Gender variance in spirituality: Difference between revisions
Adding views about gender variance in different faiths, adapted from the "Transgender people and religion" and "Modern Pagan views on LGBT people" articles on Wikipedia.
imported>Sekhet |
imported>Sekhet (Adding views about gender variance in different faiths, adapted from the "Transgender people and religion" and "Modern Pagan views on LGBT people" articles on Wikipedia.) |
||
| Line 121: | Line 121: | ||
==== Views about gender variance in Islam ==== | ==== Views about gender variance in Islam ==== | ||
'' | ''See main article: [[Wikipedia:Islam and transgender people]]'' | ||
In Islamic literature, the word ''[[mukhannathun]]'' is used to describe "effeminate men". The term has sometimes been equated to transgender women,<ref>{{cite book|title=Evolution's Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People|last1=Roughgarden|first1=Joan|page=362|year=2013|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520957978}}</ref> gay men, members of a third gender, or intersex individuals,<ref name="Alipour" >{{Cite journal|last=Alipour|first=M|date=2016|title=Islamic shari'a law, neotraditionalist Muslim scholars and transgender sex-reassignment surgery: A case study of Ayatollah Khomeini's and Sheikh al-Tantawi's fatwas|journal=International Journal of Transgenderism|volume=17:1|pages=91–103|doi=10.1080/15532739.2016.1250239|doi-access=free}}</ref> though it does not neatly fit into any of those categories.<ref name="TEOEM">{{cite journal|last=Rowson|first=Everett K.|date=October 1991|title=The Effeminates of Early Medina|url=http://www.williamapercy.com/wiki/images/The_effeminates_of_early_medina.pdf|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=111|issue=4|pages=671–693|doi=10.2307/603399|jstor=603399|citeseerx=10.1.1.693.1504}}</ref><ref>{{cite conference |first=Muhsin |last=Hendricks |title=Islam and Homosexuality |publisher=ILGA |date=July 2006 |location=ILGA's preconference on religions |url=http://doc.ilga.org/content/download/4522/27322/version/1/file/ILGA-July06-Religions.pdf |accessdate=2007-06-22 |format=PDF |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222247/http://doc.ilga.org/content/download/4522/27322/version/1/file/ILGA-July06-Religions.pdf |archivedate=2007-09-27 }}</ref> | |||
The treatment of ''mukhannathun'' varied throughout early Islamic history, and the meaning of the term took on new dimensions over time. In some eras, men deemed ''mukhannathun'' were persecuted and castrated, while in others they were celebrated as musicians and entertainers.<ref name="TEOEM" /><ref>{{cite book|title=The Music of the Arabs|last1=Touma|first1=Habib|year=1975|pages=135–136}}</ref> In later years, the term came to be associated with the receptive partner in gay sexual practices, as homosexuality was seen as an extension of effeminacy. In the late medieval era, several Islamic scholars held that ''mukhannathun'' who had innate feminine mannerisms were not blameworthy as long as they did not violate religious laws concerning sexual morality.<ref name="TEOEM" /> | |||
Due to Ayatollah Khomeini issuing a fatwa allowing sex reassignment surgery for intersex and transgender individuals,<ref name="Alipour" /> Iran carries out more sex change operations than any other nation in the world except for Thailand. It is sanctioned as a supposed "cure" for homosexuality, which is punishable by death under Iranian law. The government even provides up to half the cost for those needing financial assistance and a sex change is recognised on the birth certificate.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7259057.stm |work=BBC News |title=Iran's 'diagnosed transsexuals' |first=Vanessa |last=Barford}}</ref> | |||
==== Gender variant figures in Islam ==== | ==== Gender variant figures in Islam ==== | ||
| Line 129: | Line 134: | ||
==== Views about gender variance in Bahá'í Faith ==== | ==== Views about gender variance in Bahá'í Faith ==== | ||
'' | In the Baha'i Faith, transgender people can gain recognition in their gender if they have medically transitioned under the direction of medical professionals and if they have [[surgery|sex reassignment surgery]]. After surgery, they are considered transitioned and may have a Baha'i marriage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bahai-library.com/uhj_transsexuality |title=Transsexuality |publisher=Universal House of Justice |date=26 December 2002}}</ref> | ||
==== Gender variant figures in Bahá'í Faith ==== | ==== Gender variant figures in Bahá'í Faith ==== | ||
