Desiring Castration: A Reformulation of Castration Theory Illustrated with a Transgender Case

ABSTRACT

This article reviews Freud’s theory of castration, as well as critiques of the theory. I then offer my own elaboration of castration theory, proposing that castration fantasies are universal and refer to a sense of incompleteness—about the body as well as psychic attributes—in both males and females. Such fantasies, I argue, deal with the gap between what one is and what one would like to be and are frequently expressed in envy toward perceived privileges belonging to persons of the opposite sex, same sex, and different generation. Furthermore, these fantasies are intimately tied to object relations. A case of a transgender male who desired castration is presented to illustrate this expanded theory and its usefulness.