Siblings and all the lateral relationships that follow from themare clearly important and their interaction is widely observed,particularly in creative literature. Yet in the social,psychological and political sciences, there is no theoreticalparadigm through which we might understand them. In the Westernworld our thought is completely dominated by a vertical model, bypatterns of descent or ascent: mother or father to child, or childto parent. Yet our ideals are 'liberty, equality andfraternity' or the 'sisterhood' of feminism; ourethnic wars are the violence of 'fratricide'.When we grow up, siblings feature prominently in sex, violenceand the construction of gender differences but they are absent fromour theories. This book examines the reasons for this omission andbegins the search for a new paradigm based on siblings and lateralrelationships.This book will be essential reading for those studyingsociology, psychoanalysis and gender studies. It will also appealto a wide general readership.

List of Illustrations.Preface.Acknowledgements.1 Siblings and Psychoanalysis: an Overview.2 Did Oedipus have a Sister?.3 Sister-Brother/Brother-Sister Incest.4 Looking Sideways: 'A Child is being Beaten'.5 The Difference between Gender and Sexual Difference.6 Who's Been Sitting in My Chair?.7 Attachment and Maternal Deprivation: How did John Bowlby Missthe Siblings?.8 In our Own Times: Sexuality, Psychoanalysis and SocialChange.9 Conclusion: Siblings and the Engendering of Gender.Notes.References and Select Bibliography.Index