| Line 140: | Line 145: | ||
==== Gender variant figures in Rastafarianism ==== | ==== Gender variant figures in Rastafarianism ==== | ||
''Information needed.'' | |||
=== Unitarian Universalism === | |||
==== Views about gender variance in Unitarian Universalism ==== | |||
''See main article: [[Wikipedia:Unitarian Universalism and LGBT people]]'' | |||
Unitarian Universalism, a liberal religion with roots in liberal Christianity, became the first denomination to accept openly transgender people as full members with eligibility to become clergy (in 1979),<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.uua.org/lgbtq/history/185789.shtml |title=Unitarian Universalist LGBTQ History & Facts |publisher=Unitarian Universalist Association |accessdate= 2014-05-02|date=2013-05-16 }}</ref> and the first to open an Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Concerns (in 1973).<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.uua.org/directory/staff/multiculturalgrowth/lesbiangay/ |title= Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Ministries |publisher= Unitarian Universalist Association |accessdate= 2014-05-02|date= 2012-10-09 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_uua.htm|title= The Unitarian Universalist Association and Homosexuality |publisher= Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance}}</ref> In 1988 the first openly transgender person was ordained by the Unitarian Universalist Association.<ref name=uua.org>{{cite web|title= Unitarian Universalist LGBTQ History & Facts|url= http://www.uua.org/lgbtq/history/185789.shtml|work= Unitarian Universalist Association|publisher=Unitarian Universalist Association|accessdate=2 April 2013|date=21 August 2012}}</ref> In 2002 Rev. Sean Dennison became the first openly transgender person in the Unitarian Universalist ministry called to serve a congregation; he was called to South Valley UU Society, Salt Lake City, UT.<ref name="uua.org"/> Also in 2017, the Unitarian Universalist Association's General Assembly voted to create inclusive wordings for non-binary, genderqueer, gender fluid, agender, intersex, two-spirit and polygender people, replacing the words "men and women" with the word "people." Of the six sources of the living tradition, the second source of faith, as documented in the bylaws of the denomination, now includes "Words and deeds of prophetic people which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love".<ref>{{cite web|author=Zr. Alex Kapitan Activist, Organizer & Educator |url=https://www.believeoutloud.com/latest/unitarian-universalist-general-assembly-votes-change-uu-bylaws-include-non-binary-people#comment-7295 |title=Unitarian Universalist General Assembly Votes To Change UU Bylaws To Include Non-Binary People |publisher=Believe Out Loud |date=2017-06-30 |accessdate=2017-07-08}}</ref> | |||
==== Gender variant figures in Unitarian Universalism ==== | |||
''Information needed.'' | ''Information needed.'' | ||
| Line 242: | Line 257: | ||
==Asia== | ==Asia== | ||
=== | ===Hinduism=== | ||
==== Views about gender variance in Hinduism ==== | |||
==== | Hindu philosophy has the concept of a [[Third gender|third sex]] or [[third gender]] (''tritiya-prakriti'' – literally, "third nature"). Certain people in this category are called [[Hijras]] in Hinduism.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Neither Man Nor Woman: The Hijras of India|last=Nanda|first=Serena|author-link=Serena Nanda|year=1990|isbn=978-0534509033|page=137}}</ref> | ||
==== Gender variant figures in Hinduism | ==== Gender variant figures in Hinduism ==== | ||
* '''Purusha''', a primal androgynous deity. The word also refers to a complex concept within Hinduism. <ref> [https://kaulapedia.com/en/siddha-vastu/#Principle_of_Vastu_Purusha] </ref> | * '''Purusha''', a primal androgynous deity. The word also refers to a complex concept within Hinduism. <ref> [https://kaulapedia.com/en/siddha-vastu/#Principle_of_Vastu_Purusha] </ref> | ||
* '''Ardhanarisvara''' (aspect of male Shiva, with female consort Parvati, Deva, Shakti, or Uma), both male and female in one body.<ref>Raven Kaldera, Hermaphrodeities, p. 40.</ref> Patron of gay people, intersex people, and transgender people | * '''Ardhanarisvara''' (aspect of male Shiva, with female consort Parvati, Deva, Shakti, or Uma), both male and female in one body.<ref>Raven Kaldera, Hermaphrodeities, p. 40.</ref> Patron of gay people, intersex people, and transgender people | ||
| Line 263: | Line 274: | ||
* '''Samba''', who became a woman and gave birth | * '''Samba''', who became a woman and gave birth | ||
