Feminine psychology

Feminine psychology is an approach that focuses on social, economic, and political issues confronting women all throughout their lives. It can be considered a reaction to male-dominated theories such as Sigmund Freud's view of female sexuality. The groundbreaking works of Karen Horney argued that male realities cannot describe female psychology or define their gender because they are not informed by girls' or women's experiences.[1] Theorists, thus, claim this new approach is required. There is the position that women's social existence is crucial in understanding their psychology.[2] For instance, it is claimed that some characteristics of female psychology emerge to comply with the given social order defined by men and not necessarily because it is the nature of their gender or psychology.[3]

Horney's theory

The feminine psychology is often attributed to the pioneering work of Horney, who was the first woman to present a paper on feminine psychology at an international meeting.[4] She famously contradicted Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory, arguing that it is male-dominated and, therefore, harbored biases and phalocentric views.[5] For this reason, such theory - Horney claimed - cannot describe femininity because it is informed by male reality and not by actual female experience.[5] For instance, there is the case of Freud's proposition that the female personality tends to exhibit the so-called penis envy, where a girl interprets her failure to possess a penis as a punishment for wrongdoing and later blames her mother responsible.[6] As Freud stated, "she has seen it and knows that she is without it and wants to have it."[7] Horney argued that it is not penis envy but a basic anxiety, hostility, and anger towards the opposite-sex parent, whom she views as competition for the affection of the same-sex parent, thus, a direct threat to her safety and security.[8] Her view, which formed a significant part of her feminine psychology theory, is that this aspect should be resolved based on interpersonal dynamics (e.g. differences in social power) than sexual dynamics.

Horney countered the Freudian concept with her own "womb envy" theory where men envy women's capability to bear children and they compensate for it with achievement and success. She deconstructed penis envy and described it as nothing more than women wanting to express their own natural needs for success and the security that is characteristic of both sexes. There is an analogy that describes Horney's feminine psychology as optimistic in the sense of world and life affirmation in comparison with Freud's pessimism oriented towards world and life negation.[9] In the fourteen papers she wrote about feminine psychology, Horney offered a new way of thinking about women, underscoring how they should not gain value through their husbands, children, and family.[4]

Motherhood vs. career

One dynamic outlined by feminine psychologists is the balancing act that women partake in between the more traditional role of motherhood and the more modern one of a career woman. Balancing the roles means attempting to satisfy both the need for personal achievement and the need for love and emotional security.

This does not mean that the roles contradict each other. The additional income from work may both relieve some stress and give the mother the ability to provide greater advantages (education, healthcare) to her children. Working also allows women to feel as though they are making a contribution to society beyond the family. A more fulfilled mother, in most cases, will be a better mother. Although this is true, many children feel neglected by their mothers when they are more focused on their career [10] Twenty three percent of mothers feel that they are not spending enough time with their children, but believe that their children will become more independent and understanding once they get older.

A lot has changed throughout the years as mothers and fathers both feel the pressure of balancing both work and family life. Fifty six percent of mothers say that handling work and family life is difficult for them as they are doing more than just housework and child care. Adding to the burden is society's concept that the mother's role is to spend more time with their children. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center indicates that 42% of respondents believe that a mother who works part-time is an ideal scenario while 16% thinks that working full-time is ideal for mothers, and the rest think that mothers should stay at home.

In addition, fathers have always been viewed as the bread makers in the family. However, times have changed and they are now more included in the parenting role. Fathers spend more time at home and they engage in taking care of their children and helping around the house a lot more than they did a century ago. For example, 50% of working fathers state that it is extremely difficult to balance work and taking care of their children (Pew Research Center 2012).[11] The Pew Research Center also asked parents to rate themselves as good or bad parents. It was found that most mothers rated themselves a lot higher than fathers did and working mothers rated themselves a lot higher than non-working mothers did (Pew Research Center 2012).[11]

According to a study conducted by Dr. Jennifer Stuart, sometimes the history of the woman affects how she chooses to balance the two roles, or if she will balance at all. Specifically, Stuart asserts that the primary determinant is a woman's "quality of her relationship with her mother. Women whose mothers fostered feelings of both warm attachment and confident autonomy may find ways to enjoy their children and/or work, often modifying work and family environments in ways that favor both".[12]

Some women have no choice other than to work while raising children because of financial need. Others work for personal fulfillment. In either case, women are making compromises in their careers so that they can balance paid work and motherhood responsibilities. They are cutting back hours and accepting lower pay or a lower job status. In order to make the compromise, they have chosen to be satisfied with being average rather than being a top performer in the workplace (Kapur, 2004).

