Post Number Sex (woops...was that a Freudian slip?)

Sigmund Freud argues that a baby, upon sucking on “its mother’s breast for milk” will “discover in doing so that this biologically essential activity is also pleasurable; and this, for Freud, is the first dawning of sexuality” (133). The baby’s mouth is not only an organ for survival, but an “erotogenic zone,” which “the child might reactivate a few years later by sucking its thumb, and a few years later than that by kissing” (133). As the infant grows, “other erotogenic ones come into play.” Essentially, Freud argues that there are 3 stages: oral, anal, and phallic. The oral stage is the first stage of sexual life. In the next stage, the anal stage, “the anus becomes an erotogenic zone, and with the child’s pleasure in defacation a new contrast between activity and passivity, unknown in the oral stage, comes to light” (133). In this stage, the child derives pleasure from destruction and expulsion, “but it is also connected with the desire for retention and possessive control.” Finally, the phallic stage describes the focus of the child’s sexual drive on the genitals, “but is called ‘phallic’ rather than ‘genital’ because according to Freud only the male organ is recognized at this point” (133).

In no way should this theory be regarded as flawless; nonetheless, I must admit it is an amusing one to ponder (forgive my awkward sense of humor). While reading Freud, I could not help but think of my favorite character on television: Stewie Griffin. In an attempt to support Freud’s (outrageous) theory, I searched for evidence of these three stages in the popular show “Family Guy,” hoping to find relevant episodes where Stewie Griffin, the witty infant, acts in relation to each of these phases.

In the following excerpt, Stewie Griffin experiences extreme withdrawals when his mother, Lois, decides to switch over to the bottle. In a moment of desperation, Stewie finds another woman to provide breast milk.

It is clear that Stewie derives some kind of pleasure in using his mouth (the oral stage) to get milk.

In this next clip, Peter, Stewie's father, is potty training Stewie:

Although we can see that Stewie fails in his attempt to control his “defecation,” it is clear that there is a “contrast between activity and passivity” and that Stewie is “connected with the desire for retention and possessive control” (133).

In the following clip, Stewie demonstrates signs of the phallic stage as he gets ready for his babysitter to arrive:

In this episode, it is evident that Stewie's sexual drive is in the "phallic stage."

I’m not sure whether Seth MacFarlane, the (genius) creator of “Family Guy,” had Freud in mind during any of the episodes; nevertheless, there seems to be an interesting association with some of Freud’s theories.

Works Cited:
Eagleton, Terry. Literary Theory: An Introduction. 2nd ed. Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota Press, 1996. Print.