p. 156. Philip Jenkins, Moral Panic: Changing Concepts of the Child Molester in Modern America (New Haven, 1998), p. 34.
5. Pleck, Domestic Tyranny, p. 156. Philip Jenkins, Moral Panic: Changing Concepts of the Child Molester in Modern America (New Haven, 1998), p. 34.
6. Ibid., p. 207.
7. Louise Barnett, in Ungentlemanly Acts: The Army's Notorious Incest Trial uses the word "unthinkable" when discussing an incest case from 1879. According to Barnett this sensibility lasted from the late nineteenth century through the 1970s (New York, 2000), p. 214-225. The notion that "a radical feminist consciousness pulled incest out of the closet" is put forward by Linda Gordon in "The Politics of Child Sexual Abuse: Notes from American History," Feminist Review, no. 28 (Spring, 1988), p. 56. For evidence of a "cultural silence" about sexual abuse within the family at the turn of the century, see Mary Odem, Delinquent Daughters: Protecting and Policing Adolescent Female Sexuality in the United States, 1885-1920 (Chapel Hill, 1995), p. 62.
8. Louise Barnett, in Ungentlemanly Acts: The Army's Notorious Incest Trial uses the word "unthinkable" when discussing an incest case from 1879. According to Barnett this sensibility lasted from the late nineteenth century through the 1970s (New York, 2000), p. 214-225. The notion that "a radical feminist consciousness pulled incest out of the closet" is put forward by Linda Gordon in "The Politics of Child Sexual Abuse: Notes from American History," Feminist Review, no. 28 (Spring, 1988), p. 56. For evidence of a "cultural silence" about sexual abuse within the family at the turn of the century, see Mary Odem, Delinquent Daughters: Protecting and Policing Adolescent Female Sexuality in the United States, 1885-1920 (Chapel Hill, 1995), p. 62.
9. Louise Barnett, in Ungentlemanly Acts: The Army's Notorious Incest Trial uses the word "unthinkable" when discussing an incest case from 1879. According to Barnett this sensibility lasted from the late nineteenth century through the 1970s (New York, 2000), p. 214-225. The notion that "a radical feminist consciousness pulled incest out of the closet" is put forward by Linda Gordon in "The Politics of Child Sexual Abuse: Notes from American History," Feminist Review, no. 28 (Spring, 1988), p. 56. For evidence of a "cultural silence" about sexual abuse within the family at the turn of the century, see Mary Odem, Delinquent Daughters: Protecting and Policing Adolescent Female Sexuality in the United States, 1885-1920 (Chapel Hill, 1995), p. 62.
10. Elizabeth Pleck, Domestic Tyranny, p. 146.
11. In Father-Daughter Incest, Herman presents Kinsey's findings as 1 out of every 100. Kinsey did not present his numbers in this format. Kinsey claimed that 24 per cent of his sample (1075 women) were "approached while they were pre-adolescent by adult males." Of that 24 percent, 4 percent were "approached" by their fathers. Alfred Kinsey, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (Philadelphia, 1953), p. 116-118.
12. Herman, Father-Daughter Incest, p. 16.
13. Gordon, Heroes of Their Own Lives, p. 222.
14. Jacques Derrida, "Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences," quoted in Ellen Pollak, Incest and the English Novel, 1684-1814 (Baltimore, 2003), p. 5. The word "unthinkable" is regularly applied to incest.
15. Which is not to say that the psychoanalytic perspective did not also serve to downplay the violent nature and/ or moral offensiveness of incest. It did. For a discussion of the ways in which psychoanalysis suggested that the experience of incest or sexual abuse was not particularly damaging or traumatic see note 36.
16. Rachel Devlin, Relative Intimacy: Fathers, Adolescent Daughters, and Postwar American Culture (Chapel Hill, 2005), chapter 1.
17. David Levy, Maternal Overprotection (New York, 1943); Rose W. Coleman, Ernst Kris, and Sally Provence, "The Study of Variations of Early Parental Attitudes," The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, VIII (1953): 20-47. See also, Ernst Kris, "Notes on the Development and on Some Current Problems of Psychoanalytic Child Psychology," The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, V (1950): 24-46.
18. David Levy, Maternal Overprotection (New York, 1943); Rose W. Coleman, Ernst Kris, and Sally Provence, "The Study of Variations of Early Parental Attitudes," The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, VIII (1953): 20-47. See also, Ernst Kris, "Notes on the Development and on Some Current Problems of Psychoanalytic Child Psychology," The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, V (1950): 24-46.