What mothers have to remember, according to Dr. Ramon Resa, is that "children are fairly resilient and will adapt to whatever changes are required. They are also astute at sensing unhappiness, disappointment and apathy" (Resa, 2009). There is no harm in trying any path in order to find fulfillment, because no decision is permanent and can be changed as the situation warrants.

Cultural influences on women

Throughout history, women have been regarded as the weaker of the sexes and afforded fewer rights, which include but are not limited to education, legal and career opportunities. For women, being a wife and a mother has long been regarded their most significant and only important profession. It was only in the 20th century that widespread countries finally saw women as a sex with a persuasive voice. In the 20th century, most women were afforded the right to go to school beyond elementary education and the opportunity to go to college, opening the door to more career opportunities than becoming a teacher or nurse. In that century, feminism also opened the door to women gaining a voice in politics with the right to vote, which in turn gave women the right to run for office.Women continue to vary from stereotypical roles and expectations and make further advancements in their own education. The cultural shifts and changes in attitude toward women began in the 20th century in almost every nation and continued into the 21st century, as the traditional roles of women in society continued to be rewritten.

The old school of thought was that women were the weaker of the two sexes and therefore inferior to men.[13] Under the common law of England in the 19th century, an unmarried woman could own property, make a contract, or sue and be sued, but a married woman, defined as being one with her husband, gave up her name and virtually all her property, inherited or otherwise, and came under her husband's control (Brinjikji, 1999). In early days of the USA, life for a woman was much different from that in England. In the US, a man more or less owned his wife and children as if they were material possessions. If a poor man decided to send his children to the poor house, the mother had no legal grounds and, by all accounts, was defenseless. It was only in the 19th century that things began to change significantly in the States. In the early to mid-19th century, some local governments began modifying the laws to allow women to act as lawyers, to own property in their own names if their husbands saw fit, and sue for property (Lambert). As of the early 21st century in the United States and throughout many nations, married or not, a woman can buy, sell, or own her own property, go into contractual relationships, sue and be sued, act in her own defense, and protect her children.

In 1848, when the Seneca Falls Convention for women's rights was held in New York State, one of the complaints documented in the Declaration of Sentiments was that the "history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her... He has denied her the facilities for obtaining a thorough education, all colleges being closed against her." One of outcomes of the convention was a demand for higher education (Lowe, 1989). For women, formal education had always been second in importance and subpar to that for men, and colonial America was no exception. In colonial America, girls usually learned to read and write at dame schools and could only attend the master schools for boys when there was room, which was usually during the summer months when most boys were working (Lowe, 1989). In fact, women did not begin to go to college until after the Civil War, and for the most part they went to coeducational institutions. The newly established land grant colleges in the Midwest opened as coeducational facilities, while the more established institutions of the northeast resisted the move to coeducation (Lowe, 1989).

Being denied the opportunity to be fully educated meant that women had to learn from their mother's example that cooking, cleaning, and caring for children was the behavior expected of them when they grew up uneducated. Beginning in colonial times and extending as late as 1900, the only jobs available to women were seamstress work or keeping boardinghouses. Some women did work in professions available mostly to men, becoming doctors, lawyers, preachers, teachers, writers, and singers. By the end of the 19th century and due to increasing need for education in the above fields, the only acceptable occupations for working women were limited to factory labor or domestic work. Women were excluded from the professions, except for writing and teaching (Lowe, 1989). As of the early 21st century in most nations, there has been progress such that women are allowed to complete as much education as they want and to choose what profession they wish. Though the glass ceiling still exists in some industries, women are making great advances in every area from working in coal mines to working on the front lines.[14][15]

Even though there are still barriers faced by women joining the workforce, there is an increase in women who are focusing their attention on receiving a higher education and a career. Due to more women attaining a higher level of education, such as a college education the age at which women have their first child is increasing. There is a correlation between the amount of education a woman has and the age at which she has her first child. The greater level of education, the more likely she is to give birth to her first child in her thirties. The percentage of women who are thirty and older with at least a master's degree is 54%. This statistic, supported by Pew Research Center 2012, shows the effect of an increase of education on the age at which women give birth to their first child.[16] Women are affected by the conflicts that arise when attempting to feel fulfillment within their career as well as within their family life. While the increase in women getting a higher education is important challenges to maintain a family and career are still present within the modern woman's life.

