The castration complex is a concept developed by

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts in ...

, first presented in 1908, initially as part of his theorisation of the transition in early childhood development from the

polymorphous perversity Polymorphous perversity is a psychoanalytic concept proposing the ability to gain sexual gratification outside socially normative sexual behaviors. Sigmund Freud used this term to describe the sexual disposition from infancy to about age five. Fre ...

of infantile sexuality to the ‘infantile genital organisation’ which forms the basis for adult sexuality. The trauma induced by the child’s discovery of anatomical difference between the sexes (presence or absence of the penis) gives rise to the fantasy of female

emasculation Emasculation is the removal of both the penis and the testicles, the external male sex organs. It differs from castration, which is the removal of the testicles only, although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. The potential medical ...

or castration.

Phallic stage

According to Freud the early stages of the child’s

psychosexual development In Sigmund Freud, Freudian Ego psychology, psychology, psychosexual development is a central element of the Psychoanalysis, psychoanalytic Drive theory#Psychoanalysis, sexual drive theory. Freud believed that personality developed through a seri ...

are characterised by

and a bisexual disposition, and are the same for both sexes. Up to and including the

phallic stage In Freudian psychoanalysis, the phallic stage is the third stage of psychosexual development, spanning the ages of three to six years, wherein the infant's libido (desire) centers upon their genitalia as the erogenous zone. When children become ...

of this development the

penis A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males do no ...

and

clitoris The clitoris ( or ) is a female sex organ present in mammals, ostriches and a limited number of other animals. In humans, the visible portion – the glans – is at the front junction of the labia minora (inner lips), above the ope ...

are the leading

erogenous zones An erogenous zone (from Greek , ''érōs'' "love"; and English ''-genous'' "producing", from Greek , ''-genḗs'' "born") is an area of the human body that has heightened Sensitivity (human), sensitivity, the sexual stimulation, stimulation of w ...

. Once the castration complex is initiated with the child’s discovery and puzzlement over the anatomical difference between the sexes (presence or absence of the penis), it makes the assumption that this difference is due to the female's penis having been cut off or mutilated. The libidinal equivalence of penis/clitoris, based on the recognition by the child of only one genital organ, gives way to the fantasy that females have been castrated. This entails a legacy of

castration anxiety Castration anxiety is the fear of emasculation in both the literal and metaphorical sense. Castration anxiety is an overwhelming fear of damage to, or loss of, the penis—one of Sigmund Freud's earliest psychoanalytic theories. Although Freud ...

for the boy and

penis envy Penis envy (german: Penisneid) is a stage theorized by Sigmund Freud regarding female psychosexual development, in which young girls experience anxiety upon realization that they do not have a penis. Freud considered this realization a defining m ...

for the girl.

Oedipus Complex

Freud argued that the castration complex is closely linked to the

Oedipus Complex The Oedipus complex (also spelled Œdipus complex) is an idea in psychoanalytic theory. The complex is an ostensibly universal phase in the life of a young boy in which, to try to immediately satisfy basic desires, he unconsciously wishes to have ...

, especially with the its prohibitive and normative function. The structure and consequences of the castration complex are different in the boy and in the girl, terminating the

for the boy, initiating it for the girl. For the boy, anatomical difference (the possession of a penis), induces

as a result of an assumed paternal threat made in response to his sexual activities. In the case of the girl the absence of a penis is experienced as a deprivation, a wrong suffered which she attempts to deny, remedy or compensate for by seeking to have her own child. Accordingly the girl’s castration complex effects the redirection of her libidinal desires toward the father and away from the mother, whom she resents for depriving her of the penis, and the concomitant displacement of the

by the

vagina In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hymen ...

as the leading erogenous zone.

Primal phantasy

In his later work Freud includes the castration complex in the category of primal phantasies that are universal in their derivation from the

incest taboo An incest taboo is any cultural rule or norm that prohibits sexual relations between certain members of the same family, mainly between individuals related by blood. All human cultures have norms that exclude certain close relatives from th ...

, the necessary founding condition for all human social and cultural formations. As such they have their effects independently of the individual subject's specific cultural setting.

References

{{Reflist Freudian psychology