How Sexual Desire Works- The Enigmatic Urge

by Frederick Toates

  Freud theorized by analogy with physical principles, for example, calling the driving force, the id, a ‘great reservoir of libido’ (italics mine; Freud, 1955, p. 51). Libido is a force that is instinctive and which ‘presses for gratification’ (Person, 1990, p. ix), that is to say, a lowering of tension. When gratification occurs, that is a discharge of libido, this is associated with pleasure, whereas a failure of gratification is associated with increased tension and psychological pain. In ‘Beyond the pleasure principle’, Freud described what was termed ‘psychic energy’ (Bowlby, 1982), writing (Freud, 1955, p. 9):

  the mental apparatus endeavours to keep the quantity of excitation present in it as low as possible or at least to keep it constant.

  He argued (Freud, 1953, p. 168):

  The source of an instinct is a process of excitation occurring in an organ and the immediate aim of the instinct lies in the removal of the organic stimulus.

  So, in the case of sexual desire, where is the source of this psychic energy and motivational tension? Freud was attracted to the idea that pressure in the vessels that hold seminal fluid prior to ejaculation (the seminal vesicles) constitutes the internal factor (Freud, 1953, p. 213). There is obviously some correlation between loss of these fluids at ejaculation and loss of sexual desire. However, as Freud went on to note, the theory can hardly account for continuing sexual desire in castrated males, who have lost the source of seminal fluids. Animals with seminal vesicles removed still show sexual motivation. One could speculate that earlier cycles of tension and release somehow got memorized by the brain and some autonomy was gained. As Freud also acknowledged, and doubtless the reader will have already spotted, the model has even greater difficulty with that half of the population who possess no seminal vesicles.

  Despite such an apparently fatal flaw, Freud proceeded to argue (p. 214):

  Nevertheless it may at once be admitted that it is possible to find means by which the theory may be made to cover these cases as well.

  He continued (p. 217):

  this sexual excitation is derived not from the so-called sexual parts alone, but from all the bodily organs.

  Freud’s model arose from analogy with physical energy, as studied in physics and chemistry, and he sought to anchor his ideas within such a scientific framework. Psychic energy was said to seek its own discharge, rather as electrical energy does. Behaviour is triggered by the accumulation of psychic energy reaching a certain level, while the exhaustion of the energy terminates behaviour.

  In other words, the nervous system strives to reduce nervous tension, pleasure being associated with a reduction in such tension and so-called ‘unpleasure’ with an increase. Indeed, neuroses were explained in terms of ‘neural poisoning’ as a result of the failure to discharge the accumulation. However, one would be mistaken to link discharge with any orgasm. On the contrary, in keeping with Victorian fears, the abnormal activity of masturbation, amongst others, was accompanied by untold ills such as poisoning of the nervous system. This doubtless owed much to Freud’s religious inheritance, in spite of his avowed atheism and wish to build a secular science (Webster, 1995). Thus, only a healthy orgasm was what maintained sexual health. Corresponding to the analogy with physical energy, there is the notion of ‘repression’, in which the energy is held back from being discharged (Freud, 1953, p. 164). Failing to find an acceptable outlet as in sexual behaviour, it might manifest in, say, hysteria.

  Kon (1987, p. 258) notes:

  Sexual motivation was considered something entirely biological and instinctive. The culture was regarded as providing the external form, limit, or social control of the libido. It was thought that society may regulate and, to a certain, rather modest extent ‘civilize’ and ‘humanize’ the sexual drive but society could not change the libido’s primordial, irrational, and aggressive essence.

