Redefining contra-sexual influence in the human psyche and its implications for heterosexual relations

Abstract

This PhD by Published Works reflects the original contribution made to understanding how the presence of contra-sexual influences in the human psyche may impact on intra-psychic process, as well as interpersonal relationships, between men and women. The thesis also sets out implications for understanding wider social patterns in gender relations, in particular in the home, in schools, in the field of learning difficulties, and with respect to human relating to landscape. These areas reflect the research and discussion found across the range of published works. The thesis explicates the central theoretical basis for combining Jung’s initial contra-sexual formula with Freud’s energic emphasis on the life and death instincts, set in the context of relevant literature on archetypal, psychoanalytic, social-constructivist, feminist, and other relevant perspectives, before mapping out how the approach proposed may be usefully applied to understanding gender relations in the contexts stated above.