Psychodynamic explanations of gender

• Outline the psychodynamic explanation for gender?

  The psychodynamic explanations of gender development suggest that all children mature through the same 5 psychosexual stages - oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital, each characterised by a conflict. Freud proposed that children's perception of gender identity develops in the phallic stage, before which they were considered 'bisexual' because they did not identify with either gender. The Oedipus and Electra Complexes are the results of a child's attempt at resolving the phallic conflict.
• Outline the Oedipus complex in explaining gender

  The oedipus complex states that boys suffer from castration anxiety and so fear their father, but simultaneously despise their father for preventing their sexual desires towards their mothers. However, as the boy comes to terms with the fact that they would not be able to kill their father, they instead identify with him, internalising his behaviour and characteristics, through the process of internalisation. And their sexual desires are redirected onto girlfriends.
• Outline the electra complex in explaining gender?

  The electra complex states that girls suffer from penis envy and so despise their mother for not providing them with a penis and also for preventing their sexual desires towards their fathers. However, as the girl realises that they would not be able to kill their mother, they instead, identify with her, internalising her behaviour and characteristics, trough the process of internalisation. And there sexual desires are redacted into a desire for a baby.
• What are the strengths of psychodynamic explanations of gender?

  Supporting case study of little hans - Freud believed his phobia of horses was the result of the displacement (a defence mechanism) of castration anxiety from his father, onto the horse, and this provided the backbone for the theory

  
  

  Friedman - lab experiment asking 300 kids to finish stories. The children made up sadder endings when the story consisted of a mother joining halfway through a father-daughter activity or a father joining a mother-son activity. suggesting that children have more attraction to their opposite -sex parent.
• What are the weaknesses of the psychodynamic explanation for gender

  Horney has criticised the Electra Complex as suffering from androcentrism and gender bias, because it has assumed that girls have an innate predisposition to 'aspire' towards men, due to their penises

  
  

  Blakemore and Hill (2008) have demonstrated the opposite, where sons of more liberal fathers actually identify themselves as more masculine than those with strict fathers, which is not as predicted by Freud.