Feminine psychology is an approach that focuses on social, economic, and political issues confronting women all throughout their lives. It can be considered a reaction to male-dominated theories such as Sigmund Freud's view of female sexuality. The groundbreaking works of Karen Horney argued that male realities cannot describe female psychology or define their gender because they are not informed by girls' or women's experiences. Theorists therefore claimed this new approach was required, and that women's social existence is crucial in understanding their psychology. For instance, it is claimed that some characteristics of female psychology emerge to comply with the given social order defined by men and not necessarily because it is the nature of their gender or psychology.
Horney's theory
The "feminine psychology" approach is often attributed to the pioneering work of Horney, who was the first woman to present a paper on feminine psychology at an international meeting. She famously contradicted Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory, arguing that it is male-dominated and, therefore, harbored biases and phallocentric views. For this reason, the theory, Horney claimed, cannot describe femininity because it is informed by male reality and not by actual female experience. For instance, there is Freud's proposition that the female personality tends to exhibit penis envy, whereby a girl interprets her failure to possess a penis as a punishment for wrongdoing and later blames her mother. As Freud stated, "she has seen it and knows that she is without it and wants to have it." Horney argued that it is not penis envy but basic anxiety, hostility, and anger towards the opposite-sex parent, whom she views as competition for the affection of the same-sex parent, and thus views her as a direct threat to her safety and security. Her view, which formed a significant part of her feminine psychology theory, is that this aspect should be resolved based on interpersonal dynamics than sexual dynamics. Horney countered the Freudian concept with her own "womb envy" theory where men envy women's capability to bear children and they compensate for it with achievement and success. She deconstructed penis envy and described it as nothing more than women wanting to express their own natural needs for success and the security that is characteristic of both sexes. There is an analogy that describes Horney's feminine psychology as optimistic of the world and life affirmation in comparison with Freud's pessimism oriented towards world and life negation. In the fourteen papers she wrote about feminine psychology, Horney offered a new way of thinking about women, underscoring how they should not gain value through their husbands, children, and family.
Motherhood vs. career
One dynamic outlined by feminine psychologists is the between the more traditional role of motherhood and the more modern role of a career woman. The roles do not necessarily contradict each other: additional income helps provide for the family, and working mothers may feel as though they are making a contribution to society beyond the family. Mothers and fathers both feel the pressure of balancing both work and family life, and fathers spend more time at home and engage in child care and housework more than they did a century ago. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center indicates that 42% of respondents believe that a mother who works part-time is an ideal scenario while 16% think that working full-time is ideal for mothers, and the rest think that mothers should stay at home. 46% of fathers also reported that they felt they were not spending enough time with their children: fathers who responded to this Pew research survey were spending about half as much time providing child care as the mothers. 15% of working fathers state that it is very difficult to balance work and take care of their children. The same study found that 50% of working fathers say that it is at least somewhat difficult to balance work and child care responsibilities. However, fathers who are able to do child care report that they like doing so, often even moreso than mothers. The Pew Research Center also asked parents to rate how good of a job they are doing as parents. It was found that most mothers and women rated themselves as doing an excellent or very good job, but that working mothers rated themselves a lot higher than non-working mothers did--despite the fact that parents who felt they spent too little time with their children were less likely to rate themselves as doing an excellent job. According to a study conducted by Dr. Jennifer Stuart, sometimes the history of the woman affects how she chooses to balance the two roles, or if she will balance them at all. Specifically, Stuart asserts that the primary determinant is a woman's "quality of her relationship with her mother. Women whose mothers fostered feelings of both warm attachment and confident autonomy may find ways to enjoy their children and/or work, often modifying work and family environments in ways that favor both". Working women sometimes make compromises in their careers so that they can balance paid work and motherhood responsibilities. These compromises include cutting back hours and accepting lower pay or a lower job status, which can prevent women from becoming the top performers in a workplace. According to Dr. Ramon Resa, what mothers have to remember is that "children are fairly resilient and will adapt to whatever changes are required. They are also astute at sensing unhappiness, disappointment and apathy".
