womb envy

in psychoanalytic theory, the envy felt by some men for the reproductive capacity of women, regarded as an unconscious motive that leads them to denigrate women. See also vagina envy. [proposed by Karen D. Horney]

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Psychology term of the day

January 26th 2025

sexually dimorphic nucleus

a nucleus of the central nervous system that differs in size between males and females. In humans, for example, a nucleus in the medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus that synthesizes gonadotropin-releasing hormone tends to be larger and more active in males than in females because gonadotropin release is continuous (it is cyclical in females). In songbirds whose males sing more than females, several brain nuclei associated with both song learning and song production are larger in males than in females.