Features
ISBN Number: 9780814780145
Subtitle: Freud, Women, and Feminism
Author: Slipp, Samuel
Publisher: New York University Press
Location: New York
Subject: Psychology
Subject: Methodology
Subject: Methodology x
Subject: Movements, Behaviorism
Subject: General Psychology & Psychiatry
Subject: PSYCHOANALYSIS AND PSYCHOANALYTICAL THEORY
Subject: Feminism
Copyright: 1995
Edition Description: Trade paper
Publication Date: March 1995
Cover Type: Paperback
Grade Level: College/higher education:
Written in: English
Number of Pages: 288
Book Size: 8.98x5.89x.67 in. .75 lbs.
"Lucid and convincing...Makes clear that [Freud's] vision was limited both by the social climate in which he worked and the personal experiences he preferred, subconsciously, not to deal with."—Los Angeles Times
Sigmund Freud was quite arguably one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century. Yet, over the last decade, portions of his theories of the mind have suffered remarkably accurate attacks by feminists and even some conservative Freudians. How could this great mind have been so wrong about women?
In The Freudian Mystique, analyst Samuel Slipp offers an explanation of how such a remarkable and revolutionary thinker could achieve only inadequate theories of female development. Tracing the gradual evolution of patriarchy and phallocentrism in Western society, Slipp examines the stereotyped attitudes toward women that were taken for granted in Freud's culture and strongly influenced his thinking on feminine psychology. Of even greater importance was Freud's relationship with his mother, who emotionally abandoned him when he was two years old. Slipp brings the tools of a trained clinician into play as he examines, from an object relations perspective, Freud's own pre-oedipal conflicts, and shows how they influenced Freud's personality as well as the male-centric shape of his theory.
Not limited to only one perspective, The Freudian Mystique analyzes how the entire contextual framework of individual development, history, and culture affected Freud's work in feminine psychology. The book then looks forward, to formulating a modern biopsychosocial framework for female gender development.
Synopsis:
Tracing the development of patriarchy and misogyny and their influence on Freud, the book examines how Freud's emotional abandonment by his mother and the loss of his baby brother and his nanny around the age of two probably led to a gender identity disorder that dramatically affected his gender theories.
