Feminist Psychoanalyst: Karen Horney

Karen Horney, known by this name, was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1885. She was the daughter of a devout father who believed in male superiority and an educated, liberal mother. Being born female caused Karen to be marginalized by her father, who favored her brother as the family's favorite. From a young age, Karen had to struggle with her surroundings, particularly her father, to prove herself and assert her existence. She was labeled a rebellious woman and struggled with feelings of inferiority and inadequacy due to her father's belittling of her intelligence and appearance. Her fight against the male-dominated system began at the age of 12, when she vowed to excel in school and pursue a medical degree. She fulfilled this vow by studying medicine in Berlin and married Oskar Horney in 1909. She graduated as a doctor in 1911. After some years of practicing medicine, she developed an interest in psychoanalysis and worked with Karl Abraham, a student and friend of Freud, from whom she received analytical training. Due to Nazi pressures, she moved to the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute in 1932 to continue her work in America. Horney made significant contributions to psychoanalysis, introducing new concepts and important theories. Her personal experiences and feelings led her to focus on gender roles, women's rights, and feminist perspectives in her theories. She opposed Freud's views and developed new concepts to advocate for the development and rights of women. Despite being expelled from the New York Psychoanalytic Institute for opposing Freud and classical psychoanalysis, Horney continued her fight against patriarchal ideologies and male-dominated psychoanalysts until her death.

Theory:

Although Horney generally adhered to psychoanalysis, she initially expressed her objections to Freud’s views on female psychology after reading Freud's theories. For instance, she introduced the concept of "womb envy" in contrast to Freud’s concept of "penis envy." She proposed that men envied women's ability to give birth and nurture, and thus attempted to alleviate this envy by succeeding in other areas and belittling women.

One of Horney’s most significant contributions to psychology was her perspective on female psychology. Her experiences during childhood and being one of the few female psychoanalysts of her time led her to focus on female psychology. She argued that society feared and harbored resentment towards women, leading to their marginalization and dependence on men. Horney believed that, contrary to Freud's views, culture played a more significant role than instincts and biology in shaping human psychology, with socio-cultural factors shaping neuroses. She posited that cultures define what is considered normal and thereby shape neuroses.

Neurosis:

Horney introduced new concepts in defining neurosis. She believed that children develop basic hostility towards parents who fail to meet their fundamental needs for love and security, which then generates fundamental anxiety. She listed ten neurotic needs:

1. Neurotic need for affection and approval
2. Need for a strong partner to assume life's responsibilities
3. Need to confine life within narrow boundaries
4. Neurotic need for power
5. Need to exploit and take advantage of others
6. Need for social recognition
7. Need for personal admiration
8. Need for personal success
9. Need for self-sufficiency and independence
10. Need for perfection and infallibility

Later, Horney categorized these ten needs into three groups:

1. Moving towards people
2. Moving away from people
3. Moving against people

She referred to these three tendencies as neurotic tendencies. She argued that individuals adopt one of these three paths to cope with their fundamental anxiety, but neurotic individuals cling to only one path rigidly.

Idealized Self-Image and Glory Seeking:

Factors that prevent individuals from realizing their true selves lead to self-alienation. An alienated individual seeks something to feel better about themselves, which is an idealized self-image. The pursuit of this idealized self-image is termed "glory seeking."

In summary, Karen Horney fought for women's place in society from her childhood, making her mark as a significant feminist psychologist despite conflicts with and disdain from her peers. Her concepts such as fundamental anxiety and self-realization have also inspired other notable theorists like Erikson and Maslow, establishing her a prominent place in psychology.