Home » Mind & Soul » Jungian Psychology » He/She - Jung's Concepts of The Archetypal Masculine and Feminine

He/She - Jung's Concepts of The Archetypal Masculine and Feminine

© Bonnie McCarson

In my last article I spoke of the "devalued feminine." Afterward, I realized that perhaps I should back up a bit and explain what is meant, in Jungian terms, by the masculine and feminine. We may tend to think in stereotypical terms about the genders, but here we are not addressing gender. That may make the concepts of masculine and feminine confusing.

A part of the process of individuation is becoming aware of the opposites, the polarities within oneself. Within everyone there are masculine and feminine aspects, archetypal qualities that are opposites. These qualities or aspects are also reflected in our culture. In individuation we work toward balance and integration, both within ourselves and our society. But before we can move toward balance and integration, we must first recognize the opposites and become aware of their place within us (and society).

June Singer in her book, Boundaries of the Soul, presents an excellent discussion of the difficulty of defining exactly what the terms "masculine" and "feminine," "animus" and "anima" mean and how societal and cultural factors influence those definitions. Though, she says, she was initially put off by some of the qualities Jung ascribed to the Feminine, she concluded that the archetypal aspects of anima and animus were extremely significant. (Pp179-208)

Singer explains:

The essence, the archetypal foundation, lies in the recognition that, in every age and across all cultures, there not only exists the sexual difference between male and female, but the culture to a great extent establishes appropriate gender roles which have their profound effects upon the psyche. (P 183)

She continues to say that Jung regarded "the man's anima [as] a 'soul figure'" which she considers as "being essentially hidden or unconscious" therefore "in opposition to his ego, which is the center of his consciousness." (Pp 183-184) For the woman the inner figure that carries the masculine aspect is the animus. It, too, may be buried in the unconscious but according to Singer, "...when integrated into the conscious awareness of the woman - ...when she lives out the full breadth of her potential - truly acts as the "soul-figure" for her. (Pp 184-185)

Midlife is a time when the animus and anima can become more active. The almost-cliché midlife crisis may actually be a doorway to a fuller exploration and appreciation of one's whole self. Midlife was a time Jung found to be significant, whereas many other psychologists focused on the earlier developmental periods.

As I mentioned earlier, we can also see aspects of the masculine and feminine in society and its structures as well as in the individual. In the prehistoric Mother-goddess cultures, the feminine was much venerated. As time passed, city-states grew up around trade and commerce, and societies' values shifted more toward the masculine aspect. Governments and religious structures highly invested in dogma and masculine roles followed. The feminine aspect in society became devalued.