Psychodynamic Explanation of Gender Development Flashcards
How does Freud see pre-phallic children?
As having no concept of gender identity - they are neither masculine or feminine.
How does the Oedipus/Electra complex lead to a gender identity?
The crux of the theory is that both sexes identify with their same-sex parent as a means of resolving the complexes. Boys adopt the attitude and complex of the father, whilst girls adopt that of the mother. This involves taking on the gender identity - essentially achieving gender identity all at once at the end of the phallic stage.
What is the limitation - research does not support?
Freud’s theory suggests that sons of very punitive and harsh fathers should go on to develop a more robust sense of gender identity than other boys because higher levels of anxiety should produce stronger identification with the aggressor. However, it was found by Blakemore and Hill that the reverse is true - boys with more liberal fathers are more confident in their masculinity.
What is the limitation - inadequate account of female development?
Freud’s Electra complex is an androcentric assumption - that women want a penis and to be like men. Horney argues that womb envy from boys, the ability to nurture and sustain life is more potent - demonstrating that this theory doesn’t accurately explain gender development in females.
What is the limitation - non-nuclear families.
Susan Golombok theorised that a child raised in a lesbian or gay household with no one to identify with would remain genderless, according to Freud’s theory. However this is not true and an opposite sex parent can raise a child with adequate gender identity.