In a study conducted by Jorge Aguero and Mindy Marks, the number of children Latin American mothers gave birth to and the mother's labor force participation was discussed. The previous assumption that Aguero and Marks challenged was that there was a negative impact in women’s participation in the labor force as a result of raising children. The sample which Aguero and Marks studied found, "52 percent of women participated in the labor force, 7.3 percent report being infertile, 84 percent have at least one child, and the average woman has 2.5 children living at home" (Aguero and Marks, 2008).[17] As such, they have concluded that there is little evidence, among Latin American mothers at least, to support the claim that children have a negative effect on labor force participation for women. This study supports the idea that fewer women are pushing off, or even abstaining from, motherhood in order to pursue their careers and to enter the labor force. This study indicates that women are able to balance their careers and their desire to raise children.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Miletic, Michelle Price (October 2013). "The Introduction of a Feminine Psychology to Psychoanalysis". Contemporary Psychoanalysis. 38 (2): 287–299. doi:10.1080/00107530.2002.10747102. ISSN 0010-7530 – via Taylor & Francis Online.
  2. ↑ Roazen, Paul (2003). Cultural Foundations of Political Psychology (Clt). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. p. 259. ISBN 0765801825.
  3. ↑ Berger, Milton (1994). Women Beyond Freud: New Concepts Of Feminine Psychology. New York: Brunner/Mazel. p. 150. ISBN 0876307098.
  4. 1 2 "Karen Horney". faculty.webster.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
  5. 1 2 Miletic, Michelle Price (2002). "The Introduction of a Feminine Psychology to Psychoanalysis". Contemporary Psychoanalysis. 38 (2): 287–299. doi:10.1080/00107530.2002.10747102. ISSN 0010-7530.
  6. ↑ Erwin, Edward (2002). The Freud Encyclopedia: Theory, Therapy, and Culture. London: Taylor & Francis. p. 179. ISBN 0415936772.
  7. ↑ Klages, Mary (2017). Literary Theory: The Complete Guide. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 45. ISBN 9781472592750.
  8. ↑ Carducci, Bernardo (2009). The Psychology of Personality: Viewpoints, Research, and Applications. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 184. ISBN 9781405136358.
  9. ↑ Kelman, Harold (1967). "Karen Horney on feminine psychology". The American Journal of Psychoanalysis. 27 (1–2): 163–183. doi:10.1007/bf01873051. ISSN 0002-9548.
  10. ↑ Parker, Kim (2013). "Modern Parenthood". Social and Demographic Trends: 13.
  11. 1 2 "Nothing found for 2013 03 14 Modern Parenthood Roles Of Moms And Dads Converge As They Balance Work And Family %3E". Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  12. ↑ Stuart, Jennifer J. (2008, October 7). "Work and motherhood: a clinical study". The American Psychoanalyst. Vol.42, No.1. Pp.22–23. Reprinted by Wellsphere (Archived version available here via Internet Archive. Archive date 5 October 2011.) Access date 9 February 2015.
  13. ↑ The Glendon Association. "Sexual Stereotyping". PsychAlive.
  14. ↑ Bythell, D. (1993). in the workforce&ots=J-vU-Yf4ai&sig=tm2DOVtdIjCkPIdyK7MFue9ACK0 The industrial revolution and British society Check |url= value (help). New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 31–52.
  15. ↑ Collier, E. "Women in the armed forces". Congressional research service.
  16. ↑ "For most highly educated women, motherhood doesn't start until the 30s". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  17. ↑ Agüero, Jorge M; Marks, Mindy S. "Motherhood and Female Labor Force Participation: Evidence from Infertility Shocks". American Economic Review. 98 (2): 500–504. doi:10.1257/aer.98.2.500.

Sources

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