Quote:
Originally posted by wilbjammin
Penis envy is better represented as admiration of the state of masculinity
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This is the right direction, but it has more to do with the percieved power of masculinity.
In almost all cultures, some to an even greater extent than our own, to have a penis (be a male) is percieved as the equivalent of possessing personal and cultural power. The penis can almost be a metaphor for a scepter, or an icon of power over others.
So the theory is that, on a very basic level, women envy the power of the penis.