Changes

[[Freud ]] first described the [[castration complex ]] in 1908, arguing that the [[child]], on discovering the anatomical difference between the sexes (the [[presence ]] or [[absence ]] of the [[penis]]), makes the assumption that this difference is due to the [[female]]'s [[penis ]] having been cut off.<ref>Freud, 1908c</ref>

The [[castration complex ]] is thus the moment when one infantile theory (everyone has a [[penis]]) is replaced by a new one (females [[female]]s have been castrated).

The consequences of this new infantile theory are different in the [[boy ]] and in the [[girl]].

The [[boy ]] fears that his own [[penis ]] will be cut off by the [[father]] ([[castration]] [[anxiety]]), while the [[girl ]] sees herself as already castrated (by the [[mother]]) and attempts to deny this or to compensate for it by seeking a [[child ]] as a substitute for the [[penis ]] ([[penis envy]]).