19. David Levy, Maternal Overprotection (New York, 1943); Rose W. Coleman, Ernst Kris, and Sally Provence, "The Study of Variations of Early Parental Attitudes," The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, VIII (1953): 20-47. See also, Ernst Kris, "Notes on the Development and on Some Current Problems of Psychoanalytic Child Psychology," The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, V (1950): 24-46.
20. Rebecca Plant, "The Repeal of Mother-Love: Momism and the Reconstruction of Motherhood in Philip Wylie's America," Ph.D. Dissertation (Baltimore, 2001).
21. On girls and sexuality during World War II, see John D'Emilio and Estelle Freedman, Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America (New York, 1988) p. 261. Beth Bailey argues that sexual liberalism increased more gradually over the course of the postwar period than has previously been assumed. See Sex in The Heartland (Cambridge, 1999).
22. On girls and sexuality during World War II, see John D'Emilio and Estelle Freedman, Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America (New York, 1988) p. 261. Beth Bailey argues that sexual liberalism increased more gradually over the course of the postwar period than has previously been assumed. See Sex in The Heartland (Cambridge, 1999).
23. Beth Bailey, From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship in Twentieth Century America (Baltimore, 1988).
24. Pamela Haag, "In Search of The Real Thing': Ideologies of Love, Modern Romance, and Women's Sexual Subjectivity in the United States, 1920-1940," The Journal of the History of Sexuality 2 (1992); Elizabeth Lunbeck, The Psychiatric Persuasion: Knowledge, Gender, and Power in Modern America (New Jersey, 1994).
25. Pamela Haag, "In Search of The Real Thing': Ideologies of Love, Modern Romance, and Women's Sexual Subjectivity in the United States, 1920-1940," The Journal of the History of Sexuality 2 (1992); Elizabeth Lunbeck, The Psychiatric Persuasion: Knowledge, Gender, and Power in Modern America (New Jersey, 1994).
26. On the professionalization of social work and attitudes towards unwed mothers see Regina Kunzel, Fallen Women, Problem Girls: Unmarried Mothers and the Professionalization of Social Work, 1890-1945 (New Haven, 1993); Rickie Solinger, Wake Up Little Susie: Single Pregnancy and Race Before Roe V. Wade (New York, 1992).
27. On the professionalization of social work and attitudes towards unwed mothers see Regina Kunzel, Fallen Women, Problem Girls: Unmarried Mothers and the Professionalization of Social Work, 1890-1945 (New Haven, 1993); Rickie Solinger, Wake Up Little Susie: Single Pregnancy and Race Before Roe V. Wade (New York, 1992).
28. Herman, Father-Daughter Incest, p. 22.
29. Elizabeth Wilson, "Not in this House: Incest, Denial, and Doubt in the White Middle Class Family," The Yale Journal of Criticism 8 (1995): p. 43. Diana E.H. Russell, The Secret Trauma: Incest in the Lives of Girls and Women (New York, 1986); Florence Rush, The Best Kept Secret: Sexual Abuse of Children (New York, 1980).
30. Elizabeth Wilson, "Not in this House: Incest, Denial, and Doubt in the White Middle Class Family," The Yale Journal of Criticism 8 (1995): p. 43. Diana E.H. Russell, The Secret Trauma: Incest in the Lives of Girls and Women (New York, 1986); Florence Rush, The Best Kept Secret: Sexual Abuse of Children (New York, 1980).
31. Elizabeth Wilson, "Not in this House: Incest, Denial, and Doubt in the White Middle Class Family," The Yale Journal of Criticism 8 (1995): p. 43. Diana E.H. Russell, The Secret Trauma: Incest in the Lives of Girls and Women (New York, 1986); Florence Rush, The Best Kept Secret: Sexual Abuse of Children (New York, 1980).
32. A convincing study of ways in which scientists denied the possibility of incest when confronted with venereal disease in children at the turn of the century is in Lynn Sacco, "Sanitized for Your Protection: Medical Discourse and the Denial of Incest in the United States, 1890-1940,"Journal of Women's History 14.3 (2002): 80-104.
33. Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality, vol. 1 (New York, 1978), 108-109.
34. Karen Sanchez-Eppler, "Temperance in the Bed of a Child: Incest and Social Order in Nineteenth-Century America," American Quarterly, v. 47.1 (March 1995): 8-9.
