The “Electra complex” is an unclear psychiatric concept that was originally thought to be the female counterpart of Freud’s Oedipus complex, but this concept has lost its significance, and acceptance since the 1970s.
The term was coined by Carl Jung, to represent the female equivalent of the Oedipus complex. It was taken from a Greek myth describing the events after the Trojan War. One of the Greek captains of the war was Agamemnon. Upon returning to his kingdom, he was betrayed by his wife, Clytemnestra, and by his own brother. He was killed. Agamemnon’s eldest daughter, Electra, wanted to exact revenge. She urged her brother to kill their mother.
Based on Sigmund Freud’s theory, a girl is originally attached to her mother. But during the “Phallic Stage” of her psychosexual development, when the id, ego, and super-ego are supposed to form more defined roles, she discovers that she has no penis. She will then experience a “penis envy” and that to “possess” it, she imagines herself becoming pregnant by her father. She believes that pregnancy can be a substitute for the missing penis. At the same time, she becomes resentful towards her mother. This conflict is usually resolved when the girl transfers her desires on objects other than her father. If unresolved, some theorists propose that the girls become lesbians.
With the rise of the feminist movement, the concept of Electra complex began losing its popularity. It is one of the concepts that were vigorously attacked by feminists. It was thought be a sexist theory. Feminists contend that Freud’s psychoanalytic theory is purely an exercise of the male ego. They also insist that women don’t experience penis envy since they celebrate their being physically different as an advantage.
Other anti-Electra psychologists and psychoanalysts adopt more progressive and modern versions created by Jacques Lacan. And still others ignore Freud’s theory altogether and create their own theory such as the “Hélène Cixous concept”. This newer concept, of course, never mentioned any “penis-envy”. Another modern alternative idea to it is called “Westermarck Effect”. This idea refers to the process of “imprinting” a child during her younger years, with thoughts and ideas that are meant to prevent incestuous sexual attraction.
Today, the Electra complex remains controversial. Many psychologists and academicians totally dismiss it and treat it as no longer relevant to modern life. While some still adhere to the Electra complex theory. This latter group believed that the theory lost its acceptance due to the popularity of socialism and neo-liberalism.