* '''Shikhandi''' (Śikhaṇḍī, Shikandi, Srikhandi), a warrior in the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata, who was born a girl and lived as a man. He was destined for military victory. He married a woman, but she rejected him when she found out that he was a trans man. Shikhandi contemplated responding to this with suicide,<ref>http://www.mahabharataonline.com/stories/mahabharata_character.php?id=94 </ref> but instead made himself fully physically male by trading his sex with Sthunakarna,<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaksha_Kingdom</ref> a forest spirit (a ''yaksha'') who wanted to become a woman.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikhandi</ref> | * '''Shikhandi''' (Śikhaṇḍī, Shikandi, Srikhandi), a warrior in the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata, who was born a girl and lived as a man. He was destined for military victory. He married a woman, but she rejected him when she found out that he was a trans man. Shikhandi contemplated responding to this with suicide,<ref>http://www.mahabharataonline.com/stories/mahabharata_character.php?id=94 </ref> but instead made himself fully physically male by trading his sex with Sthunakarna,<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaksha_Kingdom</ref> a forest spirit (a ''yaksha'') who wanted to become a woman.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikhandi</ref> | ||
===Buddhism=== | |||
[[File:Liao Dynasty Avalokitesvara Statue Clear.jpeg|thumb|200px|Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Guanshiyin) statue from China, 11th-12th century CE.]] | |||
==== Views about gender variance in Buddhism ==== | |||
In [[Thai Buddhism]], being [[kathoey]] (an umbrella term that roughly maps to a range of things from MtF transsexualism to male homosexuality) is seen as being part of one's [[karma]] if it should be the case for a person. The response is one of "pity" rather than "blame". Kathoey are generally seen as not likely to form lasting relationships with men, and the lay explanation of their karma is that they are working out debts from adulterous behavior in past lives. In the past they disrupted marriages, and now they are doomed to never marry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goldenscene.com/ironladies/reviews/questions.html|title=14 Questions |first=Andrew |last=Matzner |year=2000 |work=Golden Scene}}</ref> | |||
In Thailand, kathoey are still not allowed to legally become female or marry a man. Same-sex marriage is not possible in Thailand. Transgender women however can marry their European partners, if that is legislatively possible in their partner's country, and leave Thailand. | |||
==== Gender variant figures in Buddhism ==== | |||
Figures that are gender variant or patrons of gender variant people: | |||
* '''Avalokiteśvara''', a male bodhisattva, sometimes shown as an androgynous man, who can appear in a form of any gender | |||
** '''Kwanyin''' (Guanyin, Kannon), originally a male bodhisattva (derived from Avalokiteśvara) who was reinterpreted as female or androgynous. There are only hypotheses about how and why this happened. | |||
{{Clear}} | {{Clear}} | ||
| Line 278: | Line 306: | ||
{{Clear}} | {{Clear}} | ||
===Shinto=== | |||
Shinto kami associated with same-sex love or gender variance include: shirabyōshi, female or transgender kami represented as half-human, half-snake. They are linked to Shinto priests of the same name, who are usually female (or occasionally transgender) and perform ceremonial dances in traditional men's clothing;<ref>{{cite book |last1=Conner |first1=Randy P. |last2=Sparks |first2=David Hatfield |last3=Sparks |first3=Mariya |year=1998 |title=Cassell's Encyclopedia of Queer Myth, Symbol and Spirit |isbn=978-0-304-70423-1 |page=305 |chapter=Shirabyoshi}}</ref> Ōyamakui no kami, a transgender Yama-no-Kami mountain spirit that protects industry and childbearing (notably enshrined in Hie Shrine);<ref>Conner & Sparks (1998), p. 259, "Oyamakui"</ref> and Inari Ōkami, the kami of agriculture and rice, who is depicted as various genders, the most common representations being a young female food goddess, an old man carrying rice, and an androgynous bodhisattva.<ref name=smyers8>{{cite book|last=Smyers|first=Karen Ann|title=The fox and the jewel : shared and private meanings in contemporary Japanese inari worship|year=1999|publisher=Univ. of Hawaií Press|location=Honolulu|isbn=9780824820589|page=8}}</ref> Inari is further associated with foxes and shapeshifting fox trickster spirits. Kitsune sometimes disguise themselves as women, independent of their true gender, in order to trick human men into sexual relations with them.<ref>Conner & Sparks (1998), p. 203, "Kitsune"</ref> Common belief in medieval Japan was that any woman encountered alone, especially at dusk or night, could be a fox.<ref name="Tyler xlix">Tyler (1987), xlix.{{Full citation needed|date=May 2014}}</ref> | |||
