Hi Everybody:
   I have been reading a fascinating book "The History of the Breast" by
Marilyn Yalom, 1997 Knopf. I don't always agree with the author's analyses,
but the book is chock full of useful and interesting information. On pages
152-153 is a marvelous satire that starts out "Had Freud been a woman, he
might have developed a breast-envy theory, instead of his penis-envy theory.
It might have sounded something like this..." and then she goes on to expound
on breast-envy. I can't post the whole thing, but the end paragraphs say a
lot.
     "Till the end of his days, the female breast will inspire in him both a
desire for ownership and a rage at his own shortcomings in not developing
breasts himself. The first sentiment usually translates into a need to touch
or suck women's breasts, and the bigger the better. The second sentiment
results in self-contempt, which is sometimes displaced into acts of violence
against women, with breasts specifically targeted for retaliation."
    "Even as a father, the adult male will be jealous of the baby at his
wife's breast. He will always see that child as an interloper in the place
that was originally his. Hence, the murderous wish he unconsciously holds
towards his own offspring, and the inevitability of conflict between the
generations. The desire for the breast must be seen as the foundation on which
all of civilization lies, with both Eros and Thanatos warring for its
possession."
   While this is a satire, there is something about it that does resonate!
Warmly,Nikki