The Dark Continent Revisited: An Examination of the Freudian View of the Female Orgasm

Freud's description of the state of knowledge about adult female sexuality remains only a little less true today. Some light has been shed on the continent; however, conflicting evidence and

theory have also served to obscure the territory. Freud, in his attempt to clear a pathway, may have unwittingly contributed to the confusion. Specifically, the issue of the so-called “clitoral versus vaginal orgasm” has long been debated both inside and outside psychoanalytic circles. Masters and Johnson (1966) and Kinsey et al. (1953) are among the most prominent sex researchers who have attempted to settle the dispute. Yet the controversy has continued to resurface, particularly at the interface of politics and the psychology of women (Greer, 1970).

Like many other facets of his theory,