Jung proposed that we all have an inner attitude that is turned toward the unconscious, which helps us navigate between our individual selves and the unconscious world. Jung labeled this attitude in men the anima, and in women the animus.  Jung’s anima/animus theories opened up the idea that different gendered energies can exist in the same person, as Jung even exclaims in the Red Book, “You can hardly say of your soul what sex it is!” However, as Jung continued to discuss A/A in his writing, he conflated biological sex with particular assumed characteristics, which limited the applicability of the theory primarily to people who are heterosexual and cisgender, leading to harmful gender stereotypes.
 
In this presentation, Jungian analyst Sara Sage from the Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts will discuss both the possibilities and limitations in Jung’s A/A theory around gender and individuation and propose a more expansive way to consider exploring otherness in our psyches. Sara will discuss her personal and clinical work, language, and ideas around a more expansive view of gender in Jungian work, and the powerful movement of archetypal images of gender and otherness in our psyches.