Womb envy
Womb envy, a term coined by Karen Horney, is the neo-Freudian feminist equivalent of penis envy. Horney suggests that it is the unexpressed anxiety felt by men, naturally envying pregnancy, nursing, and motherhood—of woman’s primary role in creating and sustaining life—that leads them to dominate women and drive themselves to succeed in order for their names to live on.[1] Horney claims that men experience womb envy more powerfully than women experience penis envy because "men need to disparage women more than women need to disparage men."[2]
Horney considers it likely that Womb envy is a psychosocial tendency, just as penis envy is, rather than a quality inherent in men.[1]
Vagina envy is a psychoanalytic concept that posits that men are envious of women having vaginas. It has been compared to penis envy in women.[3] Hendrik Ruitenbeek connects vagina envy to men's desire to be able to give birth or urinate in a different way. He writes that this envy can result in misogyny in neurotic people[3] Psychoanalyst Harold Tarpley differentiates vagina envy from breast and womb envy, in which men are envious of women's abilities to become pregnant or physically nurture children.[4]
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