Psychoanalytic contributions to the study of gender issues

To explore the issue of gender development and its applications and implications with respect to dynamic psychiatry.

Gender study is approached in this paper as a continually evolving process of thinking about male and female attributes, similarities, and differences. The paper reviews a specific thematic area of the extensive literature on the subject.

Gendered psychosexual development and identity construction are intertwined and determined by multibiopsychosocial factors. Freud's theory on femininity is briefly reviewed from the perspective of new theoretical developments.

The paper highlights the fact that gender is becoming a useful conceptual tool in clinical practice, teaching, and neurosciences.