Page - 6 - in Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Puberty and Adolescence - The Inner Worlds of Teenagers and their Parents

6 The body ego unification. However, Freud repeatedly emphasizes that this “partial instinct” (observation, exhibitionism, oral gratification, etc.) also plays an important role in foreplay and in enhancing the sexual act. 1.1 The body as an object of observation Changes in the female body One peculiarly adolescent phenomenon can be seen when a girl gazes at great length into the mirror, something that can go on for several hours a day, to parents’ astonishment. To the parents’ great surprise (and often enough, to their irritation), adolescent girls begin to spend considerable time in front of the mirror, examin- ing their changing bodies from all angles, trying on various clothes and posing in front of the mirror – apparently a more satisfying observer than the human eye – as if it were a camera. This mirror -gazing is often subsumed or concealed under the ostensible motives of skin and hair care, blow -drying, etc. Pimples and other blemishes are examined precisely, removed or examined yet again when they become inflamed. Groups of girls go to flea markets, buying clothes for rework- ing, hats and unusual accessories, which they often turn into surprisingly attrac- tive features. They apply makeup alone or in pairs. They photograph themselves or each other in various poses and facial expressions, then posting the pictures online. What motivations can be detected in these behaviors? The frequent com- plaint heard from parents, particularly fathers, is that their daughter has become vain, never tiring of her appearance. But from the psychoanalytic perspective, this accusation is too shortsighted. As discussed earlier, an adolescent’s physical growth, both desired or undesired, is always accompanied by considerable feel- ings of insecurity. The latency child’s unquestioning, carefree relationship to his well -functioning body is now disrupted. A new relationship, a new sense of the body, must now be discovered. But why do girls then observe themselves so long in the mirror? The neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine traces this behavior to hormonal changes in the female brain, describing the process as follows: The teen girl’s brain is sprouting, reorganizing and pruning neuronal cir- cuits that drive the way she thinks, feels and acts – and obsesses over her looks. Her brain is unfolding ancient instructions on how to be a woman . . . the high -octane estrogen coursing through their brain pathways fuels their obsessions. . . . They are almost exclusively interested in their appearance . . . they spend hours in front of the mirror, inspecting pores, plucking eyebrows, wishing the butts they see would shrink, their breasts grow larger and waists get smaller, all to attract boys. (Brizendine 2006, 31ff )