Castration anxiety
[2] In Freud's theory, it is the child's perception of anatomical difference (the possession of a penis) that induces castration anxiety as a result of an assumed paternal threat made in response to their sexual proclivities.
[3] In the literal sense, castration anxiety refers to a child's fear of having their genitalia disfigured or removed as punishment for Oedipal desire.
[4] In Freudian psychoanalysis, castration anxiety (Kastrationsangst) refers to an unconscious fear of penile loss that originates during the phallic stage of psychosexual development and continues into adulthood.
In the metaphorical sense, castration anxiety refers to the idea of feeling or being insignificant; there is a need to keep one's self from being dominated; whether it be socially or in a relationship.
[9][10] This view was shared by others in the psychoanalytic community, such as Wilhelm Reich, Hermann Nunberg, and Jacques Lacan, who stated that there is "nothing less castrating than circumcision!
"[11][12] Themes central to castration anxiety that feature prominently in circumcision include pain,[11] fear,[11] loss of control (with the child's forced restraint,[9] and in the psychological effects of the event, which may include sensation seeking, and lower emotional stability[13]) and the perception that the event is a form of punishment.
[15] A study of the procedure without anaesthesia on children in Turkey found 'each child looked at his penis immediately after the circumcision 'as if to make sure that all was not cut off'.
[9] Another study of 60 males subject to communal circumcision ceremonies in Turkey found that 21.5% of them "remembered that they were specifically afraid that their penis might or would be cut off entirely," while 'specific fears of castration' occurred in 28% of the village-reared men.
[11] Psychoanalytic interpretation of Biblical stories shows themes of castration anxiety present in Judaic mythology concerning circumcision.
[18] The figure of Judith, depicted both as "a type of the praying Virgin... who tramples Satan and harrows Hell," and also as "seducer-assassin" archetypically reflects the dichotomous themes presented by castration anxiety and circumcision: sexual purity, chastity, violence, and eroticism.
[8] The experimenters aimed to demonstrate that in the absence of a particular stimulus, men who were severely threatened with castration, as children, might experience long-lasting anxiety.
[8] The researchers concluded that individuals who are in excellent health and who have never experienced any serious accident or illness may be obsessed by gruesome and relentless fears of dying or of being killed.
