Recent investigations of gender are fostering structurally deterministic explanations by focusing exclusively on social processes. A balanced understanding of femininity involves considering psychic forces in conjunction with social factors. An interpretation of Freud currently being articulated in Europe delineates unconscious forces fruitfully viewed as interacting with environmentally given attitudes. A summary of the new perspective highlights cultural aspects of Oedipal processes. As individuals enter the world outside the home, early insights filter social influences impinging upon them. Conversely, structural conditions can undermine women's inward acceptance of secondary status. Non-familial social organization and exclusion from the larger society are instrumental in this. (Author)