eurotic men as well as neurotic women and therefore are not necessarily related to the envy of the penis. She points out that self-confidence of either sex is based on the development of a wide range of human characteristics: talent, initiative, erotic capacity, achievement, courage, and independence. It seems as though men feel the need to place the "inferiority" on the shoulders of women in an attempt to hide their own insecurities, and envies regarding female roles in reproduction and societal progression. While the psychologists of today base their theories and ideas on the various studies done by others, Freud based his ideas primarily on the recollections of women who had consulted him for help. When he actually began to write about human sexuality and legitimize it as an up and coming field of study, Freud stated that women were indeed beings with sexual needs. He also suggested that the repression of sexual expression was a major cause of neurosis in women. His theories evolved out of his own personal interpretation of these women’s underlying emotions and unconscious motives. While he believed women should express our sexuality, he also believed that our fulfillment could only come about in the form of a vaginal orgasm (distinct from the clitoral orgasm, which Freud considered "masculine" and "childish") and the resulting bearing and nurturing of children. Although in many ways Freud began a "liberation of female sexuality," his theories had certain stigmas attached which passed on yet another set of masculine standards against which women were to judge themselves. Freud unsympathetically analyzed many women but none so in depth as an eighteen-year-old girl named Dora. He had treated Dora’s father for syphilis a few years before. The reason that Dora was brought for the consultation was a letter that her parents had found. The letter basically just said goodbye to her parents, and made clear that her intention was t...
