Positive Psychology Across the Lifespan; An Existential Perspective by Piers Worth

Author:Piers Worth
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2022-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

Way forward?

At the beginning of this chapter, I commented that it reflected a personal journey to make sense of women’s lived experience and seek out women’s voices on developmental psychology. It is a journey that I have begun but certainly not ended. Reflecting the emergence of future ‘waves’ of positive psychology theorising, if the hero’s journey represents the thesis of male experience as normative and the heroine’s journey as the antithesis, differentiating women’s experience, perhaps EPP can offer a synthesis and look beyond polarisation to accept the complexity of human development and the search for meaning for everyone? Carriger (2020) points out the human tendency to dichotomise and pigeonhole people into a binary conception of a hero or heroine’s journey because it makes things simple. It fits our need for consistency and order. To achieve wholeness requires moving beyond polarities of masculine/feminine, rational/emotion, hero/heroine towards a balance and integration of polarities, accepting our individuality in relation to others. A central message of the hero’s and heroine’s journey is that our growth and development encompass dark and light experiences, whatever journey we undertake. To become our true self, we must face and overcome the challenges that life puts in our way (Worth, 2016).

Rather than making assumptions about either the Hero or Heroine’s journey, perhaps we should refer to it as a ‘symbolic journey of growth’ which provides an opportunity to consider both the heroine and the hero’s journey? Our symbolic journey of growth is about discovering our authentic self by whatever means feels most appropriate. In emphasising the nature of the quest rather than the gender of the traveller, we can recognise that both types of the symbolic journey may be experienced at different times and, as Murdock suggested, even simultaneously. The key is to understand each traveller’s goals and support them in that journey with care and compassion.

If we accept that the Hero’s and Heroine’s journey are types of developmental journey rather than reflecting the gender of a ‘traveller’, does the gendered language matter? In my view, yes. Language has a powerful role in shaping one’s experiences and creating reality. When men are cast in the role of hero and women as the ‘prize’, it is understandable that some may reject the stereotype and not see themselves reflected in the story. Reinharz (1986) reflected that frequently used and seemingly innocuous language (such as ‘old wives’ tales’ or ‘little old woman’) perpetuates gendered stereotypes. It is also essential to remember that women may experience their developmental journey differently from men, and those differences are not adequately addressed or appreciated in much psychological theorising. As positive psychology continues to evolve, there is ample opportunity to continually celebrate difference, not as a deviation from the norm but as a reflection of the rich diversity that people bring and see feminine characteristics (whether exhibited by men or women) as strengths rather than deficiencies. As Gilligan (2012) argued, by dividing human qualities into masculine and feminine, we create divisions in the psyche, separating men and women from parts of themselves.

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