Elements of Winnicottian theory of sexuality

Abstract

This paper has the aim to present the central ideas of Winnicott's theory of sexuality. The main thesis put forward being that Winnicott rewrote the psychoanalytic theory of this phaenomenon showing that it has two roots: instincts and interrelating apart from instinctual drives, the first giving origin to neuroses and the second to dissociations. After describing each oneof these two roots, the article shows that they are related to a still deeper conflict, the one between being and doing, which is conceived by Winnicott as a universal problem emerging from the maturation process of human individuals.Key-words: sexuality; maturation; instinct; identification; being; doing