Genital play
Encyclopedia
Genital play is a common early childhood behavior of genital exploration distinct from autoerotic stimulation
. This behavior is part of a normative period of children exploring all of their bodies, and some psychologists have even suggested genital play is a sign of healthy psychosexual development
. Though genital play may rarely evolve directly into masturbation
, the behavior is sometimes misinterpreted directly as masturbation by adults. Genital play usually begins in boys between six and seven months of age, and in girls at ten to eleven months. It may take place in groups, and sometimes utilizing inanimate objects such as dolls. Genital play may continue during early childhood. When the child is about six years old, a sexual latency period
starts in which there can be some private masturbation. The latency phase ends when the child at ten years old enters preadolescence.
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
. This behavior is part of a normative period of children exploring all of their bodies, and some psychologists have even suggested genital play is a sign of healthy psychosexual development
Psychosexual development
In Freudian psychology, psychosexual development is a central element of the psychoanalytic sexual drive theory, that human beings, from birth, possess an instinctual libido that develops in five stages. Each stage — the oral, the anal, the phallic, the latent, and the genital — is characterized...
. Though genital play may rarely evolve directly into masturbation
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
, the behavior is sometimes misinterpreted directly as masturbation by adults. Genital play usually begins in boys between six and seven months of age, and in girls at ten to eleven months. It may take place in groups, and sometimes utilizing inanimate objects such as dolls. Genital play may continue during early childhood. When the child is about six years old, a sexual latency period
The Latency Phase (6-12 years of age)
In his model of the child's psychosexual development, Sigmund Freud describes five stages. Freud believed that the child discharges his/her libido through a distinct body area that characterizes each stage.The stages are:...
starts in which there can be some private masturbation. The latency phase ends when the child at ten years old enters preadolescence.
Further reading
- Modern Psychoanalysis: New Directions and Perspectives By Judd Marmor