— Sigmund FreudCommonly attributed; Freud used the phrase in 1924 in an essay on the psychical consequences of anatomical sex differences, after the phrase circulated from Napoleon
Commentary
Freud's phrase is often quoted as a biological determinism, but he used it in a more qualified way, arguing that anatomical differences shape psychological development. Modern readers should treat the line as a provocation that later feminist critics attacked, not as a settled view.
Commentary
Freud's phrase is often quoted as a biological determinism, but he used it in a more qualified way, arguing that anatomical differences shape psychological development. Modern readers should treat the line as a provocation that later feminist critics attacked, not as a settled view.