An Acceptable Abnormality?: Freud and the Riddle of Fetishism

By Ednei Soares

Unravelling the Fetish: Freud and the Riddles of Desire

Long regarded as a marginal phenomenon, fetishism reshaped the foundations of psychoanalysis. By tracing the evolution of Freud's thinking on fetishism--from his early pathologisation to his later understanding of it as a source of sexual and psychic meaning--this book reveals how his attention to fetishism compelled him to rethink desire, object-choice, and the roots of inner conflict. In this book Ednei Soares, drawing on the influence of Alfred Binet, early neuropathology, and later debates in Lacanian theory, as well as feminist, queer, and trans theory, explains why fetishism became central to discussions that shape gender studies today and contemporary reflections on identity.

An Acceptable Abnormality? invites readers to view fetishism not as a curious anomaly but as a powerful lens through which we can understand how desire takes form. This compelling book opens new ways of thinking about human sexuality, making it essential reading for specialists while remaining accessible to a broad audience.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9462705356
• ISBN13: 9789462705357
• Release Date: August 2026
• Publisher: Leuven University Press
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.1" x 9.2"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher