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What is the Electra Complex?
Described as the distaff version of Sigmund Freud ’s Oedipus coordination compound , the Electra composite orbit around a girl , aged between 3 to 6 years , who becomes subconsciously sexually tie to her father , and unfriendly towards the mother . The theory was spring up by Carl Jung in 1913 .
The base of this theory was presented by Sigmund Freud , whose Oedipus complex hypothesis built on the theory that a young girl subconsciously starts to compete with her mother for commence the sexual attention of her father . However , Freud ’s contemporary , Carl Jung , named this situation the ‘ Electra Complex ” in 1913 .
The Electra building complex , similar to the Oedipus complex , is also named after a Greek myth , where Electra was the daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra of Mycenae . When Queen Clytemnestra , together with her lover , kill Agamemnon , Electra , their daughter , persuade her brother to help her down both her female parent and her female parent ’s lover.(1 )
As per the hypothesis , all people go through various stages of psychosexual development during their puerility . One of the most crucial stage in this development is known as the ‘ phallic stage ’ , which happens between the ages of 3 to 6 years . As per Sigmund Freud , this is the age during which both son and girls become obsessed with the penis . While girl obsess on their deficiency of a phallus and therefore , on their clitoris , boys are fixate on the penis .
When it come to the psychosexual development of girls , Freud theorize that girls continue attached to their mother until she comes to realise that she does not have a penis . This causes the girl to develop a gall towards her female parent as she starts to conceive the female parent has ‘ castrated ’ her . This situation is refer to as ‘ penis envy’.(2 )
Due to this , the fille break a greater attachment to her father . As meter move on , the daughter start to identify more strongly with the mother and also start to emulate the female parent ’s deportment in fear that she will lose her mother ’s love . This is denote to as ‘ feminine Oedipus attitude ’ .
This is perceived to be an authoritative level in the growth of a untested little girl , harmonize to Freud , as it is supposed to chair her to infer her own sexuality and also accept gender role . Sigmund Freud further proposed that this feminine Oedipus attitude is more emotionally acute than the Oedipus complex in boys , and this is why it was repressed more raspingly by female child , at last leading to fair sex becoming less self - surefooted and more subservient .
This possibility was further expand by Carl Jung , who tag it as the ‘ Electra Complex ’ . However , Freud winnow out Jung ’s label , claiming that it was an attack to analogize his Oedipus coordination compound happen between the grammatical gender .
How Does The Electra Complex Work?
At the starting , a girl remains attached to her mother , and then , over a flow of time , she comes to the fruition that she does not have a penis and starts to experience penis envy , blame her female parent for this ‘ emasculation ’ .
Due to the fact that she want to sexually possess a parent and she can not do so with her mother without having a penis , her aid turn towards her don instead . At this developmental stage , she jump to rise a subconscious intimate desire for her Fatherhood . At the same time , she turn unfriendly towards the mother , becoming more and more fixated on her forefather . She might also push away her mother and protrude to focus completely on her sire or else .
Over a period of time of time , as she grows up , she starts to realise that her mother ’s love is also equally of import , so she starts becoming attached to her female parent once again , and starts emulating her mother ’s activeness and discover about traditional sex roles . During puberty again , she starts becoming attract to men who are not connect to her .
Some adults , according to Jung , can fall back to the priapic form , while some never really develop out of the priapic phase , leaving them with sexual feelings towards their parent .
Is There Any Truth Behind The Electra Complex?
With forward motion in psychology , now the Electra complex is no longer widely accepted or believed to be genuine . As with many of the theories put forth by Freud , the feminine Oedipus mental attitude complex along with the theory of ‘ penis envy ’ is today wide criticized and lower upon . There is , in fact , very little datum available that supports the theory of the Electra complex . There is also no official diagnosing even for the Electra complex nowadays in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM-5)(3 ) .
Overall as well , the very concept of ‘ penis invidia ’ has been extremely criticize as being exceedingly sexist and both the Electra and the Oedipus complexes are also criticized as being heteronormative because it implies that a tyke needs two parents ( a female parent and a father ) to develop properly.(4 )
While it is possible for new girls to become sexually attracted to their fathers , it is not a universal possibility as proposed by both Freud and Jung .
Conclusion
The Electra complex has been discredited in recent years and most psychologist do not even think this to be real . It has today simply been render to a hypothesis that is frowned upon today . If you have any concerns about your child ’s intimate or genial development , look up a child psychologist would be the best way to go about . They will be the correct person to direct you in a way that will avail your concerns .
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