Biomaterial Database

The vanished pregnant body in psychoanalytic female developmental theory. 2003

Rosemary H Balsam

Western New England Institute for Psychoanalysis, USA. Rosemary.balsam@yale.edu

The author contends that the pregnant body-the premier icon of the mature female body-has vanished from our psychoanalytic theory of female development. Until we are able to restore this missing entity on a par with the phallus, the developmental theory for both sexes remains fixated in phallocentricism. The author traces some of the evidence for this claim in a brief overview of the literature, a study of the relevant aspects of the case of Little Hans, and a look at the history of medical teaching, in particular illustrations from the first dissections of female bodies in the sixteenth century, which demonstrate a view of the female body as essentially male. A puzzle remains about the marked tendencies that both males and females had, and still have, to distort the female body image. The author offers a clinical example, and the suggestion that the plasticity of the female form in all its developmental phases may underlie the paradoxical requirement that stable mental representations be established upon an elusive set of shifting images.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009034	Mother-Child Relations	Interaction between a mother and child.	Mother-Child Interaction,Mother-Child Relationship,Mother-Infant Interaction,Mother-Infant Relations,Interaction, Mother-Child,Interaction, Mother-Infant,Interactions, Mother-Child,Interactions, Mother-Infant,Mother Child Interaction,Mother Child Relations,Mother Child Relationship,Mother Infant Interaction,Mother Infant Relations,Mother-Child Interactions,Mother-Child Relation,Mother-Child Relationships,Mother-Infant Interactions,Mother-Infant Relation,Relation, Mother-Child,Relation, Mother-Infant,Relations, Mother-Child,Relations, Mother-Infant,Relationship, Mother-Child,Relationships, Mother-Child
D011247	Pregnancy	The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Gestation,Pregnancies
D011574	Psychoanalytic Theory	Conceptual system developed by Freud and his followers in which unconscious motivations are considered to shape normal and abnormal personality development and behavior.	Oral Character,Psychoanalytical Theory,Theory, Psychoanalytic,Character, Oral,Characters, Oral,Oral Characters,Psychoanalytic Theories,Psychoanalytical Theories,Theories, Psychoanalytic,Theories, Psychoanalytical,Theory, Psychoanalytical
D011575	Psychoanalytic Therapy	A form of psychiatric treatment, based on Freudian principles, which seeks to eliminate or diminish the undesirable effects of unconscious conflicts by making the patient aware of their existence, origin, and inappropriate expression in current emotions and behavior.	Balint Psychoanalytic Therapy,Psychoanalytic Therapy, Balint,Psychoanalytical Therapy,Therapy, Balint Psychoanalytic,Therapy, Psychoanalytic,Psychoanalytic Therapies,Psychoanalytical Therapies,Therapies, Psychoanalytic,Therapies, Psychoanalytical,Therapy, Psychoanalytical
D011606	Psychosexual Development	The stages of development of the psychological aspects of sexuality from birth to adulthood; i.e., oral, anal, genital, and latent periods.	Anal Stage,Phallic Stage,Anal Stages,Development, Psychosexual,Developments, Psychosexual,Phallic Stages,Psychosexual Developments,Stage, Anal,Stage, Phallic,Stages, Anal,Stages, Phallic
D003405	Creativity	The ability to generate new ideas or images.	Creativeness,Innovativeness,Originality,Artistic Creativity,Creative Ability,Creative Thinking,Ability, Creative,Creative Abilities,Creativity, Artistic,Thinking, Creative
D005260	Female		Females
D005836	Genitalia, Female	The female reproductive organs. The external organs include the VULVA; BARTHOLIN'S GLANDS; and CLITORIS. The internal organs include the VAGINA; UTERUS; OVARY; and FALLOPIAN TUBES.	Accessory Sex Organs, Female,Sex Organs, Accessory, Female,Genital Organs, Female,Genitals, Female,Reproductive System, Female,Female Genital,Female Genital Organ,Female Genital Organs,Female Genitalia,Female Genitals,Female Reproductive System,Female Reproductive Systems,Genital Organ, Female,Genital, Female,Reproductive Systems, Female
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000715	Anatomy	A branch of biology dealing with the structure of organisms.	Anatomies