Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the Oedipus myth and proposes that the myth of Persephone best explains the girl's psychosexual dynamic. It shows that epistemological bases subjacent to Freudian discourse on femininity and analysts' meta-theories on sexual difference and the feminine. The book argues that feminine masochism is neither innate nor an instinctual vicissitude inherent in women but is, rather, a solution to complex infantile object relations reproduced in adulthood. It considers feminine autonomy in terms of an autonomous self, as either desires or projects, independent of sexuality. The book also discusses implicit gender theories in psychoanalysis and proposes the incorporation of the concept of gender in psychoanalysis in order to listen to legitimate desires for expansion of the feminine self. It explores a human dimension based on pre-sexual and non-sexual aspects previous to assignment of the newborn as a boy or a girl.