===Levant spiritualities=== | ===Levant spiritualities=== | ||
| Line 353: | Line 385: | ||
{{Clear}} | {{Clear}} | ||
===Norse religion=== | ===Norse religion and Heathenry=== | ||
[[File:Ed0019.jpg|thumb|200px|Loki dressing Thor, the thunder god, in feminine clothing. Illustration by Carl Larsson and Gunnar Forssell in the ''Poetic Edda'', 1893.]] | [[File:Ed0019.jpg|thumb|200px|Loki dressing Thor, the thunder god, in feminine clothing. Illustration by Carl Larsson and Gunnar Forssell in the ''Poetic Edda'', 1893.]] | ||
==== Views about gender variance in Norse religion ==== | ==== Views about gender variance in Norse religion and Heathenry ==== | ||
'' | Norse Heathenry has a complex relationship with LGBTQ subjects. The practice of ''seiðr'' is typically regarded as women-only magical practice, requiring an openness that draws parallels to the sexually receptive feminine role found in other neopagan beliefs. Historically and currently, non-female practitioners are sometimes targeted with homophobic or effeminate harassment.{{R|group=|KraemerGS|page1=395|q1=These traditional gender roles are even more dominant in more politically conservative Pagan traditions such as Heathenry. In Nine Worlds of Seid-Magic (2002), Jenny Blain describes the gender issues surrounding Heathen practitioners of seiðr, an oracular form of shamanic practice traditionally considered to be "women's magic" (p. 90). The seið worker, it is thought, must be receptive to the spirits, and in Northern European cultures, receptivity (especially sexual receptivity) is a trait of the feminine. In the Icelandic sagas, the practice of seiðr by men—even patriarchs like the god Odinn—threatens to render them ergi, a negative state with connotations of masculation and weakness (Blain 2002, pp. 60, 115). Among contemporary Heathens, the practice of seiðr by men sometimes draws homophobic harassment from others in the community, and it may be considered evidence of homosexuality (Blain 2002, p. 122).||}} | ||
==== Gender variant figures in Norse ==== | ==== Gender variant figures in Norse religion and Heathenry ==== | ||
Gender-variant deities in Norse religion: | Gender-variant deities in Norse religion: | ||
| Line 368: | Line 400: | ||
{{Clear}} | {{Clear}} | ||
===Other European spiritual traditions=== | === Wicca === | ||
==== Views about gender variance in Wicca ==== | |||
Transgender people are generally magickal people, according to Karla McLaren in her ''Energetic Boundaries'' study guide. Transgender people are almost always welcomed in individual communities, covens, study groups, and circles.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wicca-spirituality.com/gay-wicca.html |title=The Scoop on Gay Wicca |work=Wicca Spirituality: A New Wicca for a New World}}</ref> Many transgender people were initially attracted to [[Modern Paganism]] because of this inclusion. However, there are some Neopagan groups that do not welcome transgender people. In some cases, this is because of the emphasis on the union of male and female, and the exclusion of transgender individuals from such practices.<ref name="EncWitch"/> Also, some gender separatist groups exclude transgender people, often on the basis that non-transgender individuals share certain spiritual qualities derived from genetic or biological sex.<ref name="EncWitch">{{cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of Modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism|first=Shelley|last=Rabinovitch|author2=James Lewis|publisher=Citadel Press|year=2002|isbn=978-0806524061 | |||
}}</ref> Dianic Wicca is an example of such a separatist group.<ref name=Adler>{{cite book |last=Adler |first=Margaret |title=Drawing down the moon: witches, Druids, goddess-worshippers, and other pagans in America |year=2006 |publisher=Penguin Books |page=[https://archive.org/details/drawingdownmoonw00adle_2/page/126 126] |isbn=978-0-14-303819-1 |title-link=Drawing Down the Moon (book) }}</ref> | |||
