Freuds explanation of gender development

Question 1

What stage did he believe boys and girls acquire gender?

Answer 1

Phallic stage , Approx 3-5 years

Question 2

How do they acquire gender in the Phallic stage?

Answer 2

They identify with the same sex parent while experiencing the Oedipus/Electra complex

Question 3

What is the Oedipus complex?

Answer 3

• In the phallic stage
• young boy develops intense sexual love for his mother and because he sees his father as a rival he want rid of him
• The father is much bigger and more powerful so that the child develops a fear that his father will castrate him
• Its impossible to live with the castration threat and so the boy develops a defence mechanism called ‘identification with the aggressor’ were he stresses all the way that he is similar to his father adopting his fathers attitudes mannerisms and actions
• He feels if his father sees him as similar to him he will not be hostile

Question 4

What is the Electra complex?

Answer 4

-Girls start with the belief they have already been castrated because they don’t have a penis
-young girl blames her mother and transfers her desires to her father
-she realizes she cannot have a penis so changes her desires to have a baby with her father
-This puts her into conflict with her mother so she is fearful of losing her mothers love
-To resolve the conflict she identifies with her mother and internalises her gender behavior the same as the boy did with his father internalizing her mothers gender and moral code
Freud said that the girls fear of loosing the mothers love is less serious than the boys fear of castration and so the super ego does not develop to be as strong