The formation of gender identity

Abstract

The concept of 'gender identity' is a relatively new one. The roots of the term lie in Freud's libido theory, from which evolved the concept of psychosexual development. Here, the ego part of the personality which was conscious and mediated between the individual and his world, resulted from and expressed his psychosexual development. Historically, Sullivan and Fromm, with their views on selfdynamism and self, translated 'ego' into a living personality core, leading ultimately to the idea of identity, which Erickson (1959) developed, and then to the recognition that each person experiences himself as a chain of linked identities. This valuable concept is perhaps better expressed in the visual imagery of a 'cluster of identities, which, like our solar system, suggest globules revolving around a central core. That is, the totality can be considered the molecular or global identity. Some time back the author singled out feminine identity and maternal identity for consideration, pointing out that the latter is late-forming, but very significant in shaping the total self-concept (Shainess, 1965). From Erikson's 'chain-of-identities' and the 'molecular' concept evolved the term 'gender identity.' This term expresses what it means: a sense of being masculine, feminine-or some variant of this. Before further discussing gender identity, a brief case illustration