The guest editors of this special issue on femininity were intrigued with how 'femininity' might be understood, and reading through the papers they were struck by a consistent theme: femininity is no longer seen to originate in, and to be defined by the relationship with man and 'lack'. This issue contains the following articles: 'Femininity and its unconscious 'shadows': gender and generative identity in the age of biotechnology' by Joan Raphael-Leff : 'Is our sexuality our own? A developmental model of sexuality based on early affect mirroring' by Mary Target : and 'New psychoanalytic theories of female and male femininity: the Oedipus complex, language and gender embodiment' by Marie Maguire and Hilary Dewing.