Femininity and masculinity: clinical notes on mutual fears.
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Child↗
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Sexuality, femininity, and contemporary psychoanalysis.
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Female↗
Marketing to women. Clinics with a feminine touch.
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Female↗
[Brain injury and feminine sexuality].
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Adult↗
Electra versus Oedipus. Femininity reconsidered.
The author discusses the arguments in favour of an Electra rather than an Oedipus complex to describe the vicissitudes of female development and explores the value of using a different paradigm. She concludes that girls do not have to change their primary object to become female. Pathological forms of the normal ambivalent attachment to the mother are vehement rejection, as with Electra, or the opposite, a close symbiotic bond. Both outcomes testify to the centrality of the maternal love object for the girl, and either can lead to masochistic resolutions of the mother-daughter bond. The girl must steer between the Scylla of a symbiotic illusion vis-a-vis her maternal object and the Charybdis of hatred of it. The inner relationship with the maternal image can foster a woman's development, serve as a source of strength or be a well of pathology. Electra illustrates her preoccupation with her mother in a combination of latent approach and manifest avoidance. Women do turn to their male object of desire, not instead of, but in addition to their first love object, the mother. In healthy development, not the inner mother, but the childhood fantasy of the phallic mother is given up, allowing the difference between the parents to be recognised and genuine heterosexual desire established. Female heterosexuality will always be accompanied by a strong homosexual undercurrent.
Adolescent↗
Femininity and masculinity in post-modernism.
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Female↗
Sexual adjustment and feminine attractiveness among spinal cord injured women.
Responses to semistructured interviews with 31 spinal cord injured women yielded sexual adjustment scores and material concerning sexual compensation and orgasm, bowel and bladder programs, and methods of enhancing attractiveness. Sexual adjustment scores were unrelated to time since injury. Few subjects reported the need to make special provision to control elimination during sexual activity. Openness and honesty with mates were stressed. Those with high sexual-adjustment scores compensated for lost sensation and mobility. Orgasm descriptions and most attractiveness-related behaviors resembled those of able-bodied women; some attractiveness behaviors specifically compensated for disability.
Adolescent↗
'Killing the angel in the house': creativity, femininity and aggression.
The author brings to bear an art historical perspective on the psychoanalytic understanding of creativity as an object relationship, proposing that the creative endeavour is determined by a wider, more complex network of internal and external object relationships than is usually assumed. The workings of tradition, language, contemporary practices, methods and materials are explored. Creative block is considered in the context of the determining relationships, with particular reference to the role of aggression. The position of the latter within psychoanalytic theories of creativity is surveyed and it is proposed that aggression has a pivotal place not primarily in instituting sublimation, reparation or reaction formation but simply because the processes of creativity demand it. Virginia Woolf's image of 'Killing the Angel in the House' is analysed and used to track the implications of gender, focusing on the concept of the muse. It is pointed out that traditionally, the fear, guilt and anxiety associated with aggressive creativity has been mediated by the muse, which is compared to the internal good object. Drawing on art history, artists' statements, and clinical material, the author illustrates the disparate means by which the presence of 'muse' can be internalised to infuse the relationships that constitute creativity.
Adult↗
[Primordial structures of feminine maturation as reflected in fairy tales. Contribution to the anthropology of sexuality].
Two maturation fairy-tales with a high resonance effect are analysed. The method of interpretation was that of depth psychology, with observation of results of modern biological-anthropological research. The interpretation revealed 'hymenal' or retarding primary structures in the young female subject. These structures postpone the onset of sexual desires to the time after the defloration.
Adolescent↗
Masochism, the ego ideal, and the psychology of women.