35. Pollak, Incest and the English Novel, p. 16.
36. Ellen Pollak, Incest and the English Novel, 1684-1814.
37. For a discussion on depictions of incest between fathers and preadolescent daughters, see Karen Sanchez-Eppler, "Temperance in the Bed of a Child."
38. Kirson S. Weinberg, Incest Behavior (New York, 1955), p. 37-38.
39. Kate Friedlander, The Psycho-analytical Approach to Juvenile Delinquency: Theory; Case Studies; Treatment (London, 1947), p. 173. See also Sved Riemer, " A Research Note on Incest," The American Journal of Sociology XLV (July, 1939): 566; "The Background of Incestuous Relationship," in Clyde B. Vedder, Samuel Koenig and Robert E. Clark, eds., Criminology: A Book of Readings (New York, 1953), p. 301; John W. Rhinehart, M.D., "Genesis of Overt Incest," Comprehensive Psychiatry II (December, 1961): 338; B. Karpman, The Sexual Offender and His Offenses (New York, 1954).
40. Kate Friedlander, The Psycho-analytical Approach to Juvenile Delinquency: Theory; Case Studies; Treatment (London, 1947), p. 173. See also Sved Riemer, " A Research Note on Incest," The American Journal of Sociology XLV (July, 1939): 566; "The Background of Incestuous Relationship," in Clyde B. Vedder, Samuel Koenig and Robert E. Clark, eds., Criminology: A Book of Readings (New York, 1953), p. 301; John W. Rhinehart, M.D., "Genesis of Overt Incest," Comprehensive Psychiatry II (December, 1961): 338; B. Karpman, The Sexual Offender and His Offenses (New York, 1954).
41. Kate Friedlander, The Psycho-analytical Approach to Juvenile Delinquency: Theory; Case Studies; Treatment (London, 1947), p. 173. See also Sved Riemer, " A Research Note on Incest," The American Journal of Sociology XLV (July, 1939): 566; "The Background of Incestuous Relationship," in Clyde B. Vedder, Samuel Koenig and Robert E. Clark, eds., Criminology: A Book of Readings (New York, 1953), p. 301; John W. Rhinehart, M.D., "Genesis of Overt Incest," Comprehensive Psychiatry II (December, 1961): 338; B. Karpman, The Sexual Offender and His Offenses (New York, 1954).
42. Kate Friedlander, The Psycho-analytical Approach to Juvenile Delinquency: Theory; Case Studies; Treatment (London, 1947), p. 173. See also Sved Riemer, " A Research Note on Incest," The American Journal of Sociology XLV (July, 1939): 566; "The Background of Incestuous Relationship," in Clyde B. Vedder, Samuel Koenig and Robert E. Clark, eds., Criminology: A Book of Readings (New York, 1953), p. 301; John W. Rhinehart, M.D., "Genesis of Overt Incest," Comprehensive Psychiatry II (December, 1961): 338; B. Karpman, The Sexual Offender and His Offenses (New York, 1954).
43. Kate Friedlander, The Psycho-analytical Approach to Juvenile Delinquency: Theory; Case Studies; Treatment (London, 1947), p. 173. See also Sved Riemer, " A Research Note on Incest," The American Journal of Sociology XLV (July, 1939): 566; "The Background of Incestuous Relationship," in Clyde B. Vedder, Samuel Koenig and Robert E. Clark, eds., Criminology: A Book of Readings (New York, 1953), p. 301; John W. Rhinehart, M.D., "Genesis of Overt Incest," Comprehensive Psychiatry II (December, 1961): 338; B. Karpman, The Sexual Offender and His Offenses (New York, 1954).
44. Weinberg, Incest Behavior, p. 39.
45. Karl Bowman, California Sex Deviation Research (California, 1953), p. 13.
46. Philip Jenkins, Moral Panic, p. 86-88.
47. Acts falling under "contributing to the delinquency of minors" included soliciting, homosexual contacts, exhibitionism, peeping and loitering near children's playgrounds. Karl Bowman, California Sex Deviation Research., p. 44.
48. I b i d.
49. Pleck, Domestic Tyranny, p. 156.
50. Weinberg, Incest Behavior, p. 42.
51. I would like to thank Dawn Flood who first alerted me to the existence of these trial transcripts.
52. People of the State of Illinois Vs.Charles Le Roy, Ind. No. 60-3932, 1960. People of the State of Illinois Vs. Mark Weistnan, Ind. No. 57-222, Criminal Court of Cook County, 1957. People of the State of Illinois Vs. John Thompson, Ind. No. 44-561, Criminal Court of Cook County, 1944.