Wiccan traditions hold a wide range of differing beliefs about [[sexual orientation]] and [[gender identity]]. However, Wicca is regarded by many practitioners as a fertility religion. Starhawk wrote in her 1982 book ''Dreaming the Dark,'' "Sexuality was a sacrament in the Old Religion; it was (and is) viewed as a powerful force through which the healing, fructifying love of the immanent Goddess was directly known, and could be drawn down to nourish the world, <u>to quicken fertility</u> in human beings and in nature".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Dreaming the dark : magic, sex, & politics|last=Starhawk.|date=1982|publisher=Beacon Press|isbn=0807010006|location=Boston|oclc=8281427}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web|url=https://www.spiralnature.com/spirituality/god-goddess-other/|title=God, Goddess, and Other: Fertility faiths and queer identities|last=Xenia|date=2014-11-26|website=Spiral Nature Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203111149/http://www.spiralnature.com/spirituality/god-goddess-other/|archive-date=3 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
Most Wiccans worship the Goddess and God.{{r|group=|KraemerGS|page1=392|q1=Both rituals seek union between the divine masculine and the divine feminine as represented by a priest and priestess, but Gardner emphasized that the purpose of the Great Rite was physical and spiritual fertility...|page2=|q2=|3=}}<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Farrar1989">{{cite book|title=The Witches' God: Lord of the Dance|author=Farrar, Janet|author2=Farrar, Stewart|publisher=Hale|year=1989|isbn=0-7090-3319-2|location=London|pages=170–171|oclc=59693966}}</ref> Melissa Harrington, writing about sexuality and Wicca, noted the Goddess and God themselves, along with the Wheel of the Year that venerates them, are a "predominantly heterosexual model". Harrington also specifies how sexual activity is sacramental to Wiccans.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of psychology and religion|others=Leeming, David Adams, 1937-|isbn=978-1-4614-6086-2|edition=2nd|location=New York|pages=1638–1641|oclc=865090158|lay-url=https://www.academia.edu/25192164/Sexuality_and_Wicca|lay-source=Academia.edu - Harrington, Melissa|lay-date=2016}}</ref> Some [[Asexuality|asexual]] Wiccans/pagans have issues with this sexual veneration in regards to their personal beliefs.<ref name="asexual">{{Cite web|url=https://celestinenox.wordpress.com/2017/07/10/paganism-and-asexuality/|title=Paganism and Asexuality|last=Nox|first=Celestine|date=10 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228093608/https://celestinenox.wordpress.com/2017/07/10/paganism-and-asexuality/|archive-date=28 February 2020|access-date=28 February 2020}}{{Self-published source|date=June 2020|ABOUTSELF=Y}} | |||
{{Cite web|url=https://walkingthewheel.wordpress.com/2014/07/18/paganism-asexuality-and-the-creative-force/|title=Paganism, Asexuality, and the Creative Force|last=Wixom|first=Sixx|date=18 July 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228093606/https://walkingthewheel.wordpress.com/2014/07/18/paganism-asexuality-and-the-creative-force/|archive-date=28 February 2020|access-date=28 February 2020}}{{Self-published source|date=June 2020|ABOUTSELF=Y}} | |||
{{Cite web|url=https://foxandravenspace.wordpress.com/2015/05/11/asexuality-in-paganism/|title=Asexuality in Paganism|last=DuBhran|first=Kit|date=11 May 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228093604/https://foxandravenspace.wordpress.com/2015/05/11/asexuality-in-paganism/|archive-date=28 February 2020|access-date=28 February 2020}}{{Self-published source|date=June 2020|ABOUTSELF=Y}}</ref> | |||
Furthermore, a central part of Wiccan liturgy involves the Great Rite;{{r|ObolerGE}}<ref name=":4" /><ref>Farrar, Stewart. ''What Witches Do: A Modern Coven Revealed'' (1973) London: Sphere Books. pp85-94.</ref> an act of actual or symbolic ritual sexual intercourse between the two deities. This is traditionally carried out by a priest and priestess who have had the deities invoked upon them, and the conventional practice appears to be exclusively heterosexual. When performed 'in token' this involves the [[athame]] (representing the penis) descending into the [[chalice]] (representing the vagina).{{r|ObolerGE}}<ref name=":4" /><ref>Crowley, Vivianne. ''Wicca: The Old Religion in the New Age'' (1989) London: The Aquarian Press. {{ISBN|0-85030-737-6}} p.234</ref> | |||
