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Amazing women! | the art of menstruation | artists (non-menstrual) | asbestos | belts | bidets | founder bio | Bly, Nellie | MUM board | books: menstruation and menopause (and reviews) | cats | company booklets directory | contraception and religion | costumes | menstrual cups | cup usage | dispensers | douches, pain, sprays | essay directory | extraction | famous women in menstrual hygiene ads | FAQ | founder/director biography | gynecological topics by Dr. Soucasaux | humor | huts | links | masturbation | media coverage of MUM | miscellaneous | museum future | Norwegian menstruation exhibit | odor (olor)| pad directory | patent medicine | poetry directory | products, current | religion | your remedies for menstrual discomfort | menstrual products safety | science | shame | slapping, menstrual | sponges | synchrony | tampon directory | early tampons | teen ads directory | tour of the former museum (video) | underpants directory | videos, films directory | Words and expressions about menstruation | Would you stop menstruating if you could? | What did women do about menstruation in the past? | washable pads
More articles by Dr. Soucasaux: Anatomical drawings - Anovulatory cycles - Archetypal aspects of the female genitals - The breasts: some morphological aspects - Colposcopy - Comments on the corpus luteum and related aspects - Comments on some anatomical and symbolic aspects of the female pelvis - The curious relations between androgens and estrogens in women - Drospirenone Oral Contraceptives - Due to prohibition, Brazilian women don't have access to modern medicinal abortion - Endocrinology of menstruation - The Fallopian tubes - Female sexual response - The Gräfenberg Spot (G-Spot) - The Gynecologic Palpation (descendant of "The Touch") - Gynecological assistance: the three basic areas - Gynecology and Gynecologic Surgery - Gynecologist versus obstetrician: what lies behind the combination? - "Gyneco-obstetric-surgical" stubborness and the perpetuation of one of the greatest mistakes of women's medicine - Hypermenorrhea and/or Menorrhagia (Prolonged and/or Excessive Menstrual Bleedings) - Hypertrichosis, Hirsutism and Androgenic Manifestations in Women - Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKHauser) Syndrome - Menstrual toxin: An old name for a real thing? - Nature and the ovaries - On the Intimate, or Small-Scale, Mechanisms of Menstruation - On the Strange Nature of the Ovaries - Oral hormonal contraceptives (the "Pill") - The Ovaries: Some Functional and Archetypal Considerations - Peculiarities of the Female Genitals' Sensory Innervation - Physiology of menstruation - Polycystic ovaries syndrome - The Possibility of Becoming Pregnant, Its Implications for Women, and Abortion - Premenstrual congestion of the breasts - Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) - The Psychology of Gynecology part 1 (part 2) - Psychosomatic and symbolic aspects of menstruation - Psychosomatic gynecology - Some Details on the Function of the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Ovaries Axis - Stanislav Grof's Perinatal Matrixes of the Unconscious and Women's Medicine - Symmetric Patterns in the Female Genitals - Thoughts on Female Sexual Psychology - Uninterrupted use of hormonal contraceptives for menstrual suppression: why I do not recommend it - The uterine cervix - Uterine contractility - The Uterus and the Female "Passive-Active" - Women's corporeal consciousness and experience - Women's Experience of the Breasts - Women's Undesired Pregnancies and Women's Right to Abortion and see his Art of Menstruation


Thoughts on Female Sexual Psychology

Dr. Nelson Soucasaux, Brazilian gynecologist

We know that the self-erotic and narcissist feature of female sexuality is very strong. The manner and the effort with which the most elegant women care for their bodies and seek to beautify themselves by far surpasses the natural vanity related to the body that also exists in men. It is obvious that this attitude, in part, serves to attract men, since the male sexual desire is mostly stimulated by the sight and the aesthetics of the woman's body.