53. People of the State of Illinois Vs. John Thompson, Ind. No. 44-561, the Criminal Court of Cook County, 1944.
54. People of the State of Illinois Vs. Mark Weisman, Ind. No. 57-222, Criminal Court of Cook County, 1957.
55. People of the State of Illinois Vs. John Thomson; The People of the State of Illinois Vs. Sebastian Ryan, Ind. No. 61-1098, 1961.
56. The People of the State of Illinois Vs. Charles Le Roy, Ind. No. 60-3932, Criminal Court of Cook County, 1960.
57. Kinsey, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, p. 118; Judith Lewis Herman, Father-Daughter Incest, p. 13.
58. Kinsey, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, p. 118; Judith Lewis Herman, Father-Daughter Incest, p. 13.
59. Prewar studies mostly concentrated on the question of mother-son incest. See especially, Karl Abraham, "Neurotic Exogamy," Psychoanalytic Review VIII (1921): 101-120; Otto Rank, Inzest Motiv in Dichtung und Saga (Leipzig, 1926), cited in Blanchard, The Adolescent Girl (New York, 1920), p. 123.
60. Prewar studies mostly concentrated on the question of mother-son incest. See especially, Karl Abraham, "Neurotic Exogamy," Psychoanalytic Review VIII (1921): 101-120; Otto Rank, Inzest Motiv in Dichtung und Saga (Leipzig, 1926), cited in Blanchard, The Adolescent Girl (New York, 1920), p. 123.
61. Prewar studies mostly concentrated on the question of mother-son incest. See especially, Karl Abraham, "Neurotic Exogamy," Psychoanalytic Review VIII (1921): 101-120; Otto Rank, Inzest Motiv in Dichtung und Saga (Leipzig, 1926), cited in Blanchard, The Adolescent Girl (New York, 1920), p. 123.
62. Estelle Freedman, "Uncontrolled Desires: The Response to the Sexual Psychopath, 1920-1960," Kathy Peiss and Christina Simmons,eds., Passion and Power (Philadelphia, 1987), pp. 199-225.
63. Sigmund Freud, Totem and Taboo (New York, 1950), p. 3.
64. Sigmund Freud, "The Aetiology of Hysteria," The Complete Works of Sigmund Freud, trans. James Strachey, SE (London, 1962) III, p. 191-221.
65. Interestingly, some studies of father daughter incest begin with a re-telling of Freud's abandonment of the seduction theory - probably as a way to let the audience know that they were already aware of the questions the study of father-daughter incest could raise. See especially Hector Cavallin, "Incestuous Fathers: A Clinical Report," The American Journal of Psychiatry 122 (April 1966): 1132-1138; Irving B. Weiner, "Father-Daughter Incest: A Clinical Report," Psychiatric Quarterly 36 (1962): 607-632. John H. Gagnon, "Female Child Victims of Sex Offenses," Social Problem XIII (1965): 176-192. Jeffrey Moussaieff Massen, The Assault On Truth: Freud's Suppression of the Seduction Theory (New York, 1984), p. 129
66. Interestingly, some studies of father daughter incest begin with a re-telling of Freud's abandonment of the seduction theory - probably as a way to let the audience know that they were already aware of the questions the study of father-daughter incest could raise. See especially Hector Cavallin, "Incestuous Fathers: A Clinical Report," The American Journal of Psychiatry 122 (April 1966): 1132-1138; Irving B. Weiner, "Father-Daughter Incest: A Clinical Report," Psychiatric Quarterly 36 (1962): 607-632. John H. Gagnon, "Female Child Victims of Sex Offenses," Social Problem XIII (1965): 176-192. Jeffrey Moussaieff Massen, The Assault On Truth: Freud's Suppression of the Seduction Theory (New York, 1984), p. 129
67. Interestingly, some studies of father daughter incest begin with a re-telling of Freud's abandonment of the seduction theory - probably as a way to let the audience know that they were already aware of the questions the study of father-daughter incest could raise. See especially Hector Cavallin, "Incestuous Fathers: A Clinical Report," The American Journal of Psychiatry 122 (April 1966): 1132-1138; Irving B. Weiner, "Father-Daughter Incest: A Clinical Report," Psychiatric Quarterly 36 (1962): 607-632. John H. Gagnon, "Female Child Victims of Sex Offenses," Social Problem XIII (1965): 176-192. Jeffrey Moussaieff Massen, The Assault On Truth: Freud's Suppression of the Seduction Theory (New York, 1984), p. 129