Gardnerian and Alexandrian groups typically form their covens from male-female pairs exclusively.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wicca.com/wicca/wicca-forms.html|title=Various Forms of Wicca and Wiccan Traditions|website=wicca.com|access-date=2020-06-25|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627042208/https://wicca.com/wicca/wicca-forms.html|archive-date=27 June 2020}}</ref> Kraemer writes, "The British Traditional Wicca of the 1950s and 1960s saw masculine and feminine energies as wholly distinct from each other, yet complementary. Although masculinity and femininity were to be valued equally, priestesses and priests were cast into rigidly gendered, heteronormative roles."{{r|KraemerGS}} | |||
Newer Wiccan traditions often avoid or disregard the historical aversion to [[LGBT]] individuals.{{r|FWQC|KraemerGS|ObolerGE}}<ref name="Gallagher2005">{{cite book|last=Gallagher|first=Ann-Marie|title=The Wicca Bible: the Definitive Guide to Magic and the Craft|publisher=Sterling Publishing|year=2005|isbn=978-1-4027-3008-5|location=[[New York City|New York]]|oclc=61680143}}</ref> Oboler notes the change in neopagan culture thus, "Although the symbolic bedrock of Wicca and modern Paganism is strongly gender-essentialist, the Pagan community, like the culture as a whole, has been moving away from that position."{{r|ObolerGE}} These traditions sometimes cite the Wiccan ''[[Charge of the Goddess]]'' which says "All acts of Love and Pleasure are My rituals".<ref name=":7" /><ref name="Gardner 2004 p.70">[[Gerald Gardner (Wiccan)|Gardner, Gerald]]. ''Witchcraft and the Book of Shadows'' (2004) Edited by A.R.Naylor. Thame, Oxfordshire: [[I-H-O Books]], p.70. {{ISBN|1-872189-52-0}}</ref> Professor Melissa Harrington wrote that despite traditional Wicca showing [[heterosexism]] "as Wicca has grown and attracted gay practitioners they have begun to work out ways in which Wiccan rites can become more meaningful to them".<ref name=":4" /> | |||
According to professor and Wicca author [[Ann-Marie Gallagher]], "There is a moralistic doctrine or dogma other than the advice offered in the [[Wiccan Rede]]... The only 'law' here is love... It matters that we are gay, straight, bisexual or transgender– the physical world is sacred, and [we are] celebrating our physicality, sexuality, human nature and celebrating the Goddess, Giver of ALL life and soul of ALL nature."<ref name="Gallagher2005" /> | |||
The Pagan Federation of Canada stated, "Over the last few decades, many people have thought that the emphasis on male/female polarity in Wicca excludes homosexuals." However, the Federation goes on to make the case for the validity of LGBT orientations even within traditional Wicca, suggesting that gay men and lesbians are likely to be particularly alive to the interplay of the masculine and feminine principles in the Universe.<ref>Huneault, Robert.''Homosexuality and Wicca''. Pagan Federation/Fédération Païenne Canada website, accessed 11 May 2007. [http://www.pfpc.ca/info/wiccan/wicca/homo.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071229050605/http://www.pfpc.ca/info/wiccan/wicca/homo.html|date=29 December 2007}}</ref> | |||
====Gardnerian==== | |||
Gerald Gardner, the eponymous founder of Gardnerian Wicca, particularly stressed heterosexual approaches to Wicca. As Jan Van Cleve, former practitioner of traditional Wicca, wrote, "Much of Gardnerian magic is based on this notion that physical interaction between male and female is not only desirable, but also necessary."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?id=12197|title=Gender and Paganism|last=Van Cleve|first=Janice|date=27 January 2008|website=WitchVox|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124020359/http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?id=12197|archive-date=24 January 2020|access-date=11 September 2019}}{{Self-published source|date=June 2020}}</ref> This practice may stem from Gardner's text (ostensibly quoting a witch, but perhaps in his own words):<ref name=":9">[[Gerald Gardner (Wiccan)|Gardner, Gerald]]. ''Witchcraft Today'' (1954) London: Rider. p. 69</ref> | |||
