The term penis envy, coined by the father of modern psychology Sigmund Freud, may seem self-explanatory, but, often people are unaware of its full meaning.
First-year College student Becca Jackson, for example, said when she heard the term, she thought it had to do solely with men.
"I think it has to do with guys and feeling adequate with respect to their own penises and to other guys," Jackson said.
In reality, however, penis envy is a theory that Czech Austrian psychologist Freud developed about both genders in the modern world. Freud was concerned about the period in early childhood when people first become aware of the fact that there are two sexes in the world, Psychology Prof. Eric Turkheimer said.
That awareness is more and more prevalent today as the gender question sits at the forefront of college culture and even the political presidential race. Freud's sexual theories may be more relevant today than people realize.
"Freud is coming back," said Psychology Prof. George Barahal of Wayne State University. "In the 1950s, Freud was very popular. Recent studies show that very few schools of psychology are teaching Freud. We're realizing a lot of Freud's theories are still relevant."
Penis envy: what it's all about
While the theory of penis envy may be applicable to modern society, it is not exactly a scientific concept because there are no experiments or data to prove its accuracy or relevance, Turkheimer said.
"If we look at what it is now, it seems more like a philosophy than it does science," he said, adding that Freud developed the idea of penis envy "talking to neurotic people, mildly mentally ill people."
The basic idea that Freud was struggling with, Turkheimer said, was the relationship between people's sexual bodies and their mental and emotional problems. That relationship focuses on the question that is at the center of penis envy, according to Turkheimer: "Does the fact that men and women are different biologically mean that we are different psychologically?"
Where it all begins
Barahal said Freud's theory of psychosexual development begins in the first year of a human's life: the oral phase in psychosexual development.
During this phase, "a baby is cathected with the mother," Barahal said, meaning that the baby has invested emotional energy in its mother. "All the gratifications come through the mouth. The mother's breast is a source of oral gratification."
At this stage, Freud theorized, touch is very important.
Freud's second phase of life, which begins in the child's second year, is called the anal phase.
"During the second phase of life, a child is going through a lot of things," Barahal said. "A baby is trying to assert him or herself."
For example, during potty training, a baby is developing a sense of autonomy, Barhal added. "If a baby is not ready, he or she resists that."
Then, Freud theorized, during the ages three to six, some differences between males and females emerge.
"The little boy begins to realize that he has a penis," Barahal said. "The kids are experimenting. The little girl doesn't have a penis and she realizes it. This is where the concept of penis envy is developed."
Third-year College student Lauren Peters said when she was about three years old, she exhibited penis envy.
"My mom was the one who told me later that I had penis envy and what it was," Peters said. "I had a friend who was a boy and who had a penis and I wanted one. When we played outside, he could always go into the bushes and pee and I couldn't. So I told my mom I wanted to be a little boy."
Unfamiliar with the postulations of Freud, Peters said, her mother was afraid she had an identity crisis.
"She took me to the doctor and asked if it was a problem and if it was going to be something I needed to work out later in life," Peters said. "The doctors told her that a lot of girls at that age realize that boys have penises and girls don't, and that it is an extra appendage that they want to have because they don't have it."
'Maybe she lost it'
While girls may be wishing they possessed this appendage, younger boys respond to this realization in a different way.
"The little boy is afraid and wonders why his sister or the little girl next door doesn't have a penis," Barahal said. "Maybe she lost it, maybe she was bad."
He said this is the phallic phase, when the little boy is afraid he will lose his penis. Freud maintained this "castration anxiety" is coupled with the development of the Oedipus complex, his theory that every boy is competing with his father for his mother's attention, Barahal said.
Meanwhile, the little girl may develop the Electra complex, which is an attraction to her father. She competes with her mother for her father's attention. Barahal said, noting the idea of "Daddy's little girl" stems from this complex.
Sexual identity and societal implications
Freud's theory, Turkheimer said, coincided with the social structure of the Victorian era by which Freud was influenced, "when it was taken for granted that males held power in the world."
Thus, Barahal said, when people are talking about penis envy, they are talking about patriarchy.
"There was phallic worship in many societies," Barahal said. "Girls were second- and third-class citizens. So when we talk about penis envy, what Freud meant was the phallus symbol: the penis."
With penis envy, Freud was theorizing about the age when gender roles determined social status.
"The idea is that when children thought about what it was to be a man and a woman, they were thinking about why it was that a man was powerful and a woman was always nurturing," Turkheimer said.
"When girls discover they are girls, they think it must mean they are damaged in some way, that they lack this special equipment that endow men with their power."
Modern interpretations of Freud's theory
Peters said she sees subtle evidence of penis envy in today's world, though she no longer feels resentful about her lack of appendages.
Peters said penis envy could reflect a poor distribution of opportunity within society between the genders, but added "I don't feel like there is anything a man in this world could get that I couldn't."
She added that she does see reactions to penis envy in college life as well.
"All of penis envy is based around gender roles, and I do feel like there are certain things on Grounds that address this issue, like feminist organizations," Peters said.
Regardless of whether Freud will make a comeback in modern psychology, Turkheimer said, the question of gender at the bottom of the penis envy theory is critical to identity.
"If you think about it a little more generally, it all means that we only get to be one gender and the other gender is somewhat a permanent mystery to us," Turkheimer said. "There is a biological divide. This is a very profound thought to have as a person. Our gender is arguably one of the most important things in creating our identity"
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