  Sublimation

  According to Freudian theory, if libidinous energy is not discharged sexually, it can get transformed and underlie the performance of creative activities (‘higher things’). This is termed ‘sublimation’ and it clearly follows from principles of regulation. The notion is not Freud’s original idea but is found in various religious teachings (Kinsey et al., 1948). It has come under criticism, from, amongst others, the Kinsey researchers, whose least sexually active males showed no evidence of sublimation into creative activity. They argue (p. 207): ‘Certainly, no one who actually knew the sexual histories of particular artists would have thought of using them as illustrations of sexually sublimated people.’ One might apply this logic to the lives of energetic and creative writers (e.g. James Boswell, Tolstoy, Walter) or politicians (e.g. Kennedy, Clinton). One can indeed find people lacking a sexual outlet, who demonstrated high levels of energy and creativity, such as the writer J. M. Barrie, but this is hardly evidence for a diversion of sexual energy. A possible explanation will be advanced in the next chapter.

  The Freudian notion of restraint

  Civilization and the orderly functioning of society require a powerful source of restraint on the selfish id’s cravings. Hence, this sets up an ever-present conflict within the individual. Restraint is provided by what Freud termed the ‘superego’, the part of the brain/mind that assimilates cultural rules, norms and prohibitions. The superego is the last part of the brain/mind to develop and contains information on the so-called ‘ego ideal’, the standards of excellence of the individual assimilated from parental authority and cultural norms. It represents the moral part of the brain/mind. The conflicting demands of the superego and the id are mediated by the ego. This idea of Freud’s reflects a historical continuity going back to antiquity and has stood the test of time, since it fits well to modern ideas on the layered organization of the brain (Chapter 2).

  Some problems with Freud’s ideas

  Problems with the notion of energy soon became evident to Freud and he struggled with them, as have his followers (Stern, 1990). Most people would accept that something analogous to energy discharge and lowering of tension accompanies sexual orgasm or the hungry baby deriving an adequate amount of milk from the mother. Most would equally subscribe to the hedonism of orgasm, even if being unable to recall the pleasures of breast-feeding! Both pleasures could be based upon opioid substances. However, several complications arise in applying this as a universal basis for desire. Orgasm occurs only after a period of sexual searching and interaction, so, although it can reinforce such behaviour, it is hard to see how it can provide the bases of desire. Also, energy discharge in orgasm appears not to be invariably necessary for sexual pleasure. As Apter (2007, p. 8) argues:

  We would expect therefore that Freud would have a great deal to say about the pleasures of excitement. Ironically, the whole tenor of Freudian theory is to see any kind of arousal, including sexual arousal, as something which people try to avoid.

  Surely many derive pleasure from flirting and kissing, even in the absence of orgasm. This is presumably associated, if anything, with an immediate increase in tension. The pleasure would seem to come from various factors combined with increased arousal, such as stimulation of erogenous surfaces in kissing, cues to possible future sexual progression and confirmation that the flirter is attractive. If the present analysis is correct, any pleasure from tension reduction prior to sexual contact comes from the removal of ‘information uncertainty’ in establishing a sexually charged social interaction. Similarly, some folk are prepared to pay money to learn Tantric sex techniques, which emphasize the virtues and ultimate pleasures of restraining orgasm.

  Freud came to acknowledge that both a build-up of tension and a discharge can be associated with pleasure and his followers have sought to understand the interactions between the two, as in a build-up followed by a lowering of tension (Doidge, 1990; Klein, 1987).

  Bowlby (1982), a theorist in the psychoanalytic tradition, articulated other objections:

  Behaviour is often repeated immediately after it has ended, where, it would seem, there is insufficient time for ener
gy accumulation to occur. This makes better sense in terms of the consequences of behaviour, for example aggression tends to cease when an intruder flees or submits. Resumption of behaviour occurs if the challenge reappears.

  The theory remains untested, which is a serious failing for something claimed to be scientific.

  The notion of psychic energy does not lead to fruitful interaction with the traditional sciences, where energy of a physical kind is precisely defined and measurable.

  Of course, energy might be a useful first metaphor, but it is one that can be improved. Suffice it to note that, making a similar point to that of Bowlby concerning aggression, sexual desire can sometimes be powerfully re-aroused by an external factor, as in a partner change.

