Lionel Ovesey
Encyclopedia
Lionel Ovesey was an American
psychoanalyst
.
of Russian
parent
s, who took him to the United States. He grew up in Los Angeles
, and graduated from the University of California
in 1937 and the University of California Medical School in 1941. He interned at the Los Angeles County General Hospital, and spent four years in the United States Army
. With Abram Kardiner, Ovesey wrote The Mark of Oppression: A Psychosocial Study of the American Negro. Published in 1951, it became a landmark study of the effect of contemporary culture on the black
middle class
. His wife was advertising
executive Regina Ovesey
.
Ovesey has been grouped with Irving Bieber
and Charles Socarides
as one of the most influential writers on male homosexuality
. His notion of pseudohomosexuality was one of the important developments that followed the Kinsey Report
of 1948. Ovesey is also known for developing a taxonomy of male-to-female transsexual sexuality
with Ethel Person, based on the developmental model of Margaret Mahler
. Ovesey's model emphasized the child's separation-individuation anxiety producing a fantasy of symbiotic fusion with the mother
which the transsexual tries to resolve by surgically becoming his mother.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
psychoanalyst
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
.
Biography
Ovesey was born in ManchuriaManchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
of Russian
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
parent
Parent
A parent is a caretaker of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is of a child . Children can have one or more parents, but they must have two biological parents. Biological parents consist of the male who sired the child and the female who gave birth to the child...
s, who took him to the United States. He grew up in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and graduated from the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
in 1937 and the University of California Medical School in 1941. He interned at the Los Angeles County General Hospital, and spent four years in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. With Abram Kardiner, Ovesey wrote The Mark of Oppression: A Psychosocial Study of the American Negro. Published in 1951, it became a landmark study of the effect of contemporary culture on the black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
. His wife was advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
executive Regina Ovesey
Regina Ovesey
Regina Haimo Ovesey was an American advertising executive. She founded Ovesey & Company, and was the first female CEO of an agency recognized by the American Association of Advertising Agencies....
.
Ovesey has been grouped with Irving Bieber
Irving Bieber
Irving Bieber was an American psychoanalyst, best known for his 1962 study, Homosexuality: A Psychoanalytic Study of Male Homosexuals, which was written jointly with Harvey J. Dain, Paul R. Dince, Marvin G. Drellich, Henry G. Grand, Ralph R. Gundlach, Malvina W. Kremer, Alfred H. Rifkin, Cornelia...
and Charles Socarides
Charles Socarides
Charles W. Socarides was an American psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, physician, educator, and author. Socarides was born in Brockton, Massachusetts. Socarides focused much of his career on the study of homosexuality, which he believed can be altered...
as one of the most influential writers on male homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. His notion of pseudohomosexuality was one of the important developments that followed the Kinsey Report
Kinsey Reports
The Kinsey Reports are two books on human sexual behavior, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female , by Dr. Alfred Kinsey, Wardell Pomeroy and others and published by Saunders...
of 1948. Ovesey is also known for developing a taxonomy of male-to-female transsexual sexuality
Transsexual sexuality
Transgender sexuality is the sexuality of transgender people.Transgender people exhibit the full range of possible sexual orientations and interests, including the potential for a lack of interest in sex.-Sexual orientation labels:...
with Ethel Person, based on the developmental model of Margaret Mahler
Margaret Mahler
Margaret Schönberger Mahler was a Hungarian physician, who later became interested in psychiatry. She was a central figure on the world stage of psychoanalysis...
. Ovesey's model emphasized the child's separation-individuation anxiety producing a fantasy of symbiotic fusion with the mother
Mother
A mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...
which the transsexual tries to resolve by surgically becoming his mother.
Selected publications
- Kardiner A., Ovesey L. (1951). The Mark of Oppression: Explorations in the Personality of the American Negro. Meridian Books
- Ovesey L. (1969). Homosexuality and Pseudohomosexuality. Science House, ISBN 0876680171
- Ovesey L. Psychoanalytic Theories of Gender Identity. In Person ES, ed. (1999). The Sexual Century. Yale University Press, 1999 ISBN 9780300076042
- Ovesey L. The Transsexual Syndrome in Males: Primary Transsexualism. In Person ES, ed. (1999). The Sexual Century. Yale University Press, 1999 ISBN 9780300076042
- Person E., Ovesey L. (1974). The transsexual syndrome in males. II. Secondary transsexualism. Am J Psychother 1974 Apr;28(2):174-93
- Kardiner A., Karush A., Ovesey L. A methodological study of Freudian theory. I. Basic concepts. Int J Psychiatry. 1966 Sep;2(5):489-544.