Literal
Castration anxiety is the conscious or unconscious fear of losing all or part of the sex organs, or the function of such.
In Freudian psychoanalysis, castration anxiety (Kastrationsangst) refers to an unconscious fear of penile loss originating during the phallic stage of sexual development and lasting a lifetime. According to Freud, when the infantile male becomes aware of differences between male and female genitalia he assumes that the female's penis has been removed and becomes anxious that his penis will be cut off by his rival, the father figure, as punishment for desiring the mother figure.
In 19th century Europe it was not unheard of for parents to threaten their misbehaving sons with castration or otherwise threaten their genitals. This theme is explored in the story Tupik by French writer Michel Tournier in his collection of stories entitled Le Coq de Bruyère (1978) and is a phenomenon Freud documents several times. In same period, Dr. Kellogg and others in America and English speaking countries offered to Victorian parents circumcision and in grave instances, castration of their boys and girls as a terminal cure and punishment for a wide variety of misbehaviours and ills, becoming very popular over time.
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