The author suggests that all major psychoanalytic theories posit a universal, ungendered human mind that is subsequently gendered by developmental experiences. Thus, psychoanalysis has ignored built-in, innate differences between males and females. The concepts of distal versus proximal causes, and parental investment and sexual selection theory, along with some of the evidence for innate sex differences, are presented. An evolutionary understanding of gender is then applied to both psychoanalytic theory and practice. Contrary to postmodern reactions—suggesting that notions of innate factors or universals are essentially tools to enable those in a more powerful position (e.g., therapists) to impose controls and constraints on others—it is shown how a modern evolutionary understanding can actually enhance openness to a fuller range of human experience and possibility.