title: Primary femininity, bisexuality, and the female ego ideal: a re-examination of female developmental theory.
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.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Elise
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression; D001727:Bisexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D001828:Body Image; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D007062:Identification, Psychological; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D011606:Psychosexual Development; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012727:Sex Characteristics