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Title: Primary femininity, bisexuality, and the female ego ideal: a re-examination of female developmental theory. Author: Elise D. Journal: Psychoanal Q; 1997 Jul; 66(3):489-517. PubMed ID: 9259037. Abstract: While the concept of primary femininity advances our understanding of the girl's developmental experience, a number of contradictions and problematic assumptions are at the present time contained within this concept. I propose that we use the phrase "primary sense of femaleness" to refer to the girl's earliest sense of self deriving from the mental representation of her body. In addition, I argue that the concepts of a primary sense of femaleness and of a bisexual matrix are not mutually exclusive; an early sense of self located in a female body can co-exist with the fantasy of potential unlimited by gender. Finally, I examine the role of the mother as ego ideal for the girl.[Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]