The Electra Complex refers to a girl's desire for her father and
             dislike for her mother. This Electra Complex actually derived from the
             male version of it, which is called the Oedipus Complex. The Oedipus
             Complex was first described by Sigmund Freud, whose theory suggested that a
             boy goes through a phallic stage between the ages of three and five. While
             going through this stage the boy feels sexual desire for his mother, sees
             the father as competition for this desire and so rejects or dislikes the
             father. At the same time though, the boy knows that he needs his father.
             This creates the conflict which the boy must resolve. This is generally
             resolved by the boy identifying with his father. In Freud's theory, this
             process leads to the child developing their gender identity.
             The Electra Complex was later added to the theory by Carl Jung, with
             the Electra Complex describing the female version of the same process.
             This refers to a girl feeling desire for her father and rejecting her
             mother, while also knowing that the needs her mother. This creates the
             conflict, which the girl resolves by identifying with her mother. The end
             result is that the girl comes to view herself as being female and develops
             Before continuing any further, it is worth noting that both Jung and
             Freud considered these processes to be subconscious ones. The girl's
             desire for her father is not a conscious desire, instead it is an
             unconscious one, as is the end result of developing her gender identity.
             While the process is considered unconscious, like many people, Jung
             had trouble accepting Freud's strong focus on sexuality and desire. This
             led Jung to eventually reject Freud's view of the Electra Complex. Jung
             noted that relationships for both boys and girls were not as
             straightforward as Freud suggested. Instead, Jung noted that some boys
             rejected their mothers and felt closer to thei...