Body image: Gender, race, culture

This essay argues that ubiquitous cultural influences, visual imagery in particular, profoundly influence young children's mental constructions of their bodies and that the artifacts given to them are often confusing and constricting in that, frequently, they unconsciously reify prejudicial stereotypes about gender and race. One example, a picture book, is analyzed in detail, and a plea is made for more careful attention on the part of psychoanalysts to the impact of cultural milieu on the development of psychic life.