Word: clower
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Dates: during 1977-1977
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Doomed Castrates. Indeed, in a forthcoming special issue on female psychology, the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association reveals a willingness to revise Freud. One common refrain among the writers: male prejudice and parental expectations create many more problems for women than Freudianism has so far acknowledged. Writes Virginia Clower of Washington, D.C.: "To the extent that our society continues to educate mothers and fathers who see their female children as biological castrates doomed to inferior psychological, moral and social development, we will continue to produce women who regard themselves as second class...
Though these revisions are small and perhaps arcane to the nonanalyst, they erode the idea that penis envy is the dominant, devastating factor in female experience. In fact, Clower suggests that there will be more changes when Freudians digest the mass of data accumulated in recent years about sexuality and child behavior. Says she: "Today, more than 40 years after Freud's original propositions, we are still talking about penis envy, female castration and woman's masculinity complex. Freud revised his theories many times as he accumulated new data and reached fresh insights. Contemporary analysts should...