아버지에 갇힌 주체에서 어머니로 열리는 주체

Abstract

Gender identity, one of the important issues of feminism, has been often discussed in literature. Biological determinism insists that gender stereotypes as male and female are determined at birth. Feminists oppose biological determinism because biological determinism is used as an ideology to justify gender discrimination and gender stratification in society. However, Freud insists that gender identity would be obtained from the development process rather than being determined at birth. Freud’s theory makes a major contribution to feminism. Patriarchy and sexism can be attacked using his theory and thus can be used to change attitudes concerning gender identity. However, Freud insists that females in the development process acquire penis envy and thus can not form a super-ego. He also ignores the importance of the role a mother plays in a child’s development. This opinion lead to a lot of criticisms of his theory, especially by feminists. To address this flaw, this article highlights the thought of Melanie Klein, who kept the Freud’s psychoanalysis but made her own independent theoretical framework. Klein, unlike Freud, emphasizes the role and importance of mothers in the gender identity formation process. All girls and boys experience primary femininity in the pre-oedipal stage because they have a strong attachment to their mother’s breasts. Between 6 months to 2 years, they disconnect with their mother’s breasts via a depressive position and go through sexualization when entering the Oedipus complex based on genital sexuality.