The Psychodynamics of Gender and Gender Role

An exploration of the psychodynamics of gender and gender role. Chapters in the text review cutting-edge empirical research on psychoanalytic theories of child development, defence and coping, unconscious mental processing, normal personality functioning, and psychopathology.

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Few aspects of psychoanalytic theory are as misunderstood as psychoanalytic models of gender and gender role. The theory has evolved considerably since Freud's time, and contemporary object-relations and self-psychology perspectives contrast sharply with earlier work in this area. Chapters in this text review cutting-edge empirical research on psychoanalytic theories of child development, defence and coping, unconscious mental processing, normal personality functioning, and psychopathology. The essays seek to summarize a tremendous amount of research on this topic, and set the stage for a reinvigorated psychoanalytic understanding of gender and gender roles during the 21st century.