Psychoanalytic advances have led to refinement and reformulation of early models of female personality development. Masochism was taken as a point of departure for a study of the psychology of women and earlier hypotheses of a masochistic and inferior female psychic structure. Masochism is a residue of unresolved infantile conflict and is neither essentially feminine nor a valuable component of mature female function and character. Though the female might be more predisposed to masochism, there is no evidence of particular female pleasure in pain. It is important to distinguish between masochistic suffering as a goal in itself, and tolerance for a discomfort or deprivation in the service of the ego or ego ideal. Initial hypotheses of a diminished female libido, ego tendencies toward arrest and rigidity, relative inability to sublimate, and a deficient superego are incomplete and obsolete theoretical propositions. The female ego and superego are different from but not inferior to the male. Female development cannot be described in a simple reductionism and overgeneralization. Femininity cannot be predominantly derived from a primary masculinity, disappointed maleness, masochistic resignation to fantasied inferiority, or compensation for fantasied castration and narcissistic injury. Castration reactions and penis envy contribute to feminine character, but penis envy is not the major determinant of femininity. Penis envy variously impedes and fosters femininity but penis envy is more closely related to the girl's bisexual masculinity. The female Oedipus complex is central to feminine development, but has significant normative roots in primary and positive feminine identifications and individuation. Contemporary contributions to the psychology of women have emphasized concepts of gender and sexual identity, body image and self-representation, psychosexual response and empathic motherliness, etc. The female superego includes an ego ideal with feminine ideals and values and regulates feminine interests. The maternal ego ideal consolidates overdetermined maternal attitudes, guides the formation and integration of maternal attitudes, and directs the developmental achievement of "the ordinary devoted mother." Conflicts between the maternal ego ideal and infanticidal impulses are ubiquitous and clinically significant. Current theoretical amendments conceptualize mature female autonomy, pride, and self-esteem. Female creativity may be exemplified in many and new forms in addition to motherhood. The capacity to sublimate and to foster sublimation in children is a prerequisite for normal motherhood. Femininity evolves under the influence of parents and culture, with unique developmental challenges and transformations, and a universal psychobiological core linked to functions and roles that should be neither idealized nor devalued.
Ego↗
An exploration of antecedents and attributes of androgynous and undifferentiated sex roles.
This study sought to clarify the nature of androgynous (both masculine and feminine) and undifferentiated (neither masculine nor feminine) sex-role outcomes. One inquiry concerned the parent identification patterms most likely associated with androgyny and undifferentiation. ANother inquiry considered differences between the masculinity or femininity of androgynous adolescents and these sex-role behaviors as represented in masculine and feminine adolescents, respectively. Similarly, the sex-role differences for masculine, feminine, and undifferentiated adolescents were investigated. The white, middle-class Ss included 142 male and 193 female college students (average age under 19 years). Parent and S sex-role scores, as well as identification scores, were based upon adjective check list self-descriptions and parent descriptions obtained from the S's. Androgynous males most frequently identified with a nonstereotypic mother combining masculine and feminine qualities, whereas undifferentiated males more often identified with a stereotypically feminine mother (p less than .01). No differences in female identification emerged. Both sexes of androgynous Ss revealed masculine attributes similar to those of masculine Ss but lacked many of the femine qualities of feminine Ss. A blending of sex-role dispositions in androgyny was inferred.
Adolescent↗
Behavioral treatment of deviant sex-role behaviors in a male child.
This study demonstrated reinforcement control over pronounced feminine behaviors in a male child who had been psychologically evaluated as manifesting "childhood cross-gender identity". The clinical history of the subject paralleled the retrospective reports of adult transsexuals, including (a) cross-gender clothing preferences, (b) actual or imaginal use of cosmetic articles, (c) feminine behavior mannerisms, (d) aversion to masculine activities, coupled with preference for girl playmates and feminine activities, (e) preference for female role, (f) feminine voice inflection and predominantly feminine content in speech, and (g) verbal statements about the desire or preference to be a girl. The subject was treated sequentially in the clinic and home environments by his mother, trained to be his therapist. The mother was taught to reinforce masculine behaviors and to extinguish feminine behaviors, by using social reinforcement in the clinic and a token reinforcement procedure in the home. During this treatment, his feminine behaviors sharply decreased and masculine behavior increased. The treatment effects were found to be largely response-specific and stimulus-specific; consequently, it was necessary to strengthen more than one masculine behavior and weaken several feminine behaviors, in both clinic and home settings. A multiple-baseline intrasubject design was used to ensure both replication and identification of relevant treatment variables. Follow-up data three years after the treatment began suggests that the boy's sex-typed behaviors have become normalized. This study suggests a preliminary step toward correcting pathological sex-role development in boys, which may provide a basis for the primary prevention of adult transsexualism or similar adult sex-role deviation.
