ABSTRACT
Even before Freud developed his theories about female sexuality, the early feminists had connected the issue of sexuality with their inferior position in society. Although women have protested against male definitions of sexuality and have questioned the dominant paradigm, largely influenced by Freud, it is only in the last fifteen years that substantial cracks have appeared in Freud's theories, and there has not yet appeared a coherent theory, or paradigm, to replace them. Feminists have consistently challenged the dominant paradigm and have put forward alternatives which have sometimes been co-opted but, more often, have been ignored. In a paper on ideology and sexuality, Reiss compares what he calls the Traditional-Romantic and the Modern-Naturalistic ideologies. Men still have power both in the home and the market place and the sexual revolution has, for many, been a licence for exploitation. Male positive self-concept has been essentially tied to sexism in that the traditional dominant role is of both benefactor and aggressor.