68. Interestingly, some studies of father daughter incest begin with a re-telling of Freud's abandonment of the seduction theory - probably as a way to let the audience know that they were already aware of the questions the study of father-daughter incest could raise. See especially Hector Cavallin, "Incestuous Fathers: A Clinical Report," The American Journal of Psychiatry 122 (April 1966): 1132-1138; Irving B. Weiner, "Father-Daughter Incest: A Clinical Report," Psychiatric Quarterly 36 (1962): 607-632. John H. Gagnon, "Female Child Victims of Sex Offenses," Social Problem XIII (1965): 176-192. Jeffrey Moussaieff Massen, The Assault On Truth: Freud's Suppression of the Seduction Theory (New York, 1984), p. 129
69. Masson, Assault on Truth, p. 133. For a discussion of the distinction between Freud's emphasis on "instincts and constitutional factors" as opposed to the "social environment" or "external influences," which became important to psychoanalysts and psychoanalytically influenced intellectuals in the United States in the 1930s, see Mari Jo Buhle, Feminism and Its Discontents: A Century of Struggle with Psychoanalysis (Cambridge, 1998), p. 88 and ff. Many have disputed how and to what extent Freud actually did abandon this theory. David Wilbern, for examples, argues that Freud continued to employ ideas about abuse and psychic trauma, however, he did so selectively in "Filia Oedipi: Father and Daughter in Freudian Theory," in Lynda Boose and Betty S. Flowers, eds., Daughters and Fathers (Baltimore, 1989). See also Elizabeth Pleck on this question in Domestic Tyranny, p. 153.
70. Masson, Assault on Truth, p. 133. For a discussion of the distinction between Freud's emphasis on "instincts and constitutional factors" as opposed to the "social environment" or "external influences," which became important to psychoanalysts and psychoanalytically influenced intellectuals in the United States in the 1930s, see Mari Jo Buhle, Feminism and Its Discontents: A Century of Struggle with Psychoanalysis (Cambridge, 1998), p. 88 and ff. Many have disputed how and to what extent Freud actually did abandon this theory. David Wilbern, for examples, argues that Freud continued to employ ideas about abuse and psychic trauma, however, he did so selectively in "Filia Oedipi: Father and Daughter in Freudian Theory," in Lynda Boose and Betty S. Flowers, eds., Daughters and Fathers (Baltimore, 1989). See also Elizabeth Pleck on this question in Domestic Tyranny, p. 153.
71. Masson, Assault on Truth, p. 133. For a discussion of the distinction between Freud's emphasis on "instincts and constitutional factors" as opposed to the "social environment" or "external influences," which became important to psychoanalysts and psychoanalytically influenced intellectuals in the United States in the 1930s, see Mari Jo Buhle, Feminism and Its Discontents: A Century of Struggle with Psychoanalysis (Cambridge, 1998), p. 88 and ff. Many have disputed how and to what extent Freud actually did abandon this theory. David Wilbern, for examples, argues that Freud continued to employ ideas about abuse and psychic trauma, however, he did so selectively in "Filia Oedipi: Father and Daughter in Freudian Theory," in Lynda Boose and Betty S. Flowers, eds., Daughters and Fathers (Baltimore, 1989). See also Elizabeth Pleck on this question in Domestic Tyranny, p. 153.
72. Masson, Assault on Truth, p. 133. For a discussion of the distinction between Freud's emphasis on "instincts and constitutional factors" as opposed to the "social environment" or "external influences," which became important to psychoanalysts and psychoanalytically influenced intellectuals in the United States in the 1930s, see Mari Jo Buhle, Feminism and Its Discontents: A Century of Struggle with Psychoanalysis (Cambridge, 1998), p. 88 and ff. Many have disputed how and to what extent Freud actually did abandon this theory. David Wilbern, for examples, argues that Freud continued to employ ideas about abuse and psychic trauma, however, he did so selectively in "Filia Oedipi: Father and Daughter in Freudian Theory," in Lynda Boose and Betty S. Flowers, eds., Daughters and Fathers (Baltimore, 1989). See also Elizabeth Pleck on this question in Domestic Tyranny, p. 153.
73. Nathan G. Hale, Jr., The Rise and Crisis of Psychoanalysis in the United States: Freud and the Americans, 1917-1985 (New York, 1995), p. 231-244; p. 133 and 284.
