Female homosexuality: Classical psychoanalytic theory reconsidered

The psychoanalytic theory of female homosexuality occupies an unusual position in modern psychoanalytic thought because it continues to be influenced by models of the mind that have largely been discarded in other areas of psychoanalytic psychology. Psychoanalytic ideas regarding female homosexuality are considered here from an historical perspective. It is suggested that modern psychoanalytic theory about sexual orientation in women must include recent contributions on the psychological development of women, the psychoanalytic psychology of male homosexuality, and relevant extraanalytic observations.