Feminine psychology or the psychology of women is an approach that focuses on social, economic, and political issues confronting women all throughout their lives. It emerged as a reaction to male-dominated developmental theories such as Sigmund Freud's view of female sexuality. The original work of Karen Horney argued that male realities cannot describe female psychology or define their gender because they are not informed by girls' or women's experiences. Theorists claimed this new feminist approach was required, and that women's social existence was crucial in understanding their psychology. It is suggested in Dr. Carol Gilligan's research that some characteristics of female psychology emerge to comply with the given social order defined by men and not necessarily because it is the nature of their gender or psychology. Horney's theory The "feminine psychology" approach is often attributed to the pioneering work of Karen Horney, a psychologist from the late 19th century. She contradicted Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory, arguing that it is male-dominated and, therefore, harbored biases and phallocentric views. Horney claimed that for this reason, Freud's theory cannot describe femininity because it is informed by male reality and not by actual female experience. An example of this is Freud's proposition that the female personality tends to exhibit penis envy, whereby a girl interprets her failure to possess a penis as a punishment for wrongdoing and later blames her mother. As Freud stated, "she has seen it and knows that she is without it and wants to have it." Horney argued that it is not penis envy but basic anxiety, hostility, and anger towards the opposite-sex parent, whom she views as competition for the affection of the same-sex parent, and thus views her as a direct threat to her safety and security. She believed as part of her feminine psychology theory, that this aspect should be resolved based on interpersonal dynamics (e.g. differences in social power) rather than sexual dynamics. Horney countered the Freudian concept: she deconstructed penis envy and described it as nothing more than women wanting to express their own natural needs for success and the security that is characteristic of both sexes. There is an analogy that describes Horney's feminine psychology as optimistic of the world and life affirmation in comparison with Freud's pessimism oriented towards world and life negation. Motherhood vs. Career One dynamic outlined by feminine psychologists is the balancing act between more traditional roles of motherhood and