74. J. Butler Tompkins, M.D., "Penis Envy and Incest: A Case Report," Psychoanalytic Review 27 (1940): 319-325.
75. Irving Kaufman, M.D., Alice L. Peck, M.S.W., and Consuelo K. Tagiuri, M.D., "The Family Constellation and Overt Incestuous Relations Between Father and Daughter," American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 24 (April, 1954): 266-278.
76. Kaufman, "The Family Constellation and Overt Incestuous Relations Between Father and Daughter," p. 277, and Lillian Gordon, "Incest as Revenge Against the Pre-Oedipal Mother," Psychoanalytic Review 42 (1955): 291.
77. Kaufman, "The Family Constellation and Overt Incestuous Relations Between Father and Daughter," p. 277, and Lillian Gordon, "Incest as Revenge Against the Pre-Oedipal Mother," Psychoanalytic Review 42 (1955): 291.
78. On the tendency for adolescent girls to resort to "pseudology" see Deutsch, The Psychology of Women, p. 125; Phyllis Greenacre, "The Prepuberty Trauma in Girls," The Psychoanalytic Quarterly 19 (1950): 278-300.
79. On the tendency for adolescent girls to resort to "pseudology" see Deutsch, The Psychology of Women, p. 125; Phyllis Greenacre, "The Prepuberty Trauma in Girls," The Psychoanalytic Quarterly 19 (1950): 278-300.
80. Bruno Cormier, M.D., Miriam Kennedy, Jadwiga Sangowic:, M.D., "Psychodynamics of Father Daughter Incest," Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal VII (October, 1962): 205. The sense that these analysts failed to see incest as an extraordinary event is reinforced by the fact that none of the analyses described the experience of father-daughter incest as traumatic for the daughter. Several authors asserted that the guilt and anxiety aroused by the incest did not occur until after the sexual activity had been terminated, and thus deduced that any psychological disturbance was motivated by the fact of having violated a social taboo rather than the impact of the sexual transgression it self. The fact that the incest often continued over a course of several years suggested to many that the daughters were "gratified" by the experience. Paul Sloane, M.D. and Eva Karpinski, "Effects of Incest on the Participants," American Journal of Orthopsychiatry XII (October 1942): 666-673. This perspective on incest owed something to the psychoanalytic consensus on childhood sexual trauma first put forward by Karl Abraham in 1907. According to Abraham, it was only the guilt about having done something wrong, rather than the experience of sexual attack itself, that gave rise to the psychological disorders that followed childhood sexual abuse. It was believed that some children simply desired sexual contact with adults. However, it is worth noting that the articles on incest produced between 1940 and 1965 contributed to this perspective, even further entrenched the sense that sexual experience with adults could be counted as a social problem involving girls rather than adult men, and thus could not be counted as a type of uninvited assault that damaged the psyche. Psychoanalytic studies of incest - which outnumbered more general psychoanalytic inquires into sexual abuse during this period - contributed to the notion that sexual abuse was not traumatic primarily by linking it to normal Oedipal desires. Hence these studies of incest did affect the larger question of the impact of sexual abuse on children and adolescents. Karl Abraham, "The Experiencing of Sexual Traumas as a Form of Sexual Activity," The Selected Papers of Karl Abraham (London, 1965), p. 47-63.
81. Bruno Cormier, M.D., Miriam Kennedy, Jadwiga Sangowic:, M.D., "Psychodynamics of Father Daughter Incest," Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal VII (October, 1962): 205. The sense that these analysts failed to see incest as an extraordinary event is reinforced by the fact that none of the analyses described the experience of father-daughter incest as traumatic for the daughter. Several authors asserted that the guilt and anxiety aroused by the incest did not occur until after the sexual activity had been terminated, and thus deduced that any psychological disturbance was motivated by the fact of having violated a social taboo rather than the impact of the sexual transgression it self. The fact that the incest often continued over a course of several years suggested to many that the daughters were "gratified" by the experience. Paul Sloane, M.D. and Eva Karpinski, "Effects of Incest on the Participants," American Journal of Orthopsychiatry XII (October 1942): 666-673. This perspective on incest owed something to the psychoanalytic consensus on childhood sexual trauma first put forward by Karl Abraham in 1907. According to Abraham, it was only the guilt about having done something wrong, rather than the experience of sexual attack itself, that gave rise to the psychological disorders that followed childhood sexual abuse. It was believed that some children simply desired sexual contact with adults. However, it is worth noting that the articles on incest produced between 1940 and 1965 contributed to this perspective, even further entrenched the sense that sexual experience with adults could be counted as a social problem involving girls rather than adult men, and thus could not be counted as a type of uninvited assault that damaged the psyche. Psychoanalytic studies of incest - which outnumbered more general psychoanalytic inquires into sexual abuse during this period - contributed to the notion that sexual abuse was not traumatic primarily by linking it to normal Oedipal desires. Hence these studies of incest did affect the larger question of the impact of sexual abuse on children and adolescents. Karl Abraham, "The Experiencing of Sexual Traumas as a Form of Sexual Activity," The Selected Papers of Karl Abraham (London, 1965), p. 47-63.
