Feminist Theory in Psychoanalysis - Term Paper Example

? Feminist theory in psychoanalysis Feminist theory in psychoanalysis Earlier, psychology was believed to be the study of mind; however, it is difficult to measure the activities of mind either quantitatively or qualitatively. Science will never accept any principle if it cannot be proved experimentally. In other words, psychology was not a science subject earlier because of our inability in measuring or assessing activities in mind accurately. In order to raise the status of psychology to scientific levels, psychologists modified the definition of psychology as the study of behaviour rather than the study of mind. It is possible for us to measure the behaviour of a person both qualitatively and quantitatively and hence psychology is now considered as a branch of science. Clinical psychology is the most important branch of psychology because of the immense contributions it gives to the treatment of mental problems of human beings. There are many branches of clinical psychology at present. Psychoanalysis is one among them. Psychoanalysis theory was developed by Sigmund Freud which deals with psychological method of investigation, systematic set of theories about human behaviour and the treatment of psychological disorders. Feminists were among the earliest proponents of psychoanalysis because it acknowledged sexual desires in all people including women, who at the time were considered asexual. But over the course of the century, the theory fell out of favor among feminists, many of whom maintained that it contributed to women’s oppression instead of their liberation. In the 1970s interest in psychoanalysis among feminists enjoyed a renaissance, and by the end of the century it formed part of the canon of feminist theory in the humanities. However, the theory still faces a great deal of resistance from feminists in the social sciences (Feminist Theory: Psychoanalytic, 2010) This paper briefly explains the feminist theory in psychoanalysis Freud argued that boys and girls begin life with similar psychological dispositions, but they follow different paths to adult heterosexuality owing to their anatomical differences and the expectations placed upon them by their families and society in general (Feminist Theory: Psychoanalytic, 2010). According to feminists the interpretations of sexual development by Freud is unacceptable. Freud believed that the environmental parameters control the sexuality more than the genetic parameters. In other words the boys and girls develop heterosexuality mainly from the environment rather than any genetic predispositions. Freud argued that the boys and girls learn a lot form the family and the society about the sexual patterns and they try to follow the same pattern. For example, boys realize their similarity with their father at an early age itself and will try to imitate the father in every respect. Same way girls will try to imitate their mothers. Freud pointed out that “When individuals did not successfully progress through the stages of development, mental illness could result. Freud maintained that unresolved early childhood traumas associated with these stages of sexual development become lodged in the unconscious and reappear in neurotic symptoms”(Feminist Theory: Psychoanalytic, 2010). Many of the psychological disorders occur at the latter stages of one’s life is attributed to the unresolved childhood traumas by Freud. For example, it is quite possible that a child could not relieve his/her sexual energy in the childhood because of the social restrictions. In family and society, children are prohibited from engage in any sexual activities because of the traditions, customs and beliefs. On the other hand, childhood is a stage during which the sex hormones are hyperactive. In other words, most of the sexual requirements were remain unsolved or unmet during childhood which will negatively impact the life of the child latter, according to Freud. In short, Freud’s theory succeeded in giving a comprehensive account about the sexual development. Freud observed that individuals contain both masculine and feminine characteristics, and that women are as passionate as men. Feminists also took from Freud an indictment of women’s proscribed roles in society. In Freud’s view, marriage and family arrangements demanded an enormous and inordinate amount of repression and sacrifice on the part of women which made them hostile to civilization and often generated mental disorders(Feminist Theory: Psychoanalytic, 2010). Earlier, feminists were not much bothered about the theories or arguments of Freud. However, during the latter half of the twentieth century, feminists realized the dangers involved in Freud’s psychoanalysis theory. They have realized that the psychoanalysis theory was one of the major barriers in front of women’s liberation because of its interpretations against the interests of the women. Feminists started to realize that psychoanalysis theory is not promoting any sexual modernism and serving as the big advocate of conservative thoughts in the society. Freud’s penis envy theory was unacceptable to the feminists. Freud argued that a girl during her psychosexual development realizes that she does not have a penis which will affect the gender and sexuality development among the girls. Freud argued that this feeling will create inferiority complex and anxiety among girls. Freud labeled lesbianism as a psychological disorder developed because of the unmet sexual needs during childhood. Feminists argued