Phallic stage

The Phallic stage, in Sigmund Freud's theory of psychosexual development, is the third stage of child development, occurring between the ages of 3 and 6. The source of pleasure at this stage is the genitals. This is also the stage, Freud believed, at which the arises, in which boys find themselves being sexually attracted to their mother. The term "Oedipus complex" derives from the Greek legend of Oedipus.

The Oedipus complex stands for the idea that a son becomes jealous and afraid of his father. He may take on the father's traits, and strive to be like him in order to receive the mother's attention. The equivalent in girls, called the Electra complex, was termed subsequently, not by Freud himself who disagreed with the theory that girls went through the same process.. Here girls are thought to be in competition with their mother for their father's attention.

Many boys and girls in this stage are believed to try to place themselves between their parents in order to keep one parent away from the other so that they get all of the attention. Boys may also develop a castration complex in this stage. Girls at this stage are said to develop penis envy.

Freud thought the phallic stage brought conflicting feelings of guilt over their secret sexual desires and their fear of punishment for these feelings, dealt with by repressing these feelings and identifying with the same-sex parent instead, known as "identification with the aggressor". The Oedipal conflict is resolved if the child grows into a sexually normal adult, otherwise the child will experience sexual deviances such as promiscuity, extreme sexual inhibition or sexual confusion. The development of the superego can help resolve the conflict by integrating moral and social values and expectations about their roles as a male or female.

Female sexuality and criticism of Freud's theories

Freud believed that it was natural for female children in this stage to focus on the clitoris as their primary organ for sexual pleasure. He believed that upon reaching adulthood and sexual maturity, a female's primary sexual focus shifts to the vagina. There is considerable criticism regarding this theory, as it portrays adult women who continue to enjoy and/or have an orgasm from clitoral stimulation as having not reached full sexual maturity.

See also

• Psychosexual development
  • Oral stage
  • Anal stage
  • Latency stage
  • Genital stage