82. Bruno Cormier, M.D., Miriam Kennedy, Jadwiga Sangowic:, M.D., "Psychodynamics of Father Daughter Incest," Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal VII (October, 1962): 205. The sense that these analysts failed to see incest as an extraordinary event is reinforced by the fact that none of the analyses described the experience of father-daughter incest as traumatic for the daughter. Several authors asserted that the guilt and anxiety aroused by the incest did not occur until after the sexual activity had been terminated, and thus deduced that any psychological disturbance was motivated by the fact of having violated a social taboo rather than the impact of the sexual transgression it self. The fact that the incest often continued over a course of several years suggested to many that the daughters were "gratified" by the experience. Paul Sloane, M.D. and Eva Karpinski, "Effects of Incest on the Participants," American Journal of Orthopsychiatry XII (October 1942): 666-673. This perspective on incest owed something to the psychoanalytic consensus on childhood sexual trauma first put forward by Karl Abraham in 1907. According to Abraham, it was only the guilt about having done something wrong, rather than the experience of sexual attack itself, that gave rise to the psychological disorders that followed childhood sexual abuse. It was believed that some children simply desired sexual contact with adults. However, it is worth noting that the articles on incest produced between 1940 and 1965 contributed to this perspective, even further entrenched the sense that sexual experience with adults could be counted as a social problem involving girls rather than adult men, and thus could not be counted as a type of uninvited assault that damaged the psyche. Psychoanalytic studies of incest - which outnumbered more general psychoanalytic inquires into sexual abuse during this period - contributed to the notion that sexual abuse was not traumatic primarily by linking it to normal Oedipal desires. Hence these studies of incest did affect the larger question of the impact of sexual abuse on children and adolescents. Karl Abraham, "The Experiencing of Sexual Traumas as a Form of Sexual Activity," The Selected Papers of Karl Abraham (London, 1965), p. 47-63.
83. Ernest Jones, Papers an Psychoanalysis, 4th ed. (Baltimore, 1938). Cormier, "Psychodynamics of Father Daughter Incest."
84. Lillian Gordon, "Incest as Revenge Against the Pre-Oedipal Mother," Psychoanalytic Review 42 (1955): 284.
85. Ibid., p. 206.
86. Ibid., p. 287.
87. I b i d.
88. Ibid., p. 288.
89. I b i d.
90. Ibid., p. 284.
91. I b i d.
92. Ibid., p. 291-292.
93. Ibid., p. 284.
94. Sylvan Keiser, "A Manifest Oedipus Complex in an Adolescent Girl," The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 8 (1953) p. 99; Gordon, p. 292.
95. Sylvan Keiser, "A Manifest Oedipus Complex in an Adolescent Girl," The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 8 (1953) p. 99; Gordon, p. 292.
96. See especially Harry S. Howard, "Incest: The Revenge Motive," The Delaware State Medical Journal XXXI (1959): 223-225; John W. Rhinehart, M.d., "Genesis of Overt Incest," Comprehensive Psychiatry II (December, 1961): 338-349.
97. See especially Harry S. Howard, "Incest: The Revenge Motive," The Delaware State Medical Journal XXXI (1959): 223-225; John W. Rhinehart, M.d., "Genesis of Overt Incest," Comprehensive Psychiatry II (December, 1961): 338-349.
98. Irving Kaufman, M.D., Alice L. Peck, M.S.W., and Consuelo K. Tagiuri, M.D., "The Family Constellation and Overt Incestuous Relations Between Father and Daughter," American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 24 (April, 1954): 266-278.
99. Ibid., p. 271.
100. Ibid., p. 276.
101. Ibid., p. 267.
102. Ibid., p. 277.
103. Matilde Wencelblat De Rascovsky and Arnoldo Rascovsky, "On Consummated Incest," The International Journal of Psychoanalysis XXXI (1950): 45-46.
104. Rascovsky and Rascovsky's conclusions were, it is perhaps worth noting, referenced elsewhere. See Cormier, "Psychodynamics of Father Daughter Incest," and Irving B. Weiner, "Father-Daughter Incest: A Clinical Report."
