Thoughts on psychoanalytic views of female psychology 1927-1977

Stimulated by the recent volume on female psychology edited by H. Blum (1977), the author reviews the beginnings of her own interest in the subject more than fifty years ago, particularly her early studies of the preoedipal development of the little girl. Dr. Lampl-de Groot's experience has led her to emphasize the common characteristics in the early development of boys and girls: they both experience curiosity, envy, competition, and jealousy. Only in the phallic-oedipal phase, when rivalries center on the parents, do penis envy and a specific sense of female identity develop in the girl, while boys must resolve their envy of the baby as a prized "product" only the female can produce. Recent literature is criticized, particularly writings by some women authors who attempt to reverse unconscious feelings of inferiority by using recently discovered "facts" of biology for polemical purposes.