The genital stage in psychoanalysis is the term used by Sigmund Freud to describe the final stage of human psychosexual development. This stage begins at the start of puberty when sexual urges are once again awakened. Through the lessons learned during the previous stages, adolescents direct their sexual urges onto opposite sex peers, with the primary focus of pleasure of the genitals. The less energy the child has left invested in unresolved psychosexual developments, the greater his capacity will be to develop normal relationships with the opposite sex. If, however, he/she remains fixated, particularly on the phallic stage, his/her development will be troubled as he/she struggles with further repression and defenses.
Famous quotes containing the word stage:
“The Stage but echoes back the publick Voice.
The Drama’s Laws the Drama’s Patrons give,
For we that live to please, must please to live.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)