  A modern view

  With biological insight, some contemporary theorists have reinterpreted Freud. Thus, Pfaff (1999, p. 168) writes:

  In its simplest psychoanalytic terms, libido is defined as a force originating in physiological signals and acting on the mind.

  and

  As concepts on the frontier between the somatic and the mental, ‘instinct’ or ‘drive’ comprised, for Freud, somatically determined demands made on the mind for psychic work. These demands constituted ‘pressures’ or ‘forces’ shaping mental events.

  Continuing with

  he attempted to provide for the translation of motivational forces from the body into motivational forces in the mind.

  This sounds like a dualism between body and mind, which few would accept these days. To repeat, the line argued here is that desire arises in the brain/mind seen as a unified entity and is triggered by attractive individuals, helped by signals from the genitals and sensitized by hormones.

  Sex hormones are indeed a factor arising outside the brain/mind and targeting processes in the brain, thereby sensitizing them. It is also true that a loss of hormones can result in a reduction or loss of desire. However, the link between hormones and desire is not a simple one-to-one relationship, as their level can be high and yet little desire be felt. Furthermore, their level is not suddenly reduced following orgasm.

  Freud’s legacy

  No one could doubt the immense impact that psychoanalysis has had on ‘opening up the debate’ and changing societal attitudes, sexual morals and mores, as well as influencing the intellectual culture of literature, art, theatre and film. This is a quite extraordinary and, outside the spread of religion, perhaps unique achievement, particularly given that the country that was most willing to absorb Freudian ideas was also the one that Freud disliked the most: the United States (Torrey, 1992).

  Freud’s critics speculate on why the intellectual elite of New York’s Greenwich Village, the vanguard of Freud’s assimilation within American culture, did not examine more carefully the foundations of psychoanalysis. These would, they argue, have been found to be decidedly shaky, based upon an ad hoc energy regulating contraption, which has been compared to an eccentric mechanical invention of Heath Robinson (Webster, 1995). Maybe this didn’t matter too much since large sections of the culture were already prepared to accept these ideas, psychoanalysis being a convenient way of casting off the restrictions of the country’s puritan inheritance. One might suggest that a sufficient number of divorces, affairs, ‘therapeutic seductions’, forgiven transgressions, as well as some enriched and revived marriages, were achieved to guarantee the propagation of Freudian philosophy.

  Although various Freudian ideas were assimilated into the culture, the one of most relevance here amounts to the principle of regulation: a healthy sexual life is the necessary condition for psychological health. The notion of sexual repression, presumably corresponding to energy not discharged, was accepted by large sections of the intelligentsia. Abstinence, whether voluntary or involuntary, was something of a health hazard causing energy to be transferred into neuroses. In this regard, Freud’s ideas found a natural home with those campaigning for such things as birth control, women’s emancipation and a right to divorce. The next chapter will give an alternative perspective on sexual frustration.

  Regulation, drive and scientific psychology

  Within mainstream psychology, a variant on the theme that sex is regulatory and behaviour is energized by deviations from optimum is captured by the term ‘drive’. Despite attempts to expunge it from psychology (Berridge, 2004), the term will probably not go away. Used as a convenient metaphor, for a sexual appetite, it might cause little harm. However, when used to look for some factor in the body that arises intrinsically, it could prove a distraction.

  Always searching for an objective foundation for behaviour, the American psychologist, John Watson, the founder of the behaviourist movement, suggested that pressure in the seminal vesicles of males drives them until they achieve release, rather as a full bladder drives urination (Watson, 1930). Of course, as just noted, this leaves unexplained any sexual drive in women. Here Watson recruited the favourite behaviourist stalwart, learning, as an explanation: women learn to be sexually motivated.

  In summary

  Spanning the centuries, two design features of sexual desire are commonly described: regulation and mechanisms of restraint.

