Freudian Theory Of Psychosexuality

Sigmund Freud

Masculine and feminine traits are not sex based but more through the development of personality and the various traits we acquire are deemed masculine and feminine dependant on culture and other factors.

The psychologist Sigmund Freud develop a various theories but I think the one most relevant to want I am investigating is his psychosexual theory. This is based on the idea that personality develops through a series of stages during childhood and that libido is the driving force behind behaviour. If the stages are not completed properly a fixation occurs causing negative attributes. Each stage has a conflict that is resolved and it is the way that it is resolved that the childs personal traits are influenced by. The issue with frauds theory is that it is more more focused on male development and somewhat demeaning to females and also they were based on reflection of adults than studies on children. Erik Erikson was another psychologist who developed similar theories to Freud about personality development but his differed because his theory was based on the impact of social experiences over a lifetime rather than just childhood.  

    Basically what the psychologists are saying is that personality and gender are something that are partially in-built in to each human and are properly establish during the early years of life through interaction. However masculinity and femininity are taught traits driven by the social expectations of men and women. For example women were thought of for many years as the caregiver for children, meaning that ideal traits would be emotional warmth, compassion, caring, being good teachers and patience. These traits would be encouraged for young girls because the mother would want them to have these elements to make them in to good caregivers and therefore these traits would seen as feminine, however, men could also possess these elements.