{{Quote|text="The witches tell me 'The law always has been that power must be passed from man to woman or from woman to man, the only exception being when a mother initiates her daughter or a father his son, because they are part of themselves' (the reason is that great love is apt to occur between people who go through the rites together.) They go on to say: 'The Templars broke this age-old rule and passed the power from man to man: this led to sin and in doing so it brought about their downfall.' ... For this reason, they say, the goddess has strictly forbidden a man to be initiated by or to work with a man, or a woman to be initiated by or to work with a woman, the only exceptions being that a father may initiate his son and a mother her daughter, as said above; and the curse of the goddess may be on any who break this law."|sign=Gerald Gardner|source=''Witchcraft Today'' (1954)}}Gardner was accused of homophobia by Lois Bourne, one of the High Priestesses of the Bricket Wood coven:<blockquote>"Gerald was homophobic. He had a deep hatred and detestation of homosexuality, which he regarded as a disgusting perversion and a flagrant transgression of natural law... 'There are no homosexual witches, and it is not possible to be a homosexual and a witch' Gerald almost shouted. No one argued with him."<ref>Bourne, Lois ''Dancing with Witches''. (2006) London: Robert Hale. {{ISBN|0-7090-8074-3}}. p.38. (Hardback edition first published 1998).</ref></blockquote> | |||
However, the legitimacy of Gardner's rumored homophobia is disputable because Gardner showed much more evidence of an open and accepting attitude about practices in his writing which would not be characterized by the hatred or phobia which was common in the 1950s: | |||
<blockquote>"Also, though the witch ideal is to form perfect couples of people ideally suited to each other, nowadays this is not always possible; the right couples go together and the rest go singly and do as they can. Witchcraft today is largely a case of 'make do'."<ref>Gardner, Gerald. ''Witchcraft Today'' (1954) London: Rider. p. 125</ref></blockquote>As the titular leader of Gardnerian Wicca, it difficult to determine of the above passages whether they represent a personal view of Gardner, Gardner's religious teaching for the sect of Wicca, both, or neither. It is also unclear whether or not these views/teachings changed over time. | |||
=====Alexandrian===== | |||
Alex Sanders, the co-founder of Gardnerian offshoot Alexandrian Wicca, came out as [[bisexual]] later in life and created new rituals in which sexual orientation was irrelevant. However, a significant portion of Alexandrian belief is regarding heterosexual reproduction, best expressed by his wife and co-founder Maxine Sanders who is well known to emphasize the concept of male-female polarity and the fact that Alexandrian Wicca is a fertility religion. She also expressed concern about a proper functionality of transgender people (referred to as "transvestites") within coven practices, saying it best to look at other traditions that suit them more. "These people", as she is noted to have said, "they're not happy people."<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZrmRkpRTiw On the Blackchair Podcast, Special Edition Series #3 - Tea With Maxine - On Initiation]</ref> | |||
[[File:Triple-Goddess-Pentagram.svg|thumb|194x194px|The symbol of Dianic Wicca — a circumscribed pentacle combined with the Triple Goddess symbol.|alt=A green pentagram circumscribed in black in center with a waxing crescent moon on the left and waning crescent moon on the right.]] | |||
=====Dianic===== | |||
Dianic Wicca has become notable for the female-focus and anti-transgender stances of its founder, Zsuzsanna Budapest, and many members. This female-only, radical feminist variant of Wicca allows [[cisgender]] [[lesbian]]s but not [[transgender women]] in Dianic covens. This is due to Dianic belief in [[gender essentialism]], specifically "you have to have sometimes [sic] in your life a womb, and ovaries and [menstruate]{{efn-lr|Budapest's original wording here is "moon bleed" — terminology common among certain neopagan groups that believe in a [[Menstrual cycle#The Moon|link between the lunar cycle and menstrual cycles]].|name=menstruation}} and not die" according to Budapest. This belief and the way it is expressed is often denounced as [[transphobia]] and [[TERF|trans-exclusionary radical feminism]]. Budapest was vocal in her opposition to trans women.{{r|ObolerGE}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.patheos.com/blogs/pantheon/2011/03/transgender-issues-in-pagan-religions/|title=Transgender Issues in Pagan Religions|last=PANTHEON|date=2011-03-01|work=PANTHEON|access-date=2018-05-01|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525163404/https://www.patheos.com/blogs/pantheon/2011/03/transgender-issues-in-pagan-religions/|archive-date=25 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-dianic-wicca-2562908|title=What is the Dianic Wiccan Tradition?|work=ThoughtCo|access-date=2018-05-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415020853/https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-dianic-wicca-2562908|archive-date=15 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2011/mar/08/pagans-trans-women-religions|title=Why won't pagans accept trans women? {{!}} Roz Kaveney|last=Kaveney|first=Roz|date=2011-03-08|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-06-15|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212114306/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2011/mar/08/pagans-trans-women-religions|archive-date=12 February 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
