Discussion

The only thing more common than a blind admiration for Freud seems to be an equally
blind hatred for him. Certainly, the proper attitude lies somewhere in between.
Let's start by exploring some of the apparent flaws in his theory.
The least popular part of Freud's theory is the Oedipal complex and the associated
ideas of castration anxiety and penis envy. What is the reality behind these
concepts? It is true that some children are very attached to their opposite sex
parent, and very competitive with their same-sex parent. It is true that some boys
worry about the differences between boys and girls, and fear that someone may cut
their penis off. It is true that some girls likewise are concerned, and wish they
had a penis. And it is true that some of these children retain these affections,
fears, and aspirations into adulthood.
Most personality theorists, however, consider these examples aberrations rather
than universals, exceptions
rather than rules. They occur in families that aren't working as well as they
should, where parents are
unhappy with each other, use their children against each other. They occur in
families where parents literally
denigrate girls for their supposed lack, and talk about cutting off the penises of
unruly boys. They occur
especially in neighborhoods where correct information on even he simplest sexual
facts is not forthcoming,
and children learn mistaken ideas from other children.
If we view the Oedipal crisis, castration anxiety, and penis envy in a more
metaphoric and less literal fashion, they are useful concepts: We do love our
mothers and fathers as well as compete with them. Children probably do learn the
standard heterosexual behavior patterns by imitating the same-sex parent and
practicing on the opposite-sex parent. In a male-dominated society, having a penis
– being male – is better than not, and losing one's status as a male is scary. And
wanting the privileges of the male, rather than the
male organ, is a reasonable thing to expect in a girl with aspirations. But Freud
did not mean for us to take
these concepts metaphorically. Some of his followers, however, did.
Sexuality
A more general criticism of Freud's theory is its emphasis on sexuality.
Everything, both good and bad,
seems to stem from the expression or repression of the sex drive. Many people
question that, and wonder if there are any other forces at work. Freud himself
later added the death instinct, but that proved to be another
one of his less popular ideas.
First let me point out that, in fact, a great deal of our activities are in some
fashion motivated by sex. If you
take a good hard look at our modern society, you will find that most advertising
uses sexual images, that movies and television programs often don't sell well if
they don't include some titillation, that the fashion
industry is based on a continual game of sexual hide-and-seek, and that we all
spend a considerable portion
of every day playing "the mating game." Yet we still don't feel that all life is
sexual.
But Freud's emphasis on sexuality was not based on the great amount of obvious
sexuality in his society – it was based on the intense avoidance of sexuality,
especially among the middle and upper classes, and most especially among women.
What we too easily forget is that the world has changed rather dramatically over
the last hundred years. We forget that doctors and ministers recommended strong
punishment for
masturbation, that "leg" was a dirty word, that a woman who felt sexual desire was
automatically considered a potential prostitute, that a bride was often taken
completely by surprise by the events of the wedding night, and could well faint at
the thought.
It is to Freud's credit that he managed to rise above his culture's sexual
attitudes. Even his mentor Breuer and
the brilliant Charcot couldn't fully acknowledge the sexual nature of their
clients' problems. Freud's mistake
was more a matter of generalizing too far, and not taking cultural change into
account. It is ironic that much
of the cultural change in sexual attitudes was in fact due to Freud's work!