that the above Freudian theory of psychoanalysis is a deliberate attempt to spread the slogan that women are inferior to men. Thus feminists accused psychotherapy as a tool to brainwash the females and to establish the supremacy of the males over females. Feminists rejected the arguments of Freud with respect to the development of heterosexuality and the labeling of lesbians as mentally disordered people. Thus most of the feminists opposed the psychoanalysis theory of Freud. Another major argument labeled against psychoanalysis was the about the methodology of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis develops through the lengthy counseling sessions between the patient and the Psychoanalyst. The hour long one-on-one discussions with a therapist was unacceptable to the feminists. They argued that Psychoanalysis violates the core principles of random selection and give more emphasize to abnormalities to explain normal developments. Feminists argued that psychoanalysis cannot be used to analyze the group behavior in social sciences. Psychoanalysis methodologies are individual based. No two individuals re alike either psychologically or physically. So the data obtained from one individual cannot be used to evaluate another individual. In short, most of the feminists rejected the ideas of psychoanalysis on the basis of its contradictory concepts about sexual development and its lack of acceptance among the groups. Feminists who opposed the psychological theories of therapy contribute heavily to the evolution of feminist therapy which focuses more on social, cultural and political causes rather than the individual causes as in the case of psychoanalysis theories. Feminist therapy evolved in medical science because of the belief that women are in a disadvantaged position with respect to sex, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, religion, age etc. In a feminist therapy, neither the therapist nor the patient has any upper hand. Both the therapist and the patient are enjoying equal status in this type of therapy. It should be remembered that the therapist enjoys upper hand in psychotherapy. Attention to the diversity of women’s personal and social identities, A consciousness-raising approach, An egalitarian relationship between client and therapist and A woman-valuing and self-validating process are some of the characteristics of feminist therapy (Foundations of feminist therapy, n. d., p.23). In psychotherapy, only the individual and his/her mental activities or behavior has importance whereas in feminist therapy, the social, cultural and political identities of the women are getting more prominence. Feminists believe that more trust is developed between the patient and the therapist in feminist therapy whereas in psychoanalysis only the authority of the therapist prevails. Feminist therapy questions the arguments of Freud with respect to the mental health of an individual. “Questions that the feminist theorists pose include why women are more frequently diagnosed with depression, how minority needs are best served, and how to deal with individuals being marginalized and oppressed within society” (Personality Therapy from a Christian Perspective, n. d). Psycho analysis theory fails to answer above questions according to the feminists. “Twenty years ago, feminism and psychoanalytic theory would have been strange bedfellows, at least in America”(Kurzweil, 1990). However, the perceptions and misinterpretations of psychoanalysis theories were changed a lot in the recent past. Nancy Chodorow was one of the prominent feminists, who came out in favor of the psychoanalysis theories. She argued that psychoanalysis theory is not completely against the interests of the women. For example, psychoanalytic theory can be used to explain why women are still confined within the boundaries of their home. In other words, psychoanalytic theory succeeded in identifying the root causes of most of the women’s problems today. Psychoanalysis provides a compelling account of the origin of gender differentiation, helps to explain the desires and proclivities of women to nurture infants, and offers an explanation of men’s general devaluation of women, without succumbing to either biological or social determinism, pitfalls that feminist critics of Freud seldom avoided (Feminist Theory: Psychoanalytic, 2010). Conclusions Feminists found lot of problems with Freud’s psychoanalysis theory. In their opinion, Freud’s theories were an attempt to establish the male domination in the society. They labelled the Freudian theories as conservative and inappropriate for the interests of a group. Freud’s theories were based on the various aspects of an individual rather than the aspects of a group or society. Even though, many criticisms were labelled against psychoanalysis theories by the feminists, some feminists still believe that the Freudian theory is helpful in identifying the root causes of women’s problems today. References 1. Feminist Theory: Psychoanalytic, (2010). Retrieved from http://maxizip.com/2010/11/feminist-theory-psychoanalytic/ 2. Kurzweil, E. (1990). Feminism and Psychoanalytic Theory. International Review of Psycho-Analysis, 17:525-528 Retrieved from http://www.pep-web.org/document.php?id=irp.017.0525a 3. Foundations of feminist therapy, (n. d.). Retrieved from http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/69/04713743/0471374369.pdf 4. Personality Therapy from a Christian Perspective (n. d), Retrieved from http://www.christiehunter.com/personality/feminist-therapy.htm Read More