Envy gives a bad name to green

envy (verb) : wishing one had been born with an unfair advantage, instead of having to try and acquire one
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I actually wasn't sure whether envy rated as a part of psychology. I mean, is it an actual disorder or merely a feeling?

No matter - psychiatrists and psychologists embrace it as one of their own! From penis envy to womb envy to ordinary, dyed-in-the-wool envy, it's there in books, magazine articles and, of course, Dr. Freud (for whom penis envy was the female counterpart to male castration anxiety).

There's tidbits on how to channel your envy into something healthy -

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/body_and_soul/article3128821.ece

- but in the end, maybe it's just healthy to feel envious and wish that you had whatever you envy that someone else has (their life, partner, money, brains, looks, home, job, book deal, movie deal, blog, children, etc.). What the hey - when you're down and feeling sorry for yourself, go for it full on.

Then get your head out of your ass and make some changes in your life. (Remember those new year's resolutions?)

Female empowerment or just another anxiety? A postscript on castration anxiety

castration anxiety (noun) : 1. a male’s conscious or subconscious fear of losing all or part of the sex organs, or the function of such; 2. one reason why females aren’t getting laid
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A little further research on this ailment brought out another Freudian term - vagina dentata, or teeth "down there". Apparently Freud used it only to depict his idea of castration anxiety (but it does raise the question of whether Freud hated all women or just his mother).

See: http://psychology.about.com/od/sigmundfreud/p/freud_women.htm

At least one filmmaker, saw vagina dentata as an expression of female empowerment, in probably one of the worst date movies ever, Teeth. The trailer alone had me cringing.

This means that if guys have castration anxiety, then women have (or should have) fear of being the castrators (either to our partners or - worse - to our sons).

Just when I thought I was clear on this one.

Finally, an anxiety that I don't have!

castration anxiety (noun) : 1. a male’s conscious or subconscious fear of losing all or part of the sex organs, or the function of such; 2. one reason why females aren’t getting laid
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According to Freud, when the infant male becomes aware of differences between male and female genitalia, he assumes that the female's penis has been removed and becomes anxious that his penis will be cut off by his rival, the father figure, as punishment for desiring the mother figure. (Remember that Freud also believed that the sexual development of a male child results in him wanting to have sex with with the mother and, as a result, kill the father - the Oedipus complex.)

Castration anxiety also can refer to being castrated symbolically - the fear of being degraded, dominated or made insignificant, fearing the loss of virility.

Jeez! Here I thought it was a male’s fear of teeth during a blow job.