The Psychodynamics of Gender and Gender Role

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.