Women, Sex, and God: Through the Lens of Jungian Theory of Individuation

Abstract

This study explores women’s experience of sexuality as a path to God through the lens of the Jungian theory of individuation. Secondarily, this study explores how film images may be reflecting something new emerging from the collective unconscious related to reconciling the archetypal energies of sexuality and spirituality. Whereas these energies seem to many to be in opposition, new evidence acknowledges their once-celebrated union. A depth psychological hermeneutical approach is used to examine texts, the researcher’s lived experience, and films that place the researcher’s personal experience within a cultural context. Insights emerged related to the reconciliation of pairs of opposites, which evolved from the masculine and feminine, sexuality and spirituality, and spirit and matter. The working out of personal complexes led to identifying generational wounds and considering how the researcher’s experience may reflect humanity’s evolving understanding of its relationship with God. Reconciliation between sexuality and spirituality for the researcher required coming into relationship with the body, which required the capacity to be vulnerable and receptive in order to receive both sexually and spiritually. The wounded masculine within men and women appears to be an obstacle for the vulnerability required for deep connection, which research suggests is a hard-wired human need. Given the surprising and unexpected nature of the researcher’s experience and insights, it makes sense that the interplay between the wounds of sexuality and spirituality can be the driving force of individuation.