ABSTRACT
The equivalent of the little boys who are born without penises, but recognized at birth to be males, are little girls who are genetically, anatomically, and physiologically normal except for being born without vaginas. “Clinical findings forced attention to be concentrated on what is designated as the phallic phase of development. The empirical weight of the phenomenon left little doubt as to its dynamic role both in man and woman. Its outcome is a sense of femaleness with an accompanying femininity that leads as frequently as it does in anatomically normal women to women’s tasks and pleasures, including marriage, vaginal intercourse with orgasm, childbearing, and appropriate mothering. “Biological factors subsequently deflect the libidinal forces from their original aims and conduct even active and in every sense masculine trends into feminine channels”.
