And Another Thing: Attention Pagans

~ Cheryl

Overnight I was mailed a link to this post which details a current controversy in the Pagan community, specifically PantheaCon which, rather bravely, attempts to bring Pagans of all faiths together.

As some of you may know, especially if you have read Neil Gaiman’s A Game of You, there is a tendency towards transphobia in certain parts of the Pagan community. That, I am fairly certain, has links to the radical separatism of the 1970s, a period during which hatred for trans women was common amongst feminists. Certainly the language used by Z Budapest is very reminiscent of Raymond et al. And if you are setting up a female separatist community, and are religious, adopting a female goddess is entirely appropriate. But…

It saddens me that so many people of religious persuasion (not just Pagans) appear to be so wedded to the idea of biological essentialism and incapable of considering the existence of souls that may not match the bodies that they inhabit. Also, Liz Hand’s wonderful Waking the Moon contains food for thought. (It is a while since I read it, but I noticed on Twitter that Roz was re-reading it with joy yesterday.)

Anyway, if you are of a Pagan persuasion you may want to pop over there and consider what is being said. (Warning, it is long and quotes some fairly strong anti-trans language.)

And yes, I am aware of the issues surrounding a petition being raised by a Discordian. Sometimes organizations need a little chaos to disrupt their fossilized thinking.

5 thoughts on “And Another Thing: Attention Pagans”

  1. Apropos biological essentialism as relating to the spiritual, if you don’t know Milton, his angel says rather nicely:

    Let it suffice thee that thou know’st
    Us happie, and without Love no happiness.
    Whatever pure thou in the body enjoy’st
    (And pure thou wert created) we enjoy
    In eminence, and obstacle find none
    Of membrane, joynt, or limb, exclusive barrs:
    Easier then Air with Air, if Spirits embrace,
    Total they mix, Union of Pure with Pure
    Desiring; nor restrain’d conveyance need
    As Flesh to mix with Flesh, or Soul with Soul.

    …which Pope in turn spoofs in Rape of the Lock, here:

    ….spirits, freed from mortal laws, with ease
    Assume what sexes and what shapes they please

    …Julian Baggini goes into this stuff as relates to Teh Tranz in his last book… http://dru-withoutamap.blogspot.com/2009/06/getting-philosophical.html

  2. How strange for any pagan community to be transphobic. Have they no respect for early cultures with two-spirit people and gender variant shamans?

    I’m part of the wider pagan community in Wellington, New Zealand which includes people of many paths. I’ve never encountered transphobia in the community, occasionally some ignorance but never hostility. I don’t know if my perspective is uniform though since I’m openly queer, as are other LGB people in the pagan community here.

    I’m not aware of any pagans in Wellington who are trans men or women, but if there are I’m sure they would be welcome at our gatherings.

    1. Thanks, that’s good to know. 🙂

      I should add that the particular group that is causing a problem at PantheaCon describes itself as the Dianic Tradition, so it may not pay much attention to shamanic practices.

  3. People have been complaining about “shaming” women who were going in to the Z Budapest ritual – given that the only thing the silent meditation/protest was doing was silently meditating, all of the shame present was self-inflicted within those going in. In other words, maybe it was shame they SHOULD have been feeling.

    Shame that you experience when you’re doing something that you know deep down is wrong – like nonconsensually labeling certain women as “not-women” – is not a bad thing. It’s something you should probably be examining in a little more detail.

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