Some Dianic practitioners, such as lesbian priestess Jan Van Cleve, see this discrimination as a reactionary impulse that will someday subside. Van Cleve writes:<blockquote>"The relationship of the Feminist Movement to Dianic Wicca has been a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it liberated Wiccan women from patriarchal notions of paganism, which claimed that all energy comes from the male/female polarity. The early neo-Pagan leaders were all men and sex between sexes occupied a large part of their attention and sometimes even their rituals. This was rejected by feminists who sought a spirituality they could call exclusively their own. However, as feminism was a reaction to oppression, it carried with it a mindset colored by it. Feminists rebelled against the oppression of men but very soon began to oppress lesbians in their own ranks. The early years of the National Organization of Women, for example, were rife with bitter struggles between straight and lesbian feminists.<br><br>Oppression inevitably breeds oppression. The oppressed inevitably become the oppressors. It's the old story of man beats wife, wife yells at child, and child kicks dog. The same thing happened in Dianic Wiccan circles between straight and lesbian Witches. Lesbians, in turn, oppressed Bisexual women, and today some feminists and lesbians are opposed to transgendered women in circle. These are normal growing pains of any movement and as straight and lesbian women have by now largely overcome their orientation differences, they will no doubt soon overcome their fears of their transgendered sisters as well."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?id=12083|title=Dianic Wicca|last=Van Cleve|first=Jan|date=11 February 2008|website=WitchVox|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124021931/http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?id=12083|archive-date=24 January 2020|access-date=11 September 2019}}{{Self-published source|date=June 2020}}</ref></blockquote> | |||
===Other European and Neo-Pagan spiritual traditions=== | |||
==== | ==== Feri ==== | ||
The Feri Tradition, a modern form of traditional witchcraft, has provided a home for many neopagan LGBT individuals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/features/witching-hour-lgbtq-and-paganism-1205509.html|title=Witching Hour: How LGBTQ+ views differ within Wicca and Paganism|last=August 2019|first=Holly Mosley1 {{!}} 7|website=www.femalefirst.co.uk|language=en|access-date=2019-09-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.feritradition.com/index.html|title=Feri Tradition Resources: articles and information related to Faery Tradition, Faerie Tradition, Fairy Tradition witchcraft|website=www.feritradition.com|access-date=2019-09-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509044256/http://www.feritradition.com/index.html|archive-date=9 May 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The Tradition is very open to non-heterosexual orientations and queer identities.<ref name="FWQC" /> Feri practitioner Storm Faerywolf writes:<blockquote>"As any Queer practitioner can attest, there is a definite shortage of Queer-specific models that encourage the strengthening of ourselves as whole beings. In many Neo-Pagan Witchcraft traditions, we are told simply to adopt the pre-existing (and heterosexist) magickal modalities of polarity and fertility. In the Feri tradition we are given certain tools that enable us to have healthier relationships with our Divine natures, devoid of any such baggage."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?id=9173|title=The Amethyst Pentacle|last=Faerywolf|first=Storm|date=8 May 2005|website=WitchVox|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124020507/http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?id=9173|archive-date=24 January 2020|access-date=11 September 2019}}{{Self-published source|date=June 2020}}</ref></blockquote> | |||
==== Gender variant figures in other European spiritual traditions ==== | ==== Gender variant figures in other European spiritual traditions ==== | ||