Phallic Stage - Feminist

Feminist

Regarding the phallic-stage psychosexual development of girls, as a psychologist, Sigmund Freud believed it developmentally natural for a girl to center her libido (desire) upon her pudendum, especially the clitoris as her primary erogenous zone. He further proposed that upon reaching adulthood (sexual maturity), the vagina then became a woman’s primary erogenous zone. Nonetheless, Freud’s successors criticise the phallic stage theoretical constructs, because their logic presents women who are vaginally—and clitorally—orgasmic, as psychosexually immature.

Contemporaneously, Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual development theory is criticized as sexist, because it was informed with his introspection (self-analysis). To integrate the female libido (sexual desire) to psychosexual development, he proposed that girls develop “penis envy”. In response, the German Neo-Freudian psychoanalyst Karen Horney, counter-proposed that girls instead develop “Power envy”, rather than penis envy. She further proposed the concept of “womb and vagina envy”, the male’s envy of the female ability to bear children; yet, contemporary formulations further develop said envy from the biologic (child-bearing) to the psychologic (nurturance), envy of women’s perceived right to be the kind parent.