A middle-aged male patient is described for whom the navel was a symbol of both passive and aggressive sexual strivings and a site for sadomasochistic fantasies. Historical material is presented to support the likely use of the navel in this way and to suggest its possible universality as a bisexual symbol. The patient's use of his own navel as a bisexual symbol allowed him to play both female and male sexual roles in fantasy. By means of projection upward, his navel became a phallic equivalent, but his navel also served as the focus of fantasies of being penetrated. The entire abdominal region had become eroticized in his own body and was the focus of his interest in the bodies of potential male sexual partners. The significance of the navel in the fantasy life of male patients may be more common than has been noted by clinicians.