Is Freud right? Do women really have peni* envy?

Question

please substitue 's' for '*' :-)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penis_envy

Answer 1

I don't think they do. I think there is something else that drives both sides in the "battle of the sexes." But, I'm sure that many men suffer penis envy. :)

Answer 2

Probably not, well not of the actual organ of the peni* anyway! Many psychoanalysts will argue that it is not the male organ itself that females envy, but the status of power and control that it is symbolic of (genitals being the most salient difference between men and women). Bearing in mind that Freuds theories are based in a time and culture where it really was a 'mans world' and women were often regarded as little more than mens possessions. It is highly likely that many women did envy men, and so in a sense, had peni* envy.
However, Freud himself also focused on the pleasure that a man could get from his organ and he believed that women were also envious of this. Again, this relates back to a time when sex was for reproduction and pleasuring men, women who had an open sexuality were frowned upon so the aspect of womens sexual pleasure was not looked at. Infact it is now widely known that women do get immense pleasure from sex (whether on their own or with a partner!) and it is also known that the clitoris is even more sensitive than a mans organ! So again the historical context of Freuds beliefs may make us looks at peni* envy differently now.
Finally, a more recent psychoanalyst known as Karen Horney (:-) yes that really is her name!) believes that men suffer from 'womb envy'-a strong feeling of jealousy that women can create, carry, give birth to and breastfeed a child, something no man has ever done. Karen Horney developed this idea through interviews with her male clients, many of whom she said were openly envious that women could do all of these things and they could not.
On the whole, it may have been that Freud was accurate for his time, but that cultural and historical changes make his ideas less applicable today. There is no proof that pure and simple jealousy of the male organ exists in all women (yet Karen Horney DOES have evidence of her 'womb envy' in many men!) so taking a different perspective on these things can be very interesting!
All the best!

Answer 3

I believe Freud was wrong about a lot of things. He had too much time on his hands and sat around thinking about things way too much. Either that or Freud was twisted in his own head and assumed everyone else was as well. Seriously, take the Oedippus Complex. Can you seriously tell me every boy wants to bang his mom?! Give me a break. I'm sticking with Freud as a nut job.

Answer 4

Everyone has a different say on Freud's theories as in any person's theories. I myself do agree with him. I have seen a lot of people acting in ways that would make him right. For example females who grow up around a lot of males like brothers maybe only a father lots of relatives and neighbors. Tend to have the envy. A lot of kids in the city where they can wonder and see bad examples of the conclusions of this almost always have it compared to people in areas with less of that. I myself do not, it really does depend on the person and their personality.

Answer 5

I can honestly say that the only thing I would ever be slightly envious of, is that it must be kinda fun to pee standing up. And writing your name in the snow looks kinda cool.

Other than that I can't see any benefit. As a teenager I didn't have to worry about inappropriate and uncontrolled timing. I don't wake up to a tent in the morning and have to get out of bed hunched over. I can have dirty thoughts in public and no-one ever knows!!!

Freud was wrong I'm afraid...

Answer 6

no, i think its the other way around. freud's conclusions were drawn at a time when society perpetuated the marginilization of women and their roles etc. Even other women helped to maintain this false idea that men are the stronger sex. It has been scientifically proven in many ways that we as women outlive guys (we get cheaper life insurance as a result) we get fewer degenerative diseases, our survival rate at birth is higher than in boys, we reach puberty quicker, we mature quicker and we excel better at school than males. No, i'm not a lesbian, I'm an educated individual who did a thesis on gender roles in society.
some people did indeed conclude that freud was obsessed by sex and furthermore he oversimplified alot of concepts which might otherwise have been a valid starting point in a society where more information was readily available than was at his disposition at that time...

Answer 7

No. With all due respect for Freud and his insights into the human psyche in this instance he was wrong. The only people who "suffer" from penis envy are men.

Answer 8

I guess the fact that some women are eager to show that they are as capable as men is a form of penis envy. Otherwise I know a lot of woman, who don't need to push off men in order to have self esteem.

Answer 9

When we studied Freud at college last year, most of us concluded that he must have been a pervert seeking to explain his weird fantasies. If he could say that young girls fancied their Dads and that they fantasised about having willies and sex while still too young to know what such things were intended for, then he opened up a door to a whole new 'legitimate' way of playing out his desires. He could excuse his perversions with pyschosexual nonsense. So to answer your question, no I don't think he was right. Most of his work has been discredited now anyway.

Answer 10

Freud's electra complex theory only came about in the first place because most of his supporters were women and they wanted to know if boys have the oedipus thing going on, what about girls?

He made it up just to shut them up in my opinion.

Answer 11

Yes sometimes, because males can easier urinate under uncommon conditions.Women express it sometimes when make water far from toilets.There are no other reason for envy because of their social life's position women are so and so superior to men.