However, here, the high degree of self-eroticism characteristic of the female sex also plays an important role, given the pleasure that women feel in exhibiting their bodies. Frequently only by doing that do many women feel a good degree of sexual satisfaction ­ though, obviously, this is not all. Quoting Gikovate: "...starting with puberty, this pleasure is strongly reinforced by the fact that the female body becomes desirable to men; thus, for women, the pleasure in exhibiting themselves interweaves with the pleasure of feeling desired, in a way that this aspect of sexuality might assume a fundamental importance." (Gikovate, F.: "O Instinto Sexual" ["The Sexual Instinct"], MG Editores, São Paulo, Brazil, 1980)

I believe it is possible to consider women as being, to a considerable extent, sexual objects for themselves. Symmetry is something that does not seem to exist between the female sexual desire and the male one. In men, the physical sense that first arouses desire is sight, specifically the sight of the female body. Conversely, in women, sight seems to have less importance in arousing the sexual impulse, since there are indications that they are much more attracted by the features of men's personalities than by male bodies (though presently some women "pretend" to feel as much attracted by men's bodies as men are by women's bodies). Quoting Gikovate once again: "A woman . . . is not sexually attracted by a man's body; her enchantment is more related to some characteristics that are capable of arousing a feeling of love. As love is a feeling that originates from admiration, the interest of a woman in a man occurs essentially because he possesses characteristics that she considers as positive . . . ."

There are indications that, in women, the tactile stimulation of their bodies is of greater importance than sight arousing the sexual impulse. We also can say that, while men desire women directly, women, to a considerable extent, seem to desire the desire that men feel for them - though, of course, this is not all. In any case, this women's desire of the desire they arouse in men is one more remarkable and evident feature of female psychology.

While the male sexual libido directs itself straight to women, the woman's sexual libido starts from herself, "envelops" and uses the man to return, through him, to the woman herself. Maybe we could say that, to some extent, through men women admire themselves. The following observation by G.A. Martin is very suggestive: "...the glance is a support for the female narcissism, so a woman has to look obliquely . . . mostly to observe if she is being looked at." (Martin, G.A.: "Moira o la Sexualidad Femenina,"Helguero, Argentina, 1980)

Making an incursion in the philosophical, mythological and archetypal aspects of sexual psychology, I think that, from these points of view, we can consider women as being and possessing the "erotic body" by nature. While the principle of Eros predominates in women, the principle of Logos predominates in men. Both are principles of diverse and complementary nature. Nevertheless, I must say that obviously Logos is also present in women, and Eros is also present in men. Therefore, the differences lie mostly in the principle that predominates in each sex ­ that is, in the quantitative, and not in the qualitative in absolute terms. In female psychology there are elements of male psychology and vice versa.

Considering that Eros predominates in female nature, it is in women that men search for this principle. On the other hand, women search for Logos in men, since from the archetypal point of view this principle predominates in male nature (though the existence of a very typical and specifically female kind of Logos has always been traditionally evident).

The Jungian concepts of Anima and Animus are also very appropriate to this subject. According to [Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Gustav] Jung, the Anima archetype corresponds to the primal images of women existing in male psychology, and the Animus archetype to the primal images of men existing in female psychology. In accordance with the Jungian school, Anima is projected by men on women, and Animus is projected by women on men. In other words, men search for the personification of Anima in women, and women search for the personification of Animus in men.

As to the Anima archetype, Jung observes: "There is a collective woman's image in the unconscious of men, with the help of which they can understand women's nature . . . . The whole male being, body and spirit, presupposes the woman's being. His system is oriented 'a priori' to her . . . ." (Jung, C.G.: "O Eueo Inconsciente" ["The Self and the Unconscious"] ­ Vozes, Petrópolis, Brazil, 1978). Regarding Animus, Jung says: "The woman is compensated with a male nature and, because of this, her unconscious has a male signal . . . . I designated the factor that determines projections in women as Animus. This word means reason or spirit." (Jung, C.G.: "Aion ­ Estudos sobre o Simbolismo do Si-Mesmo" ["Aion ­ Studies on the Symbolism of the Self"] ­ Vozes, Petrópolis, Brazil, 1982)

Joining all of these data, we notice a relation between the Anima archetype and the philosophical principle of Eros, as well as an equal one between Animus and Logos.

Though this subject is too complex to be discussed in depth in this article (and it's also capable of generating some misunderstandings), I hope that these observations have added something to the understanding of several aspects of female sexuality as well as stimulated new reflections on the subject. In spite of women as our theme, in order to reach a better understanding of some peculiarities of their sexual psychology, a comparative analysis with aspects of the male one was necessary.

The text above is an adapted topic from my book "Novas Perspectivas em Ginecologia" ("New Perspectives in Gynecology"), published by Imago Editora, Rio de Janeiro, 1990. For information on the book, see page http://www.nelsonginecologia.med.br/novas.htm, at my Web site www.nelsonginecologia.med.br .