105. Lauretta Bender, M.D. and Abram Blau, M.D., "The Reaction of Children to Sexual Relations with Adults," The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry XII (July, 1937): 500-518. This article was especially critical to Kinsey when interpreting reports of child abuse, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, p. 121, note 20. See also Paul Sloane and Eva karpinski, "Effects of Incest on the Participants." Karl Bowman, California Sex Deviation Research.
106. Lauretta Bender, M.D. and Abram Blau, M.D., "The Reaction of Children to Sexual Relations with Adults," The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry XII (July, 1937): 500-518. This article was especially critical to Kinsey when interpreting reports of child abuse, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, p. 121, note 20. See also Paul Sloane and Eva karpinski, "Effects of Incest on the Participants." Karl Bowman, California Sex Deviation Research.
107. Lauretta Bender, M.D. and Abram Blau, M.D., "The Reaction of Children to Sexual Relations with Adults," The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry XII (July, 1937): 500-518. This article was especially critical to Kinsey when interpreting reports of child abuse, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, p. 121, note 20. See also Paul Sloane and Eva karpinski, "Effects of Incest on the Participants." Karl Bowman, California Sex Deviation Research.
108. Lauretta Bender, M.D. and Abram Blau, M.D., "The Reaction of Children to Sexual Relations with Adults," The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry XII (July, 1937): 500-518.
109. John W. Rhinehart, M.d., "Genesis of Overt Incest," Comprehensive Psychiatry II (December, 1961): 338-349.
110. Based on a reading of approximately 50 files, and a close reading of 19 case histories of girls recorded in the files of The Judge Baker Children's Center, Boston, Massachusetts, 1947-1957. Because these are recent cases, they have not yet been released to a library collection. The Judge Baker Children's Center is understandably concerned about the confidentiality of these cases, as in some instances they discuss persons who may still be living. All names, as well as locations or other identifying information has been excised from my notes. Case numbers have been reassigned according to my own system of classification and do not correspond with case numbers as they appear in the Judge Baker Children's Center files. Case number 37583N, fourteen year-old girl, "Bernice,"; Case Number 37575N, "Julie" (1946); Case Number 37576C, eighteen year-old girl, "Jill" (1947); Case Number 49210C, sixteen year-old girl, "Alice" (1956).
111. Elizabeth Lunbeck, The Psychiatric Persuasion: Knowledge, Gender, and Power in Modem America (New Jersey, 1994).
112. Case number 37576C, 18 year-old girl, "Jill" (1947). An extensive examination of the circumstances and social workers' discussion of this case have been removed from this article on the request of the Judge Baker Children's Center.
113. Pamela Haag, Consent: Sexual Rights and the Transformation of American Liberalism (Ithaca, 1999), p. 167.
114. Ibid., p. 173.
115. Ibid., p. 166.
116. Case Number 37575N, eighteen year-old "Julie," (1946); Case Number 37580D, sixteen year-old girl, "Lucy," (1947); Case Number 37575N, eighteen year-old "Julie," (1946); Case Number 23423A, sixteen year-old girl, "Jane," (1963); Case Number 23421C, eleven year-old girl, "Karen," (1953).
117. Case number 37575N, eighteen year-old girl, "Julie," (1946).
118. I b i d.
119. Case number 37580D, sixteen year-old girl, "Lucy," (1957).
120. Case number 37583N, sixteen year-old girl, "Bernice," (1947).
121. Weinberg, Incest Behavior, p. 63.
122. The People of the State of Illinois Vs. Sebastian Ryan, Ind. No.61-1098, Criminal Court of Cook County, 1961.
123. The first article to include the psychology (and culpability) of incestuous fathers - the first of its type - appeared in The Archives of General Psychiatry in 1966, though it considered fathers within the context of an examination of the pathology of all members of the family in which father-daughter incest occurred N. Lustig, J.W. Dresser, S. W. Spellman, and T.B. Murray, "Incest," Archives of General Psychiatry XIV (Jan., 1966): 31-40.
124. Judith Herman's book, Father-Daughter Incest made an enormous impact when it appeared in 1983, not only within the academy but on the public perception of the trauma, social cost, and shockingly high rates of paternal incestuous abuse. Linda Gordon's classic, Heroes of Their Own Lives, stands as an interpretive monument to the experiences, courage and often resiliance of girls who suffered incestuous abuse during the years before World War II.