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
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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.