Mythopoetic men's movement

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The mythopoetic men's movement was a body of self-help activities and therapeutic workshops and retreats for men undertaken by various organizations and authors in the United States from the early 1980s through the 1990s. The term mythopoetic was coined by professor Shepherd Bliss[1] in preference to New Age men's movement[2] (though "mythopoeia" was coined by J.R.R. Tolkien in the 1930s, and has a different meaning). Mythopoets adopted a general style of psychological self-help inspired by the work of Robert Bly, Robert A. Johnson, Joseph Campbell, and other Jungian authors. The group activities used in the movement were largely influenced by ideas derived from Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, known as Jungian psychology, e.g., Jungian archetypes, from which the use of myths and fairy tales taken from various cultures served as ways to interpret challenges facing men in society.

Groups formed during the mythopoetic men's movement typically avoided political and social advocacy in favor of therapeutic workshops and wilderness retreats, often using Native American rituals such as drumming, chanting, and sweat lodges. These rituals were done with the aim of personal growth of participants with an intended purpose of connecting spiritually with a lost deep masculine identity or inner self. The most well-known text of the movement was Iron John: A Book About Men by the poet Robert Bly, who argued that "the grief in men has been increasing steadily since the start of the Industrial Revolution and the grief has reached a depth now that cannot be ignored." Inspired by how feminists and folklorists such as Marie-Louise von Franz had used myth and legend to empower women in the mid-20th century, Bly envisioned a similar project to positively reimagine masculinity in a way that was distinct from (but not opposed to) the feminist movement.[3] He urged men to recover a pre-industrial conception of masculinity through spiritual camaraderie with other men in male-only gatherings.[4][5][6] The purpose of these activities was to foster greater understanding of the forces influencing the roles of men in modern society and how these changes affect behavior, self awareness, and identity.

In analytical psychology (or "Jungian psychology"), the puer aeternus is an example of what Jung considered an archetype, one of the "primordial, structural elements of the human psyche."[7] Jungian psychologist James Hillman incorporates logic and rational thought, as well as reference to case histories of well known people in society, in the discussion of the contemporary male psyche. Hillman has spoken in-depth on subjects such as "the boy inside each of us," and pursues strategies to acknowledge, co-exist, and ultimately father immature parts of men to turn them instead into sources of passion and energy. [8] Hillman's arguments are considered to be in line with the consideration of a puer aeternus or "eternal youth" archetype.

Sometimes mistakenly referred to simply as the men's movement, which is much broader, the mythopoetic movement is best known for the rituals that take place during their gatherings. While most in the public eye during the early 1990s, the movement carries on more quietly in The ManKind Project and independent psychologico-spiritual practitioners.[citation needed]

  1. ^ Bliss, Shepherd. Revisioning Masculinity A report on the growing men's movement, https://www.context.org/iclib/ic16/bliss/
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gelfer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bly was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Carroll was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cahill was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Schwalbe was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Sharp, p. 27
  8. ^ James Hillman Lecture: Fathering the Boy Inside, 1988. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvGpas1ETOI