Attention↗
Cross-gender identity in transvestites and male transsexuals.
A self-theory of transvestism and secondary transsexuality in which gender identity is a major self subsystem has been advanced in previous research. Within this framework transsexuals and transvestites were compared on a number of developmental characteristics. While early-onset transsexuals (n = 103) were dominantly female, both late-onset transsexuals (n = 52) and transvestites (n = 36) showed much more feminine behavior than expected. This was interpreted as a sign that they were already developing a feminine gender identity in their early years. Implications for this theory were discussed: (i) The assumption of two gender identity subsystems (a masculine and a feminine) in any human being, which can have any relative strength; (ii) the incorporation of the concept of expression of an identity subsystem, which can be unconditional or conditional (i.e., expression of aspects of the self only if certain conditions are fulfilled) and which has the function of self-seeking. Two continua are proposed. One ranges from a strong feminine gender identity subsystem that is unconditionally expressed to weak unexpressed femininity. The second ranges from a strong and unconditionally expressed masculinity to a weak masculinity. Male-to-female transsexuals (and "normal" females) are characterized by a strong unconditionally expressed feminine gender identity in combination with a weak unexpressed masculinity. Transvestism is a position in between in which both masculinity and femininity are conditionally expressed.
Adolescent↗
Long-term effects of childhood maltreatment history on gender-related personality characteristics.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that different types of gender-related personality attributes are associated with a past history of different types of childhood maltreatment. METHOD: A survey was administered to 1,060 male soldiers and 305 female soldiers in the U.S. Army. The survey instrument included the Extended Personal Attributes Questionnaire (EPAQ) which is a self-assessment instrument of personality characteristics associated with gender, and includes measures of positive masculinity (self-assertive/instrumental traits), positive femininity (expressive/interpersonal traits), negative masculinity (hyper masculine/macho traits), and negative femininity (subordination of self to others). The survey instrument also included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), which contains scales measuring sexual abuse, physical-emotional abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect, and four questions on childhood sexual abuse developed for a national survey of U.S. adults. RESULTS: Negative masculinity was predicted by male gender, younger age, and childhood physical-emotional abuse. Negative femininity was predicted by physical-emotional abuse and sexual abuse. The relationship to sexual abuse was mainly evident for males. Positive femininity was positively correlated with sexual abuse for females and negatively correlated with sexual abuse for males. Positive masculinity was negatively correlated with emotional neglect for males but not for females. Positive femininity was negatively correlated with emotional neglect for both genders. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood abuse was associated with the presence of negative gender-related attributes; childhood neglect was associated with absence of positive gender-related attributes. Childhood physical abuse was associated with negative masculine attributes in both genders. Childhood sexual abuse was associated with positive feminine attributes in females, and negative feminine attributes in males. The finding for females is counterintuitive, and is discussed in the light of the clinical literature on certain types of adaptation to incest.
Adult↗
Douching behavior in high-risk adolescents. What do they use, when and why do they douche?
OBJECTIVES: To describe feminine hygiene practices and douching behavior in adolescent women. DESIGN: A cross-sectional anonymous survey. SUBJECTS: Adolescents (majority rural) admitted to a correctional institution for girls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Description of feminine hygiene practices, prevalence of vaginal douching, types of substances used, reported reasons for, and timing of douching. RESULTS: In a period of 16 weeks, 104 girls were surveyed within a week of admission. The mean age was 15.4 (SD 1.5; range 12-18) yr, and age at sexual debut 13.1 (SD 1.4) yr. Use of feminine hygiene products was reported by: 9% for feminine suppository, 33% towelettes, 40% spray, 67% feminine wash; only 18% reported no use of those feminine hygiene products listed. A history of ever having douched was reported by 79%; the mean first douching age was 14.0 (SD 1.3; range 11-16). Douching product users were significantly more likely to know someone who douches regularly (P <.0001) and have watched douche commercials (P =.0001) than those who did not douche. A majority used store-bought products, vinegar in water and scented solution being the most popular; baking soda, Betadine, Pine-sol, and Lysol were other products used. Commonly cited reasons for douching included to feel good and fresh (60%), and to rid of odor and of blood (47% each). Other reasons cited were to please partner (12%) and to avoid going to a doctor (6%). Timing of douching included: after period (69%), after sex (52%), before sex (16%), before going to a doctor (17%). Among those who douched, 51% douched once a month, and an additional 32% more often than that. CONCLUSION: This study provides troublesome findings regarding the feminine hygiene practices of mostly rural southern teenagers who have been incarcerated.
