I don’t know if i already wrote on this blog about how I’m taking the Psychometrician boards in the Philippines, anyway, I am.
I just have to stop my readings and talk about what a *#(@ sexist some of these theories are.
I stopped seething in particular in Jung’s analytical theory about his archetypes “anima” and “animus”
What are archetypes?
archetypes are personalities that form from our collective unconscious (our ancestors experiences that influences the way we react to certain situations and behave in a certain way)
What is Anima and Animus?
Anima – female persona of a man… it symbolizes irrational thinking and mood.
Animus – male persona of a woman… it symbolizes thinking and reasoning
Jung said that when a man has a foul mood he cant explain, its probably the anima acting up (and men are always having an internal battle with the anima), same goes for a woman, some of her thinking and opinions, he said “as analyzed” were not thought our but are ready made.
If you haven’t guessed what i think is wrong with that…
ill tell you.
I’m a woman, and i can tell you that my thinking and opinion is thought out, for long hours i may add, it is not ready made and i weigh the consequences of each decision…
yes, women are moody but its just wrong to think that when a man is moody, its just his inner woman acting out, seriously.
okay, i don’t know if i should still be mad at this because this is an old theory, but it just opened my eyes to what men really thought of women barely a century ago, and I think its a really valid reason to become annoyed, and not because I’m just a woman being a woman, right?
Life's Happy Rants 
A bit of an over simplification ( hope that is not how they are teaching it ) – remember Jung was applying the symbolism found across cultures. Jungian goal is a harmony of the psyche – it require both anima & animus . Neither portion is better than the other – too much of one creates an imbalance. Donald Trump is all Animus (In a negative form) all focused on the Self – taking action, and trying to control others without any self control. He lacks the Anima – Sophia (Wisdom) and the All Mother who nurtures and cares for others.
Jungian Archetypes are really useful in literary & Media analysis. In Star Trek, Spock represents the Animus, while Doctor McCoy represents the the Anima. Both are constantly telling Kirk what to do. In Harry Potter Hermione represents the Animus, while Ron represents the Anima. Both are there to support Harry. The gender symbolism is effective as long as it is not used to emphasize one gender over the other. It was never intended to mean that any one gender is superior to the other, just a means of representing character traits, another way of expressing Yin & Yang.
All the best in your tests. May your road to knowledge and success be beautiful and positive. 🙂
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You’re right, I realized that after a while, just didn’t update. Although, its not just with Jung, okay this is going to be a cliché answer. Freud. I bet you know psychology and I don’t have to elaborate. Male or female, I haven’t found a theory I fully agree to, I have to say. But I guess that’s the point of Theories, especially with psych, it’s not always a “law”
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I had an English Lit Prof that treated all the classic English novels we studied as Freudian text. Every action/event or object was about suppression of something or other. 😀
Freud had valuable insights, but you have to keep in mind he was seeing everything through the cultural lens of the Victorian social order. He saw the inner world of the mind as a reflection of the oppression and double standard that were common at that time in European society.
Jung starts out as his student, but wishes to go past the limits of a Euro-centric view of the world & the psyche.
Freud saw the mind as ill and needing to be cured. Jung considered art, literature and culture &religion and saw the mind as whole & healthy and wanted ways to encourage growth.
I guess that is why it is easier to apply Jungian analysis to literature and art, than Freudian . Where Jung saw creativity, Freud saw symptoms of metal illness. 😀
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This is why it’s important to study their life too. From the way they write it or even the way he formulates his theories, even with the Victorian way of seeing things… He’s (in lack of a better word) “sick”
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