Quote:
Originally Posted by MichaelMaxwell  From what I understand the four stages of development represent the opposite sex inside your psyche and it runs parallel to your view of the opposite sex.
So like when I was 18 and thought of women as wicked and cruel and sex objects it was because that is what I thought of the female side of my own psyche. Then you have the next step where women can be ok, maybe. Then you go to Mary where they women can be divine creatures and the female side of my psyche would perhaps be put on a pedestal and never touched. The ultimate goal however is complete acceptence of the opposite sex as equal to your sex and fully integrating that opposite sex into your psyche. This is sometimes exemplified by the Mona Lisa which is said by some to be Leonardo painting himself as a woman.
So maybe by looking at how you view men in a general sense you can see at what point you are at integrating the male inside you into your psyche? And if you want to integrate the male more into your psyche maybe you can concentrate on thinking of ways that you think the male population arent quite 'as real' as the female?
This is just as I understand it. |
thanks for the response Michael. honestly, this doesn't really feel like what i need, and i don't think i'm resisting but in case it will help i'll continue this approach.
i don't really even feel comfortable forming an opinion about men in general because there are many different types of men. some are brutal and act like modern-day conquerors, some are sensitive and gentle. some are macho and dominate, some are kinda wimpy. and then there's every shade of gray between the extremes. i'm not a man-hater but don't feel dependent on a man either.
i did find this quote: "Since the unindividuated woman has not consciously developed any of her symbolically masculine qualities (e.g. logic, leadership, need for independence), her personality is apt to be taken over or "possessed" by these qualities at times..."
but the problem with this is i have developed logic (not just opinion), leadership, and independence. i don't like neediness, in fact i am repulsed by it... maybe that means i am not comfortable with that stereotypically feminine trait (though there are also needy men). or maybe the repulsion comes from how i do have needs and can feel that same sort of urgency at times (hello shadow! feel free to be welcomed with love into my integrated self). i'm not comfortable when it seems like someone's happiness depends on me because i don't like to depend on others for my happiness. but if i really need help, i can ask for it, and i don't really have that characteristic need to prove myself that often comes with independent women, meaning i don't wait until everything is falling apart to ask for help.
on the same page of that quote, i saw that the integration of anima and animus is androgyny. i'd say i'm pretty androgynous, even more so when my hair is a bit shorter, but not just physically. that's probably one reason i'm so attracted to angelina jolie, she's very androgynous. and why i like the aesthetics of the typical pretty boy. maybe also why i had trouble figuring out whether i would be a butch or a femme, because i have qualities of both.
i don't think i'm resisting this idea, i usually know when i'm resisting. if anything, i'm more comfortable with masculinity than femininity. but i still wear light makeup and an occasional skirt.
i do appreciate your post, and even if it doesn't feel like it's really getting at what i'm needing, i'm still open to this way of looking at the issue if you or anyone else has ideas.