Adolescent↗
Social role and birth cohort influences on gender-linked personality traits in women: a 20-year longitudinal analysis.
Growth curve modeling was used to examine the impact of social role experiences (e.g., marital support, occupational prestige) and birth cohort on mean-level differences and age-related changes in positive personality traits indicative of either femininity or masculinity in 758 mothers heterogeneous in age, assessed 4 times over 2 decades. Both femininity and masculinity increased significantly from mean ages 39 through 59; each was predictive of an age change in the other. Low masculinity was associated with a more rapid increase in femininity, whereas high occupational prestige decreased the magnitude of association between masculinity and femininity. Femininity increased with more marital support but decreased with unmarried status, more children at home, and working full or part time; among full-time workers, that effect was modified by marital support. Masculinity increased with full-time work and high occupational prestige. A trend for differing levels of femininity, and contrasting associations of masculinity with femininity and marital conflict in women born after 1944 compared with those born earlier, suggests shifting social norms and gender relations in the marital role.
Adult↗
Personality indicators of psychosocial adjustment in first-year medical students.
One aspect of the Rush Medical College Longitudinal Study is concerned with the identification of personality traits that predict various kinds of psychosocial adjustments and impairments among medical students and physicians. Two orthogonal traits, masculinity and femininity, were selected for study as independent variables because of their implications for mental health and their relevance to the work of physicians. Ninety percent (N = 106) of a class of first-year medical students completed measures of masculinity and femininity during orientation and, 8 months later, completed a broad array of dependent measures of psychological well-being, interpersonal satisfaction, humanistic attitudes and alcohol consumption. Analyses of the data revealed strong and consistent main effects of masculinity on depression, confidence, pleasure capacity, extraversion, locus of control, neuroticism and interpersonal satisfaction. Femininity was associated with depression, pleasure capacity, extraversion, neuroticism, interpersonal satisfaction, concern for the opinion of others and humane attitudes toward patient care. Low femininity was also associated with high alcohol consumption. These results suggest that masculinity and femininity scores may help to identify at the outset medical students at risk for impairment, and that androgynous individuals (who are high in both masculinity and femininity) may be especially well-suited to assume the demanding and varied roles that physicians are called on to play.
Adaptation, Psychological↗
Processing of grammatical gender in a three-gender system: experimental evidence from Russian.
Four experiments investigated the effect of grammatical gender on lexical access in Russian. Adjective-noun pairs were presented auditorily, using a cued-shadowing technique in which subjects must repeat the second word (the target noun), following adjectives that are either concordant or discordant with the noun's gender. Experiment 1 demonstrates gender priming with unambiguous adjectives and phonologically transparent masculine or feminine nouns. Experiment 2 examines priming for transparent nouns against a neutral baseline (possible only for feminines and neuters), revealing that priming is due primarily to inhibition from discordant gender. Experiment 3 demonstrates gender priming with phonologically opaque masculine and feminine nouns. Experiment 4 returns to transparent masculine and feminine nouns with a different kind of baseline, using three versions of a single word root (prost--simple, in the feminine adjectival form prostaja, masculine adjectival form prostoj, and the adverbial form prosto), and shows that gender can also facilitate lexical access, at least for feminine nouns. We conclude that Russian listeners can exploit gender agreement cues "on-line," helping them to predict the identity of an upcoming word.
Adolescent↗