Changing patterns of femininity: psychoanalytic implications

The social status and gender-role behavior of women has changed periodically over history, depending on a variety of socio-cultural, economic, and religious factors. Classical psychoanalytic views concerning "normal" feminine psychology and sexuality, based on Freud's original postulates were derived from his experiences and observations as a late-19th and early-20th century middle-European male. This article explores the errors involved in these traditional hypotheses concerning "penis envy," "normal" feminine masochism and passivity, female super-ego development and female psychosexuality, including orgasm and gender-role behavior.