  Buddhist teaching appears to present arguments that do not involve regulation in the traditional sense. It advises on the wisdom of not allowing desire to turn into craving.

  Concerning the regulatory factor, from Hippocrates and Galen in antiquity, through to Freud and Watson, we see the notion that desire is a reflection of an internal factor getting out of alignment. The nature of this suggested factor has varied over the centuries from black bile, through poison to, more recently, motivational energy and pressure in the seminal vesicles. There are shortcomings to such explanations and later chapters will show where the behaviour and mental states of desire that led to them can be better explained.

  In Plato, we find the notion of an unruly desire held in check by higher rational considerations. St Paul saw the urges of the physical body being restrained by the mind. In Freud, something similar is described in terms of a primitive and immoral id, held in check by the civilizing influence of the superego. These processes can be given a modern interpretation: neuroscience identifies brain regions embodying competition between desire and its inhibition.

  Four An incentive-based model

  Some people – probably fewer than are claimed by science and folklore – eschew or are denied sexual pleasure for their entire lives, without apparent ill effects. It is all the more remarkable, therefore, that millions of people throughout the ages have eagerly risked life, limb, property, freedom, tranquillity, family, reputation, happiness, have even accepted sure and eternal damnation, all for the attainment, not of offspring, but of sexual pleasure.

  (Tuzin, 1995, p. 259)1

  Is sexual desire part of a regulator?

  Sexual desire and behaviour appear superficially to exhibit some features of regulation. However, as Chapter 3 indicated, there is little evidence to support any of the actual regulatory processes that have been postulated over the centuries and considerable evidence against them.

  With little controversy, deprivation of sexual opportunity can be felt by some as aversive, while sexual outlet is felt as pleasurable and restorative. This much is in common with feeding and drinking, systems unambiguously concerned with regulation. Or, to take another analogy, there is at least something in common with a full bladder and the urge to urination. However, while acknowledging some level of similarity, one needs to look closer and ask – where lies the source of distress that comes from not being able to express sexual desire? Considering the similarities and differences with feeding and drinking can give useful pointers to the design of sexual desire (Singer and Toates, 1987).

  Insight by comparison

  Loss of water from the body creates a desire for water and ingested water then switches this off, giving rise to sensations of pleasure. Signals from regions of the body outside the brain are conveyed to the brain informing it of the body’s deficit, which
excites the desire for water. Similarly, deprivation of food lowers the body’s reserves of nutrients and powerfully contributes to the desire for food. Ingesting food tends to switch off the desire, also accompanied by sensations of pleasure.

  Now consider similarities and differences with sex. As noted in Chapter 2, the brain processes underlying feeding and drinking have some common features with sex and, as will be described later, some identical bases. In addition to internal factors, feeding is often in response to external events, in common with sexual desire. Except in the extremes of deprivation, our appetite for food is normally mediated by the attraction of foods. This attraction is enhanced by nutrient deficits and lowered by a surplus of nutrients. Pointing to the role of this external factor, the desire for a food can be powerfully enhanced by a change in the available food (Le Magnen, 1967), something often true of sex too (Chapter 11). Social factors, such as being with other people, tend to promote the desire for food. Time of day can influence our feeding and when we are busy we might forget to eat, so clearly there is external–internal interaction underlying the desire to feed. Thwarting of the desire for food, as in finding a restaurant closed or an empty refrigerator, triggers frustration, another feature in common with sexual desire.

  Loss of sex hormones can lower desire and boosting their level can increase desire (Bancroft, 2009). So much is in common with factors arousing feeding and drinking. However, corresponding to sexual satiety there is not a fall in hormone levels and so we need to look elsewhere for the signal that switches off desire post-orgasm. Chapter 12 presents evidence that events intrinsic to the brain switch desire on and off. The level of hormones is not regulated by sexual behaviour and there would appear to be little biological value in such an arrangement. Unlike ingested nutrients or water, these hormones serve reproduction not bodily health and integrity.