[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-592126-105":59,"doc-detail-592126-en":131},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":124,"head_meta":126,"extra_data":128,"updated_unix":130},105,"en","contemplations-on-the-middle-man-anima-rising","Contemplations on the Middle Man: Anima Rising","","The article explores social, cultural, and biological forces shaping masculine identity, offering a male practitioner and educator’s perspective from a women-dominated field with 25 years of experience. It proposes a “middle man” paradigm for male art therapists that confronts patriarchal oppression and cultural blind spots. Through Jung’s anima/animus framework and discussion of inner division, it explains how middle men engage in self-examination and outward social action, resisting collusion, complacency, and the conspiracy of silence.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/contemplations-on-the-middle-man-anima-rising/592126/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/contemplations-on-the-middle-man-anima-rising/592126.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Grenda","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-06","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",13,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What factors influence masculine identity in the article?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"The article points to social, cultural, and biological factors that contribute to how masculine identity is constructed.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"What does the “middle man” concept mean?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"A middle man is someone who negotiates stereotypic, androcentric ideas of masculinity by incorporating a stance that confronts patriarchal oppression and cultural blind spots.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"How do middle men respond to oppression and silence?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"They resist collusion with privilege and confront the “conspiracy of silence” through compassionate social engagement and actions that reverse marginalization.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},592126,1792913770,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":29,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},7971474921005,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","A rticles  \nContemplations on the Middle Man: Anima Rising  \nMichael Franklin, Boulder, CO  \nAbstract  \nThere are many social, cultural, and biological factors that contribute to the construction of masculine identity. These factors are investigated in this article from the personal perspective of a male practitioner and educator with 25 years of experience in a field that is predominantly composed of women. An amalgamation of attributes necessary for success asa male art therapist is discussedfrom a new paradigm, defined and explained as a middle man perspective. A middle man isone who skillfully negotiates stereotypic androcentric notions of masculinity by incorporating into his self-structure a stance that confronts patriarchal oppression and cultural blind spots surrounding power and privilege so easily ignored by many western Caucasian men.  \nBeginnings  \nThis story is about the challenge of assimilating problematic androcentric messages from the culture at large which attempt to define masculine identity. It is also about the simultaneous holding of opposites within the space of a shadowed middle. Jung (1968) taught about the contrasexual male (anima) and female (animus) qualities that pulse throughout a body, signaling the call to transformation and integration of opposing biological and cultural forces. There are many men of contemporary western societies who skillfully work with these biological and cultural tensions. But, in my opinion, navigating these divisions has caused many men to live in a liminal realm between the stereotypes of masculinity and femininity. This amorphous central terrain represents a place of existence where traditional gender roles are redefined. In this paper, I call those who exist in this territory middle men.  \nMiddle men are devoted to self-examination and the restructuring of masculine identity. The awareness that results from this self-reflection is turned outward toward acts of social engagement that confront various forms of  \nEditor’s note: Michael Franklin, MA, ATR-BC, is the director of the graduate art therapy program at the Naropa University in Boulder, CO. Correspondence concerning this arti[cle may be directed to him at michaelf@naropa.edu. The](cle may be directed to him at michaelf@naropa.edu. The) author has “lovingly dedicated this paper to the memory and legacy of Bernie Marek, a great art therapist and a true middle man.”  \noppression. Middle men resist collusion with their privilege and the “conspiracy of silence” that Mies (1986, p. 6) sees as a posture of dominating and minimizing gender, ethnicity, class, race, or any other divisive stance that subjugates or marginalizes people. This viewpoint can be widened to include a transpersonal systemic view of living systems that also deserve thoughtful advocacy (Capra, 1996) . For example, vulnerable ecosystems require conscious stewardship and an ecoethical perspective (Capra, 1996, p. 11) . In essence, silence and complacency must be answered with compassionate actions that reverse marginalization, respect ecological systemic ethics, and liberate people to pursue their potential. This article addresses this conspiracy of silence by defining the evolving social territory of the middle man. This terrain is discussed from the personal perspective of being a male practitioner in the field since 1980. It is my opinion that men in the profession of art therapy are evolving middle men. We are constantly confronting and integrating our unique voice around genderbased divisions of professional and personal identity. I suggest that this is a primary reason why many men in art therapy work productively with women colleagues.  \nDefining the characteristics of the middle man is elusive. The subject is too complex to attempt a complete definition at this time. However, I have enough information gathered from years of experience to articulate and define middle man qualities. As I try to describe these traits one central theme emerges: Mid","cbCaivvdelEmgLD7","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivvdelEmgLD7","pdf",73075,"English","# Abstract\n# Beginnings\n# Defining the characteristics of the middle man","[{\"question\":\"What factors influence masculine identity in the article?\",\"answer\":\"The article points to social, cultural, and biological factors that contribute to how masculine identity is constructed.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the “middle man” concept mean?\",\"answer\":\"A middle man is someone who negotiates stereotypic, androcentric ideas of masculinity by incorporating a stance that confronts patriarchal oppression and cultural blind spots.\"},{\"question\":\"How do middle men respond to oppression and silence?\",\"answer\":\"They resist collusion with privilege and confront the “conspiracy of silence” through compassionate social engagement and actions that reverse marginalization.\"}]","Contemplations on the Middle Man: Anima Rising | PDF",1792073916,15]