ABSTRACT
When people speak of the psychosexual development of a child instead of "sexuality", this implies a broader understanding of sexuality also including seemingly asexual forms of behaviour. The development of infantile sexuality, as described by Freud in his "Three Essays on the Theory of sexuality, is a significant addition to the understanding of intra-psychical connections. The concept of "infantile sexuality" was already very controversial in Freud's time. Freud uses the notion of sexuality differently than it is commonly employed in language. Freud gave a new slant to this definition by borrowing Weinberger's concept of "human bisexuality" and by emphasizing the importance of the psychical cathexis of the body as either male or female. Psychosexual development proceeds through various dramatic stages that have an effect on the entire personality, the way the body is experienced, feelings, thinking, and relationships. In normal psychosexual development Freud distinguished three consecutive phases: the "oral phase", the "anal phase", and the "phallic phase".
