The Development Of Gender Roles

Beale gives us revealing overview of Freud's personality theory. Beale point out both strengths

and weaknesses of his answer to the questions of "Why" and "How" in gender

development, but still leaves a chance for a reader to make up her/his own mind

about whether or not to accept Freud's theory. It is relatively easy, however,

to find oneself torn between openheartedly going along with Freud's idea about

the existence of a dynamic system (or libido) in us, and reacting against the

ease and assurance with which Freud writes about castration fear in boys and

penis envy in girls.

Freud's view of personality as a dynamic system of psychological energy

is a very complex, yet insightful approach to the development of personality.

The nature of the id, ego, and superego, and the psychosexual stages that these

three structures focus on during a course of one's development, give a plethora

of reasons to believe in the existence of a critical period in gender

development. Freud's theory suggests that the way in which the id, ego, and

superego evolve and the way in which they proliferate in the first six years of

a child's life will influence the child's emotional attachment to her/his parent

of the same sex and, as consequence, the child's gender identification.

I would agree with Freud's statement that children undergo a certain

emotional crisis after becoming aware of their genitals. It must be somewhat

frustrating for, e.g., a three year-old to realize that reaching a pleasurable

emotional state does not necessarily have to originate from her/his mother.

Unable to cognitively create an explanation to a new, unexpected flow of

circumstances and feelings, the child is most likely to end up confused. This

confusion will inevitably provoke anxiety, and the anxiety will build up an

emotional tension.

However, I would dare to argue at this point that the reason for a child

to seek identification with one of the parents might come not from castration

fear in boys or penis envy in girls, but rather from the child's belief that the

person of the same sex (father for boys and mother for girls) will know how to

protect them from the tension. If we perceive male and female infants' cognitive

development to have the same starting point, then it is find to accept that boys

and girls will react so very differently (according to Freud) to the awareness

of their own genitals. If boys have reason to fear castration, why would girls

not fear penis "implantation," instead of envy (as Freud proposes)? I am not

questioning in this paper whether girls and boys go through an emotional crisis