I apologize if I am answering an already answered question. I just set TIPS
back to mail this morning.
Stephen asked for confirmation that the quotation about the moral
inferiority of women originated from Freud. I found it in The Freud Reader
(edited by Peter Gay) in a paper titled "Some Psychical Consequences of the
Anatomical Distinction Between the Sexes." (Originally presented to the
International Psychoanalytic Congress at Homburg in late 1925.) The paper
offers a discussion of some of Freud's beliefs about infantile masturbation,
the Oedipal Complex and development of the superego. I found the original
text to be startling even though it only presents concepts that I already
knew belonged to Freud's theories. Like David I have often used this
particular idea in my lecture on Freud (it sounds like in a similar way to
David's) and I wanted to be sure that I was not perpetuating a myth.
Dennis
Dennis M. Goff
Dept. of Psychology
Randolph-Macon Woman's College
Lynchburg, VA 24503
-----Original Message-----
From: David Wasieleski, Ph.D. [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 1999 12:13 PM
To: TIPS
Subject: Re: Moral inferiority of women
Stephen:
I can't speak top the etiology of the quote, so it may be that we have
another "myth" for introductory psychology. I do know that I perpetuate
that myth by covering the IMPLICATION of Freud's theory re: the alleged
moral inferiority of women (incidentally I play it for laughs and
inevitably get the class' attention when I cover this part, esp. the female
students). Note that implication doesn't mean Freud said it. That is,
supposedly the motivation for boys to identify with dad (and identification
is the process by which the superego develops) is castration anxiety, a
rather powerful motivator. For girls, theoretically they all suffer from
penis envy and think they already got castrated, and they in part think Mom
was complicit in this mutilation (as part of the rivalry inherent in the
Oedipal/Electra conflict). Thus, girls in theory don't identify with mom as
strongly as boys do with dad (wonder if the concept of "male bonding" has
its roots here), and thus, have an under-developed superego. Now I'm sure
someone will say I'm mutilating/castrating Freud's theory a bit, given that
my understanding of it is far from expert, but I guess I'm confessing to
perpetuating a myth if the quote does not come from Freud or reflect the
views he had at the time.
Off to engage in some reaction formation so I don't get bogged down in
analytical concepts,
David W.
At 10:49 AM 8/25/99 -0400, Stephen Black wrote:
>People may recall that last week I referred to Freud's outrageous
>theory that because women lack a penis, they develop an inferior
>superego and therefore inferior sense of morality. Here's the quote
>relating to this.
>
>On the inferior moral development of women:
>
>"I cannot escape the notion (although I hesitate to give it
>expression) that for women the level of what is ethically normal is
>different from what it is to men. Their super-ego is never so
>inexorable, so impersonal, so independent of its emotional origins as
>we require it to be in men. Character-traits which critics of every
>epoch have brought up against women--that they show less sense of
>justice than men, that they are less ready to submit to the great
>necessities of life, that they are more often influenced in their
>judgements by feelings of affection or hostility--all these would be
>amply accounted for by the modification of their super-ego which we
>have already inferred. We must not allow ourselves to be deflected
>from such conclusions by the denials of the feminists, who are anxious
>to force us to regard the two sexes as completely equal in position
>and worth."
> Freud, as cited in Pyke, 1982
>
>Pyke, S. (1982). Confessions of a reluctant ideologist. Canadian
>Psychology, 23, 125-133.
>
>
>Sigmund, shame on you!
>
>
>BTW, notice that my source is a secondary one. I tried to improve on
>it by going back to Pyke (which was _very_ lost in my files) and
>discovered to my surprise that she cites a secondary source
>herself.This isn't satisfactory. For all we know, poor Freud never
>actually said it. Does anyone know what the primary source is for this
>quote? Where did Freud actually say it?
>
>And while we're on history, I've been alerted to a new web site of the
>archives of the APA at http://www.apa.org/archives.
>
>But I wouldn't rush to it. It promises all sort of neat historical
>stuff on American psychology, but when you try to access it all you
>get is the dreaded "under construction". Shame on you, APA (for the
>second time)!)
>
>-Stephen
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470
>Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661
>Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Lennoxville, QC
>J1M 1Z7
>Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
>
David Wasieleski, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Valdosta State University
Valdosta, GA 31698
912-333-5930
http://chiron.valdosta.edu/dtwasieleski
"I have neither been there nor done that.
--Bart Simpson (forced to write on the board 100 times)
