According to the childish view of sexuality, everyone has a penis. Faced with an anatomical difference between the sexes, the boy explains it by castration, which is carried out by his father as a punishment for sexual activity. As a result, he develops a fear of being castrated. The girl, on the other hand, feels rather a lack of a penis, explaining this by injustice.
Story
Purpose: determine if the child is having problems with the development of sexuality. A more specific goal: to reveal his relation to the castration complex.
“One boy had a baby elephant, very nice, with a pretty proboscis. One day he entered the room and saw that something had changed in the baby elephant. What has changed and why?
Typical normal responses
— Elephant dyed a different color;
— The baby elephant grew up and became big;
— Elephant peed in bed;
— He left because he wanted to take a walk;
“He injured his leg, and they made him a cast, etc.
Answers to look out for
— The baby elephant does not have a trunk, because it was cut off;
— The baby elephant behaved badly, so his trunk fell off;
— The trunk bothers him, and he does not know what to do;
— The baby elephant died;
— Instead of an elephant, there was another animal, etc.
- It is recommended to ask clarifying questions so that the child explains the ending of the story he invented, tells what the bad behavior of the baby elephant is, why he was punished, who could offend the baby elephant or the child himself, etc.
Psychologist’s comments
Each child at a certain period begins to play with his genitals. During this period, his desire is aimed at studying the differences between the sexes. He gladly demonstrates his genitals to other children, and demands the same in return. His passion for asking questions, which parents often complain about, is based precisely on the interconnectedness of the problem of differences between the sexes of the origin of children, which he somehow vaguely feels. At 4-5 years old, the child behaves as if there is nothing more important than following his own desires and instincts, while parents try to forbid him to show interest in the body and play with its parts. But in early childhood, these pleasure-giving areas of the body carry a certain meaning. The sensual pleasure obtained with their help serves as a preparation and anticipation of the future sexual intercourse.
Concerning the fear of castration. It arises due to the fact that parents know only two ways to stop reprehensible children’s behavior. They can warn the child: if you don’t stop sucking your thumb, we will cut it off; this threat has been repeated since time immemorial in different versions. The point is always the same — to frighten the child by causing a serious injury to the necessary and most highly valued part of the body, which forced him to refuse the pleasure that she gave him. Or parents may resort to another option and say: if you do this, we will not love you, thereby threatening the child with the possibility of losing parental love. The effectiveness of both threats is due to the complete impotence and helplessness of the child in front of the omnipotent world of adults and his exclusive dependence on parental care.
Tests
- The Tales of Dr. Louise Duess: Projective Tests for Children
- Fairy tale-test «Chick»
- Tale-test «Lamb»
- Fairy tale test «Parents’ wedding anniversary»
- Tale-test «Fear»
- Fairy tale-test «Walk»
- Tale-test «News»
- Tale-test «Bad dream»