Mitchell L. Walker Explained

Mitchell Lynn Walker (born 1951) is an American gay activist and Jungian psychologist who has written many influential articles and books on gay-centered psychology.[1] [2]

Biography

Walker enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles where he saw a therapist who tried to persuade him to not be gay.[3] Although Walker rejected the therapist he did get "an invaluable introduction to inner work, to the techniques of dream analysis, and to other tools of psychological investigation."[3] Walker transferred to the Berkeley campus and majored in psychology.[3] He became more outspoken on gay issues and became one of the first to join the Berkeley Free Clinic's Gay Men Collective.[3] After graduation he worked on a master's-level in psychology at San Francisco's Lone Mountain College focussing on same-sex love from Jung's "archetypal perspective" using the basis that archetypes are "primal indwelling sources after which behavior is patterned and images are perceived."[3] In 1974 Walker had a realization that same-sex love was archetypal, not "a mere accident or adaption," answering the question if one was born gay or does gayness come from social experience.[3] His revelation led to his master's thesis "discussing the then unheard-of topic of gay depth psychology."[3] Walker was the first openly gay writer to be published in the formal Jungian literature, for his paper, "The Double: An Archetypal Configuration," appeared in Spring in 1976.[4] [5] followed by "Jung and Homophobia," published in Spring in 1991. He is also the author of Men Loving Men: A Gay Sex Guide & Consciousness Book (Gay Sunshine Press, 1977/1994)[6] - which was involved in an obscenity-importing case in England[7] and Canada[8] [9] [10] [11] – and Visionary Love: A Spirit Book of Gay Mythology and Transmutational Faerie (Treeroots Press, 1980).[3]

In 1979, Walker co-created with activists Harry Hay, John Burnside, and Don Kilhefner the first gay-centered spiritual movement, the Radical Faeries,[12] [13] [14] a loosely affiliated, worldwide network and counter-cultural movement seeking to reject hetero-imitation and redefine queer identity through spirituality.[15]

In 1982, after he quit the Radical Faeries, Walker and Don Kilhefner founded Treeroots, a non-profit educational organization to address the psychological dimension of gay liberation. The organization has sponsored workshops and lectures, and most recently, the Institute for Uranian Psychoanalysis, which provided training in gay-centered psychological theory and practice.

In 1987 Walker received a PhD in psychology with the dissertation, A Uranian Conjunction: The Individual Model of C. G. Jung as Applied to Gay Men.[3] He has continued lecturing, teaching and running a private practice in Los Angeles.[3]

Selected works

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Curzon. David. Gay Spirit: Myth and Meaning by Mark Thompson. January 23, 2013. Los Angeles Times. July 26, 1987.
  2. News: Isherwood. Charles. Confessions of a Playgirl Centerfold. January 23, 2013. The Advocate. July 11, 1994. 44–51.
  3. Book: Thompson, Mark. Gay Soul: Finding the Heart of Gay Spirit and Nature with Sixteen Writers, Healers, Teachers, and Visionaries. 1995. HarperOne. 0-06-251041-X. 248–250. registration.
  4. "The Double: An Archetypal Configuration." Spring 1976: An Annual of Archetypal Psychology and Jungian Thought
  5. Book: The Films of James Cameron: Critical Essays. 2011. McFarland. 9780786462797. Matthew Wilhelm Kapell, Stephen McVeigh. January 23, 2013.
  6. Book: Martha. Cornog. For sex education, see librarian : a guide to issues and resources. 1996. Westport, Conn : Greenwood Press. 978-0-313-29022-0. Internet Archive.
  7. News: Salisbury. Stephen. Gay Bookstore Battles British Law. January 23, 2013. Philadelphia Inquirer. November 7, 1986.
  8. Book: The Body politic, July/August 1977. 1977. Toronto, Pink Triangle Press. Internet Archive. Canada Customs has decided that the gay sex manual Men Loving Men is not allowed into the country..
  9. Book: Gay Community News. Gay Community News. Gay Community News. Internet Archive.
  10. News: Customs bans five gay titles but who gets to keep the books? . The Body politic. August 1980. Toronto, Pink Triangle Press. Internet Archive.
  11. News: Gay Community News. Canada Censorship. Internet Archive. July 19–25, 1987 . Customs, for their part, recently issued new guidelines that allow “rational and unsensational” references to “buggery” — anal intercourse — in some cases. Linda Murphy, manager of the Prohibited Importation Unit, told GCN that in an effort to comply with Judge Hawkins’ decision and the AIDS epidemic, Customs would now allow “incidental but necessary” references to anal intercourse. She added that Customs “reviews” over 4,000 publications every year in order to ensure that gay and lesbian material is not singled out and that the department has an appeal process which ensures that material will be reviewed “objectively.” However, McPhee claims that Customs still “seizes” important AIDS education works, such as Mitch Walker’s Men Loving Men, and Jack Morin’s Anal Pleasure and Health..
  12. Timmons, Stuart (1990), The Trouble with Harry Hay: Founder of the Modern Gay Movement, Alyson Publications, p. 261
  13. News: Ghys. Clement. Conte de gays (Gay Fairy). January 23, 2013. Liberation. July 19, 2011.
  14. News: Najafi. Yusef. Sink or Swim: Faerie founder to guide locals to midlife awakening. January 23, 2013. Metro Weekly. January 24, 2008.
  15. News: Monteagudo. Jesse. Tales of the Radical Faeries. January 23, 2013. South Florida Gay News. April 19, 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20111127180046/http://www.southfloridagaynews.com/sfgn-columnists/columnists/jesses-journal/3532-tales-of-the-radical-faeries.html. November 27, 2011.
  16. Book: Walker, Mitchell L. . 1980 . Visionary Love -- A Spirit Book of Gay Mythology and Trans-mutational Faerie . San Francisco . Treeroots Press . 6982302.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Mitchell L. Walker".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.