Penis envy

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For the Crass album, see Penis Envy (album).

Contents

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Definition

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In Popular Culture

Penis envy in popular culture is understood to mean women's psychological response to their lack of a penis. It is also sometimes ascribed to males in regard to others with a larger penis.

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In Freudian Theory

Introduced by Sigmund Freud in 1905, with the publication of Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality , penis envy was originally a term coined to describe the mental process he believed occurred in girls as they resolved the psychological conflict required to move from the phallic stage to the latency stage (see Freudian psychosexual stages, and Psychosexual development).

In Freud’s psychosexual development theory, the phallic stage (approximately between the ages of 3 and 5) is the first period of development in which the libidinal focus is primarily on the genital area. Prior to this stage, the libido (broadly defined by Freud as the primary motivating energy force within the mind) focuses on other physiological areas. For instance, in the oral stage, in the first 12 to 18 months of life, libidinal needs concentrate on the desire to eat, sleep, suck and bite. The theory suggests that the penis becomes the organ of principal interest to both sexes in the phallic stage. This becomes the catalyst for a series of pivotal events in psychosexual development, known as the Oedipal crisis for both sexes, or more specifically the Electra complex in girls.

For girls:

  • Soon after the libidinal shift to the penis, the child develops her first sexual impulses towards her mother.
  • The girl realizes that she is physically not equipped to have a sexual relationship with her mother, as she has a clitoris and vagina, rather than a penis.
  • She desires a penis, and the power that it represents. This is described as penis envy. She sees the solution as obtaining her father’s penis.
  • The girl blames her mother for her castration, assisting a shift in the focus of her sexual impulses from her mother to her father.
  • She develops a sexual desire for her father.
  • Sexual desire for her father leads to the desire to replace, and eliminate her mother.
  • The girl identifies with her mother so that she might learn to mimic her, and thus replace her.
  • The child anticipates that both aforementioned desires will incur punishment (by the principle of lex talionis)
  • The girl employs the defence mechanism of displacement to shift the object of her sexual desires from her father to men in general.

The offshoot of these events, often cited in the media and colloquially, is that a girl really wants to become her mother, so that she can control her father.

A similar process occurs in boys of the same age as they pass through the phallic stage of development. The key differences being that the focus of sexual impulses need not switch from mother to father, and that the fear of castration (castration anxiety) remains. The boy desires his mother, and identifies with his father, whom he sees as having the object of his sexual impulses. Furthermore, the boy’s father, being the powerful aggressor of the family unit, is sufficiently menacing that the boy employs the defence mechanism of displacement to shift the object of his sexual desires from his mother to women in general.

Freud thought this series of events occurred prior to the development of a wider sense of sexual identity, and was required for an individual to continue to enter into his or her gender role.

While fashionable for a number of decades, the concept of penis envy is no longer regarded as a serious one by most psychoanalysts.

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Criticisms of Freud’s Theory

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Criticisms within Psychoanalytical Circles

Although popular in the Victorian era in which the theory was initially floated, Freud’s theories regarding psychosexual development (in particular the phallic stage and the Oedipal crisis) have been largely superseded. Theories by other influential psychoanalysts, such as Erik Erikson and Jean Piaget are widely believed to be more broadly accurate and applicable to child psychological development. Having said this, Freud’s theory continues to be relevant in specific circumstances (and is of such historical significance) that it continues to find its way into psychiatric and psychological teachings.

More recent observational research has shown that there are a number of flaws in Freud’s theory:

  1. Although Freud’s theory of psychosexual development can be used to describe European culture in the early 20th century, it can often not be generalised to encompass other cultures (such as African or Polynesian cultures).
  2. It is normal that the development of a gender identity is a process which occurs over a number of years. Specifically, it does not occur with the resolution of the Oedipal crisis, if such a crisis even actually occurs.
  3. Penis envy is not normally the sole determinant of female gender identity; there are many other factors in the development of gender identity in both sexes. Neither is penis envy now thought to be commonly experienced.
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Feminist Criticisms

Historically, feminists have seen penis envy as a male construct; the result of a male-dominated patriarchy, with "penis envy" being applied as a label to women's frustration in response to blocked attempts to actively participate and exercise power in the public sphere. This response to oppression and social inequality was labelled "penis envy" by antifeminists and detractors of feminism. Although not true to the Freudian meaning of the term (which was not meant to be used in this wider socio-political context), this understanding of penis envy is partly simply the result of the inflammatory nature of Freud’s juxtaposition of “penis” with “envy”. Further than this though, feminist criticisms are directed at this theory which makes dated, early 20th century, European assumptions about gender roles.

While most people have rejected Freud's concept of penis envy, feminists in particular have generally dismissed psychoanalysis as a project of patriarchy. Karen Horney, a German psychoanalyst who also placed great emphasis on childhood experiences in psychological development, stated that Freud’s concept of penis envy was misogynistic. She asserted the concept of “womb envy” to challenge the idea of penis envy.

Feminists have initiated "vagina pride", or "pussy pride", partly popularized by The Vagina Monologues as a response to penis envy.

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Penis Envy in Males

While not the same kind of penis envy as that typically referred to in psychoanalysis, the word "penis envy" is also sometimes used to describe the envy of a male over another male's penis, especially if the other man is better endowed. Although this subconcious envy may solely be based on the misconception that a larger penis is universally more satisfying and appealing to a woman, other implications arise from the fact that a (large) penis has been seen in many cultures as a symbol of high masculinity, dominance and power. While this whole matter has probably been a part of human psychology for all time, recent developments have made the issue slightly more public in the western world.

The media attention given to penis size and some women being vocal in their opinions of penis size have led some men to state their jealousy of others with larger penises. Television shows such as Sex and the City and Ally McBeal popularised the penis size issue when characters in these TV shows stated their preference for well-endowed men over more modestly-endowed men.

In recent years, sales of penis pumps, pills, and other means of penis enlargement have increased. Surveys of women's actual preferences have consistently shown that penis size is only a priority for a minority of women, and many women dislike large penises. However, judging the importance of notable penis size over proper thrusting technique, for instance, many women agree that one will be of little benefit if the other is absent, meaning that proper technique may not make up for inadequately small size and vice versa.

The media has been criticized for making penis envy into a male body issue equivalent to women's weight (see Cosmopolitan Magazine).

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References

Freud, S. (1962) ‘’Three Essays of the Theory of Sexuality’’ New York: Avon Books, (Original work published 1905).

Kaplan , H., Sadock, B., and Grebb, J. (1994) ‘’Kaplan and Sadock’s Synopsis of Psychiatry’’ (7th ed.) Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins. ISBN 0-683-04530-X.

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External links

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See also

sk:Závisť penisu sv:Penisavund

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