CARL JUNG, Swiss psychiatrist born (d. 1961) Jung’s unique and broadly influential approach to psychology has emphasized understanding the psyche through exploring the worlds of dreams, art, mythology, world religion and philosophy. Although he was a theoretical psychologist and practicing clinician for most of his life, much of his life’s work was spent exploring other realms, including Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology, sociology, as well as literature and the arts.
His most notable contributions include his concept of the psychological archetype, the collective unconscious, and his theory of synchronicity. Jung emphasized the importance of balance and harmony. He cautioned that modern humans rely too heavily on science and logic and would benefit from integrating spirituality and appreciation of the unconscious realm. It is for this reason that Jungian ideas are not typically included in curriculum of most major universities’ psychology departments, but are occasionally explored in humanities departments.
I have been rightly questioned about why I include Jung in this almanac. No. Jung wasn’t gay. (Or as Tallulah Bankhead might have quipped “I don’t know…he never sucked my cock.”)
Not everyone I include in the almanac are gay, first of all.
And the Gay Wisdom almanac isn’t meant to be solely focused on LGBTQI people
I include him because one of my basic understandings of LGBTQI humans arises from the early idea that “the biological (Darwinian) purpose of heterosexuality is to continue the gene pool.” I thought this begged the question, then, of what the biological purpose of same-sex individuals might be? Over time I have come to the belief, and not to be too glib about it, that if the purpose of heterosexuality was to continue the gene pool, then same-sex, and other-gendered individuals purpose was to be sure it was Olympic-sized with clear lanes and fluffy towels.
If you read up on the roles same-sex people play in various cultures and geographic locations (and perhaps you do already) I believe we tend to serve archetypal roles in society in that we were/are culture carriers, priests and shamans, teachers, healers. We are often the people who– being the keepers of cultural histories in many places — are able to reinterpret rituals and cultural constructs. I think this is demonstrated daily by the individuals in Gay Wisdom.
And, since Jung was the fount of knowledge about the idea of archetypes I thought it only fair to include him in the almanac.