The Influence of the Patrivalent Nature of the White Afrikaner Culture on the Psychological Development of White Afrikaner Women in South Africa

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Nations and particular historical periods, may create characteristic patterns of response and have an impact on the developmental processes of individuals. Political and cultural structures bring about changes in the practices of everyday life, affecting every aspect of human social organisation, including family relationships and even early mother-child bonding patterns. These relationships, in turn, have an effect on the developmental patterns of the Self. According to Hill (1992:147) any aspect of one’s personal sense of identity that derives from membership in a group – national, ethnic, cultural, religious, linguistic, professional, family, and so on – is a collective identification. The experience of Self is thus always relative to cultural context.

The purpose of this article is to delineate the historical and cultural framework within which White Afrikaner women can be contextualised during the twentieth century and the impact thereof on their role, as well as their subsequent psychological development. In order to explore the effects this context had on the developmental patterns of the Self in Afrikaner women, a post-Jungian model of the development of the Self (Hill, 1992) has been used. The fundamental premise of this model is based on C.G. Jung’s early identification of the archetypal patterns of Masculine and Feminine, which transcend gender. According to Hill, the Masculine and Feminine principles manifest culturally in one of two major patterns, the matrivalent and the patrivalent culture patterns.

It is argued, based on the literature review, that Afrikaner women, due to their history and culture, grew up in a patrivalent culture pattern and therefore predominantly function from within the Static Masculine mode of consciousness. This has implications for the way women conduct themselves within society.

Stream: Ethnicity, Difference, Identity

Paper: , Influence of the Patrivalent Nature of the White Afrikaner Culture on the Psychological Development of White Afrikaner Women in South Africa, The

I am an Industrial Psychologist, teaching Organisation Behaviour at the School of Management, as well as in the Department of Industrial Psychology. I also have a part time practice, where my focus is mainly on organisation development interventions and psychometric assessment for selection and development purposes. I enjoy the outdoor life, reading and spending time with good friends and family.

A am a Counseling Psychologist, responsible for various courses in personal development at the School of Management, as well as the professional training of Psychometrists in the Department of Industrial Psychology. I also have a part time psychology practice. I am specifically interested in Jungian psychology and mythology.