The Anatomy of the Clitoris by Anne Zachary

Author:Anne Zachary [Неизв.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9780429840791
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (CAM)

Their definition of sexuality is then quite broad, embracing this and all the components of sexual activity that go beyond genital functioning or fulfilling basic biological needs, as well as, of course, object choice. They do not define gender separately.

Gender is a biological and not a psychoanalytic term, derived from “genus”, a collective heading under which there are common overall attributes such as male and female, which then further classifies different species and more specifically families. In some languages, nouns are designated masculine, feminine, or neuter, which could be seen as a parallel with bisexuality. Gender identity will be determined by a variety of multicultural phenomena, and in The Gender Conundrum, Greenson’s chapter refers to the establishment of gender as relatively nebulous, listing three basic determinants. These are: a) awareness of anatomical and physiological structures (Greenacre adds, primarily the face and the genitals); b) assignment to a specific gender by the parents and other important social figures; and c) a biological force present from birth which can (described by Stoller in transsexuals and illustrated by the AIS patients above) be strong enough to counteract both a) and b). Greenson adds a fourth, d) the disidentification from mother and the identification with father in boys which, of course, mother must allow (Birksted-Breen, 1993, p. 262). Stoller’s idea is that it can be the unconscious wish on the mother’s part for her son to be a girl that contributes to the childhood creation of a transsexual and an explanation for their names so often being sexually ambiguous (for example, Toni, Nikki).

The Gender Conundrum starts with Freud’s statement, “It is important to understand clearly that the concepts of ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ whose meaning seems so unambiguous to ordinary people, are amongst the most confused that occur in science” (1993, p. 1). Birksted-Breen says, “As with femininity, Freud felt that, although fundamental, the concept of bisexuality was impregnated with obscurity” (p. 231). Leaving bisexuality, about which she says that there is relatively little written, until the last section, she begins there with “Bisexuality brings to the foreground again the question of the relationship of body and mind, of biological bisexuality and psychological bisexuality” (p. 231).

Birksted-Breen puts forward that there is a duality in Freud’s work; this does not mean that he was confused or changed his mind, but that the duality has a purpose of its own to contain the tensions that have existed in the debate about sexuality throughout the twentieth century. She suggests that the concept of bisexuality reflects the duality “used at times to express the biological predisposition of the human individual, while at other times Freud used it to refer to the balance of object relationships” (p. 231).

Birksted-Breen argues for an “out-of-focusness” to be tolerated in our understanding of masculinity and femininity. The “out-of-focusness most clearly … expresses the duality of Freud’s position; body and mind are connected, but not completely, and the disjunction between them is difficult to grasp” (p. 5). Acknowledging that “human nature is inherently bisexual”, she

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