In Freudian psychoanalysis, the term oral stage denotes the first psychosexual development stage where in the mouth of the infant is his or her primary erogenous zone. Spanning the life period from birth to the age of 21 months, the oral stage is the first of the five Freudian psychosexual development stages: (i) the Oral, (ii) the Anal, (iii) the Phallic, (iv) the Latent, and (v) the Genital. Moreover, because it is the infant’s first human relationship — biological (nutritive) and psychological (emotional) — its duration depends upon the child-rearing mores of the mother’s society. Sociologically, the duration of infantile nursing is determined normatively, because the oral stage is especially important in societies that consider the stomach to be the seat of the emotions, as among some African and south-west Pacific Ocean societies that perceive the oral stage as medicinal.
Read more about Oral Stage: Oral-stage Fixation, Criticism
Famous quotes containing the words oral and/or stage:
“After I discovered the real life of mothers bore little resemblance to the plot outlined in most of the books and articles I’d read, I started relying on the expert advice of other mothers—especially those with sons a few years older than mine. This great body of knowledge is essentially an oral history, because anyone engaged in motherhood on a daily basis has no time to write an advice book about it.”
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)
“Harvey: Oh, you kids these days, I’m telling you. You think the only relationship a man and a woman can have is a romantic one.
Gil: That sure is what we think. You got something better?
Harvey: Oh, romance is very nice. A good thing for youngsters like you, but Helene and I have found something we think is more appropriate to our stage of life—companionship.
Gil: Companionship? I’ve got a flea-bitten old hound at home who’ll give me that.”
—Tom Waldman (d. 1985)