Been having Deep Thoughts about how archetypal relationships work with gay couples. After all, ideal archetypal relationships are always with an archetype of the opposite sex, and gay men have male archetypes, and gay women female archetypes. It's not like some have male and some female and they mix it up. Is it that their anima/animus archetype is more predominant? Less a subtype and more on an equal footing with their main archetype? Or is it simply that, although one’s ideal romantic partner may be their matching archetype, all the archetypes have the ability to be sexual with all the other archetypes, regardless of their sex? For example, in Greek society homosexuality, especially that between men, was considered a pretty normal part of life.
How do gay people find and build relationships with another gay man or woman and find their ideal archetypal partner? Does one, or both, need to have the matching anima/animus, as if they were spiritual hermaphrodites? In non-patriarchal societies, gay people are generally considered special, sacred, like shamen – by living outside of the ordinary, day to day concerns of family they could work on larger issues.
In our current patriarchal society, lesbians tend to have their energy and attention absorbed by just trying to rescue the feminine from its debased position. Conversely, while gay men are also consumed with reclaiming their self esteem and personal power, they tend to do it by expressing themselves and their sexuality fully, often in a Dionysian way. For both their energy tends to get sucked up by the need to simply survive intact a wounding society that demeans and denies them.
Also, I’m wondering if Dionysuses tend to be gay? Maybe because they have a lot of Hermaphroditus in them? According to Wikipedia Hermaphroditus was “the child of Aphrodite and Hermes. He was a minor deity of bisexuality and effeminacy. According to Ovid, born a remarkably handsome boy, he was transformed into an androgynous being by union with the water nymph Salmacis.” I think Hermaphroditus was considered a powerful being precisely because s/he was the union of opposites within his/her being.
I will have to think more on this... and, of course, do some research amongst my gay friends! But as of now I'm leaning towards gay people having dual natures rather than a primary archetype with a secondary anima(us) that we straights do. In which case gay people have it doubly hard to find love - they each have to match their primary archetypes with their partner's anima(us)! As if they didn't have enough problems with our stupid homophobic society :(
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