The conception of children under 5 years of age as “perverse polymorphs” is a very striking aspect of the work of Sigmund Freud, creator of psychoanalysis.

In this article we will describe exactly what this curious concept means, which relates to the potential for obtaining sexual pleasure from any object during early life.

The Freudian concept of perversion

Freud stated that the main characteristic of sexuality during childhood is polymorphous perversion. To understand this concept it is necessary to first define how perversion is defined in the work of the father of psychoanalysis.

For this author perversion is simply a non-normative sexual behavior ; in the context in which Freud lived, heterosexual genital intercourse was conceived as normal, while practically any other type of sexual behavior was seen as a deviation from the dominant morality. To a large extent this idea is still valid today.

However, in Freud’s work the view of “perversion” is not necessarily negative. Although rape or pederasty, which bring suffering to the victim, are forms of perversion, according to Freud’s definition so are fetishism or homosexuality , which he considered abnormal but not pathological behaviour patterns.

What does “polymorphous pervert” mean?

According to Freud, during the first years of life, girls and boys obtain sexual gratification from many different sources. The impulses are directed towards any object that can provide pleasure ; moreover, stimulation does not have to be limited to the genitals, but all parts of the body are susceptible to receiving gratification.

Thus, as we will explain in detail later on, depending on the stage of psychosexual development, children would obtain sexual pleasure from sucking on the mother’s nipple, retaining or expelling stool, and many other behaviors.

At the beginning of life, sexuality has not yet focused on the objects that normative socialization demands, that is, fundamentally heterosexual intercourse. From Freud’s work, it can be deduced that this type of sex education depends more on culture than on biology , and therefore each society or group would reinforce these patterns to a different extent.

This causes young children to lack sexual and gender identity. Once the latency period is over, that is, with the arrival of puberty, sexual gratification is progressively redirected to heterosexual intercourse with the ultimate goal of reproduction. There is a clear relationship between this fact and the development of morality or Oversight.

Therefore, describing children as “perverse polymorphs” implies that they are capable of feeling sexual pleasure in many different ways that deviate from the established social norm. This includes sexual orientation; thus, we could say that according to Freud in the early stages of life all people are bisexual or even pansexual.

The stages of psychosexual development

Psychoanalytic theory is largely based on the five stages of psychosexual development described by Freud. According to this author, people go through these phases in the process towards puberty and adolescence, a time when sexuality is definitively configured.

In each of these phases the sexual energy is focused on a different erogenous zone: the mouth, the anus or the genitals. If the gratification of needs is insufficient or excessive during any of these stages, there is a risk of psychological “fixation” ; this would imply the appearance of neuroses and concrete perversions.

1. Oral phase

The first phase of sexual development corresponds approximately to the first year of life. During this period the baby obtains pleasure through the mouth, for example by introducing objects into it, which also allows him to explore his environment. The Ello dominates the psychic structure, so the functioning is based on the principle of pleasure.

The fixation in the oral phase would cause the appearance of psychological traits such as immaturity, passivity and manipulability. On a sexual level, perversions related to the mouth would develop, such as the focusing of pleasure on kissing, fellatio or cunnilingus .

2. Anal phase

The anal stage occurs between the second and fourth year of life. During this period children learn to control personal hygiene, including the retention and expulsion of faeces and urine. According to Freud, sexual pleasure in the anal phase is obtained from the elimination of feces through the intestinal and urinary tracts.

A fixation at this stage of development may result in obsessive traits and behaviors (if the parents’ emphasis on cleanliness is excessive) or a tendency toward lack of organization, self-indulgence, and rebelliousness (in the opposite case). Regarding sexuality, coprophilia and urophilia would be related to the anal phase .

3. Phallic phase

Between the ages of three and six, the genitals become the primary erogenous zone. At this age, girls and boys become aware of their own and other people’s bodies, and therefore of sex and gender differentiation. The famous Oedipus and Electra complexes (proposed by Carl Jung and rejected by Freud) would occur during this phase.

Compulsive masturbation is the perversion that can be most clearly related to the phallic phase. There would be a focus on the pleasure obtained through the penis or the clitoris, depending on the person’s biological sex.

4. Latency phase

Between the anal phase and puberty (i.e. approximately 6 to 10 years) the sexual impulses are silenced and the energy is redirected towards social interaction, learning, leisure activities… During this period the character acquired during the previous psychosexual stages is consolidated.

Attachments in the latency stage are considered to be less common than in other stages. When they occur they tend to be related to intense sexual frustration and/or an inability to focus pleasure on activities considered acceptable by the individual’s social context.

5. Genital phase

Freud considered that after puberty people reach the definitive stage of psychosexual development: the genital phase, in which we will remain throughout our adult lives. Rewarding focuses again on the genitals, although in this case normality includes obtaining pleasure through other people, and not in a solitary way.

Failure to progress through this period can interfere with the acquisition of adaptive sexual patterns. Thus, it is common for sexual dysfunctions to appear as difficulties in arousal (mainly erection and lubrication, depending on the sex) in sexual relations, and also for these to be unsatisfactory.