Copyright Nelson Soucasaux 1990, 2004

_____________________________________________

Nelson Soucasaux is a gynecologist dedicated to clinical, preventive and psychosomatic gynecology. Graduated in 1974 by Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he is the author of several articles published in medical journals and of the books "Novas Perspectivas em Ginecologia" ("New Perspectives in Gynecology") and "Os Órgãos Sexuais Femininos: Forma, Função, Símbolo e Arquétipo" ("The Female Sexual Organs: Shape, Function, Symbol and Archetype"), published by Imago Editora, Rio de Janeiro, 1990, 1993. He has been working in his private clinic since 1975.

Web site (Portuguese and English): www.nelsonginecologia.med.br

Email: nelsons@nelsonginecologia.med.br


NEWS | homepage | LIST OF ALL TOPICS | MUM address & What does MUM mean? | e-mail the museum | privacy on this site | who runs this museum?? |
Amazing women! | the art of menstruation | artists (non-menstrual) | asbestos | belts | bidets | founder bio | Bly, Nellie | MUM board | books: menstruation and menopause (and reviews) | cats | company booklets directory | contraception and religion | costumes | menstrual cups | cup usage | dispensers | douches, pain, sprays | essay directory | extraction | famous women in menstrual hygiene ads | FAQ | founder/director biography | gynecological topics by Dr. Soucasaux | humor | huts | links | masturbation | media coverage of MUM | miscellaneous | museum future | Norwegian menstruation exhibit | odor (olor)| pad directory | patent medicine | poetry directory | products, current | religion | your remedies for menstrual discomfort | menstrual products safety | science | shame | slapping, menstrual | sponges | synchrony | tampon directory | early tampons | teen ads directory | tour of the former museum (video) | underpants directory | videos, films directory | Words and expressions about menstruation | Would you stop menstruating if you could? | What did women do about menstruation in the past? | washable pads
More articles by Dr. Soucasaux: Anatomical drawings - Anovulatory cycles - Archetypal aspects of the female genitals - The breasts: some morphological aspects - Colposcopy - Comments on the corpus luteum and related aspects - Comments on some anatomical and symbolic aspects of the female pelvis - The curious relations between androgens and estrogens in women - Drospirenone Oral Contraceptives - Due to prohibition, Brazilian women don't have access to modern medicinal abortion - Endocrinology of menstruation - The Fallopian tubes - Female sexual response - The Gräfenberg Spot (G-Spot) - The Gynecologic Palpation (descendant of "The Touch") - Gynecological assistance: the three basic areas - Gynecology and Gynecologic Surgery - Gynecologist versus obstetrician: what lies behind the combination? - "Gyneco-obstetric-surgical" stubborness and the perpetuation of one of the greatest mistakes of women's medicine - Hypermenorrhea and/or Menorrhagia (Prolonged and/or Excessive Menstrual Bleedings) - Hypertrichosis, Hirsutism and Androgenic Manifestations in Women - Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKHauser) Syndrome - Menstrual toxin: An old name for a real thing? - Nature and the ovaries - On the Intimate, or Small-Scale, Mechanisms of Menstruation - On the Strange Nature of the Ovaries - Oral hormonal contraceptives (the "Pill") - The Ovaries: Some Functional and Archetypal Considerations - Peculiarities of the Female Genitals' Sensory Innervation - Physiology of menstruation - Polycystic ovaries syndrome - The Possibility of Becoming Pregnant, Its Implications for Women, and Abortion - Premenstrual congestion of the breasts - Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) - The Psychology of Gynecology part 1 (part 2) - Psychosomatic and symbolic aspects of menstruation - Psychosomatic gynecology - Some Details on the Function of the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Ovaries Axis - Stanislav Grof's Perinatal Matrixes of the Unconscious and Women's Medicine - Symmetric Patterns in the Female Genitals - Thoughts on Female Sexual Psychology - Uninterrupted use of hormonal contraceptives for menstrual suppression: why I do not recommend it - The uterine cervix - Uterine contractility - The Uterus and the Female "Passive-Active" - Women's corporeal consciousness and experience - Women's Experience of the Breasts - Women's Undesired Pregnancies and Women's Right to Abortion and see his Art of Menstruation