Port Townsend Friends of Jung sponsor a lecture and workshop Feb. 26-27 titled "The Feminine: A Jungian Analysis" by internationally respected mythologist and scholar Christine Downing.

Downing has made groundbreaking contributions to the fields of mythology, gender studies and religious studies. She is a faculty member in the Mythological Studies Department at Pacifica Graduate Institute and professor emeritus in religious studies at San Diego State University, where she taught for almost 20 years.

"The psychology of C.G. Jung clearly values the so-called feminine and deplores its devaluation in our culture," states a press release. "This focus on the 'feminine' may be what initially draws us to Jung. But we live in a time when many feel a need to redefine these terms of femininity and masculinity. Rather than entering the argument about whether there is such a thing as the ‘feminine,’ let’s explore it as an image, as a way of looking at things. What does it help us see? What does it blind us to? About ourselves and about our relationships to others? What might come into view if we focus on analyzing both the attachment to and the rejection of the concept of the feminine?”

These ideas are introduced in a lecture beginning at 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 26 at Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 2333 San Juan Ave., Port Townsend.

The Saturday workshop, 9 a.m.-noon, Feb. 27, provides a more in-depth opportunity for participants to explore understandings and experiences of confusion and clarification around gender categories.

Admission to the lecture on Friday is by a $15 donation at the door; the workshop costs $45 at the door. Both lecture and workshop cost $50 if paid in advance through preregistration; visit quuf.org.

For more information, contact Ron Strange at ron.j.strange@gmail.com.