What is Penis Jealousy?

According to Freud; The sadness that people born as women experience when they see they can’t have a penis. penis envy. In short, our psychoanalyst says, “Women are jealous of men’s genitals.”

Even taking it even further, women express an opinion that “she has sexual relations with men just because of this jealousy”. In short, a woman to the penis This interpretation reveals the understanding of “he has sex to have sex”. Then let’s take a look at other details about this theory.

According to this theory, a woman must experience penis envy in order to develop her sexual identity.

Actually, Freud mentions that there is a phallic (genital period / 3-6 years old) period in which all children obsess about the penis and its absence. The theorist says that children (meaning girls) who experience this condition attached to the mother She says that she is angry with her mother because her masculinity has been taken away (castration). In a way, you can understand this as my reproach “Why didn’t you give birth to me as a boy?”

Sigmund Freud

Then these people; According to the psychoanalyst, to their fathers he begins to become obsessed and develops sexual desires for them. On the other hand, these individuals, who also need mother’s love, begin to be devoted to their mothers in order not to lose them. Afterwards, they imitate the femininity movements of their mothers and turn their desire for their father into a desire for other men.

In short from other men Let’s say they’re starting to like it. Another psychoanalyst, Carl Gustav Jung, interprets these descriptions of Freud as the Electra Complex (in the simplest form, girls are jealous of their mothers from their fathers). But what Freud meant by penis envy is very different.

In fact, penis envy starts with the desire to experience the advantages of having a penis.

Even Freud having children She says that even her desire and heterosexuality stem from this feeling. The psychoanalyst adds that this is why women especially desire to have a son.

With the development of modern psychology, many experts are beginning to criticize this theory of Freud.

For example, some accuse Freud of being obsolete and think that such theories are outdated. Researchers say that Freud took the idea that all women naturally desire a penis, and this is wrong. Because this idea your femininity however, it causes it to be accepted in a way that can exist with masculinity. Thus, this theory offers its readers a rather sexist point of view.

Other critics; He states that the psychoanalyst put forward this theory by focusing only on anatomy and sexuality, and does not take into account more psychosocial development processes such as the person’s sense of self. Let me briefly explain it to you as follows: That is, Freud, to biological sex They criticize that he focuses on sexual identity and therefore ignores the issue of sexual identity. For example, they say “the person may be a trans person, so biological sex should not be taken as a basis only”. In addition, according to many psychologists, penis envy is not a concept that can find a response in modern society.

As we just said, looking at this theory, only the gender that is born into it is taken into account, sexuality There is an approach that accepts only heterosexuality as normal. This is why experts do not find this theory valid in today’s world where gender diversity is more visible (LGBTI+).

Research on sexual identity 3 years old says it can be determined. This again refutes Freud’s theory because he states that it can be seen in women between the ages of 3-6. The only accepted idea of ​​penis envy today is that women are actually jealous of men’s status, not their penises.

For example, in a study on this subject, the dreams of women from 20 different cultures were examined. According to the results, the higher the social status of women, the less they have dreams that contain fantasies that may suggest penis envy. In short, this theory put forward by Freud was seen as a theory that could find a response in the traditional period, while today’s psychologists and psychotherapists are now only a part of it. metaphor He says it might.

Because in the patriarchal system, women are woman It is devalued and put in the background because it is However, nowadays, women are taking on a profile that becomes more individualized, conscious and reveals their own power more. Thus, at a time when women are starting to fight for the rights of women, it is meaningless to many theorists to evaluate them from the perspectives of penis envy.

In other words, as we said above, a woman who struggles for power however It is thought that she may exhibit jealousy towards men in terms of social position. So what do you think about this? You can explain your ideas in the comments.