An exploration of the developmental' process of feminine sexuality in women with special reference to the father-daughter relationship

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the developmental process of feminine sexuality in women with special reference to the father-daughter relationship. In this thesis the "feminine" is understood to be an intrinsic quality or value that is peculiar to women, it is the qualities that make her different from men. It is how she perceives her "femaleness" and how it influences her relating not only to herself but also to the wider world in which she finds herself. The father-daughter relationship is a very special relationship. The father is the first masculine figure in the young girl's life. The thesis explores how and why the father is so important for the girl during the different stages of her psychosexual development. An in-depth examination of the relevant aspects of the theories of Sigmund Freud and Melanie Klein are used in the discussion on the psychosexual development of the girl. The study employed an intensive qualitative analysis of the data collected from semi-structured interviews with nine women. The interviews were divided roughly into two parts. In the first part the women were asked to speak about their relationship with their fathers. The second part explored how they felt about their femininity and how they felt about themselves as women. Specific dynamics and qualities important to both parts of the interview were highlighted and explored. Content analysis was used as a method of data analysis. Themes that were common and significant across the interviews with the nine women were elicited. These main themes were then discussed with special reference to the literature previously explored. ln conclusion, these results seem to indicate that for the healthy development of a woman's feminine sexuality she must have experienced the value and desirability of her femininity (as well as the appreciation of the feminine in the mother and her culture) through the relationship with her father.