Was he really a homophobe? I've read somewhere he was (don't remember the source now unfortunately), and if that's the case I'm not sure I want to call myself Wiccan anymore--after all, I left Christianity because it's founders were against LGBTs. Why would I join another whose founder was also a bigot?
Is anti-LGBT prejudice still an issue in modern Wicca? Apparently a number of early Wiccans, including Sybil Leek as well, were no more enlightened than the Christians on this matter.
Gerald Gardner
My understanding is not so much that Gerald Gardner was a homophobe in as much as he was very much about observing strict polarity in his rites. Some have construed that as being homophobic but...I don't think so. A gay man or woman is still...well, a man or a woman. Now as for those who identify as opposite of their physical gender or no gender at all...I'm not sure where traditionalist Wiccans would stand on that.
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Greymalkin
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Two years ago I conducted a telephone interview with Raymond Buckland. It was for a pagan magazine I was working with at the time. After the 'official' interview for the magazine Mr. Buckland was good enough to spend almost an hour chatting with me personally.
I raised this very issue with him because I too had read this somewhere in a book.
Mr. Buckland said that Gardner had very strong views on homosexuality and wouldn't allow openly gay people into his covens.
Apparently he believed that homosexuality 'went against nature' and 'flies in the face of Wicca' because Wicca is all about the tides of nature and the reproductive systems within nature.
Mr. Buckland was quick to point out however, that Gardner was very much a product of his time.
It must be remembered that attitudes towards homosexuals wasn't always as liberal as they are today.
Gardner was an old man in the 50's and the general opinion of homosexuals back then was pretty much the same as the opinions we hold today about child molesters.
Homosexuality was still illegal in Britain in the 50's and the last of the laws governing homsexuality were still in place right up until the 90's.
I don't think Gardner was homophobic, he was just a man of his time. Back then people couldn't be seen to show support for homosexuality, it would be like us saying rape is ok or pedophilia is perfectly fine - could you imagine?
Whatever the origins of Wicca shouldn't stop you from following your true path.
Most Wiccans today don't have a problem with homosexuals, I've been to some wonderful gay handfastings and everyone there - be they gay or straight - has had a wonderful time.
Of course there are Wiccans today who think gays shouldn't be part of Wicca but then there are people in all walks of life who think the same way.
Homosexuality, even in this 'enlightened' time, is still viewed by many as an 'alternative lifestyle', and a lot of people don't like what they aren't familiar with.
I don't think we will ever have complete acceptance from everybody, and that's ok. I don't think I want it.
I raised this very issue with him because I too had read this somewhere in a book.
Mr. Buckland said that Gardner had very strong views on homosexuality and wouldn't allow openly gay people into his covens.
Apparently he believed that homosexuality 'went against nature' and 'flies in the face of Wicca' because Wicca is all about the tides of nature and the reproductive systems within nature.
Mr. Buckland was quick to point out however, that Gardner was very much a product of his time.
It must be remembered that attitudes towards homosexuals wasn't always as liberal as they are today.
Gardner was an old man in the 50's and the general opinion of homosexuals back then was pretty much the same as the opinions we hold today about child molesters.
Homosexuality was still illegal in Britain in the 50's and the last of the laws governing homsexuality were still in place right up until the 90's.
I don't think Gardner was homophobic, he was just a man of his time. Back then people couldn't be seen to show support for homosexuality, it would be like us saying rape is ok or pedophilia is perfectly fine - could you imagine?
Whatever the origins of Wicca shouldn't stop you from following your true path.
Most Wiccans today don't have a problem with homosexuals, I've been to some wonderful gay handfastings and everyone there - be they gay or straight - has had a wonderful time.
Of course there are Wiccans today who think gays shouldn't be part of Wicca but then there are people in all walks of life who think the same way.
Homosexuality, even in this 'enlightened' time, is still viewed by many as an 'alternative lifestyle', and a lot of people don't like what they aren't familiar with.
I don't think we will ever have complete acceptance from everybody, and that's ok. I don't think I want it.
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frisbee
I appreciate both of your insights. I do understand what you're saying about the majority of people having no understanding of homosexuality back then. On the other hand, many Americans in the 1950s were against civil rights for racial miniorities. Funny, the stupid things people have believed throughout history.
Of course, I'd hardly call the present age enlightened. Things are better, yes, but if you look around at the things people say (especially conservative Christians), it makes me wonder.
The gender polarity "doctrine" has long confused me, and I'm not sure I agree with it. Even the heterosexual emphasis on the God's relationship to the Goddess and the focus on fertility bothers me a bit. It's not that I'm against all things straight, I'd just like to see my own sexuality acknowledged as well.
Of course, I'd hardly call the present age enlightened. Things are better, yes, but if you look around at the things people say (especially conservative Christians), it makes me wonder.
The gender polarity "doctrine" has long confused me, and I'm not sure I agree with it. Even the heterosexual emphasis on the God's relationship to the Goddess and the focus on fertility bothers me a bit. It's not that I'm against all things straight, I'd just like to see my own sexuality acknowledged as well.
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Greymalkin
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It's all out there - you just have to find it.
I was part of an exclusively gay male coven for 2 years and the work we did was just as valid and relevant as mixed covens I've been in (sometimes more so).
There are all-female covens, all-lesbian covens, people in wheelchairs covens - allsorts.
Personally I don't view the relationship between the God and Goddess as two seperate people, I see them more as a force, a single energy with male and female aspects - which is what we all are anyway, regardless of gender or sexuality.
I was part of an exclusively gay male coven for 2 years and the work we did was just as valid and relevant as mixed covens I've been in (sometimes more so).
There are all-female covens, all-lesbian covens, people in wheelchairs covens - allsorts.
Personally I don't view the relationship between the God and Goddess as two seperate people, I see them more as a force, a single energy with male and female aspects - which is what we all are anyway, regardless of gender or sexuality.
There is a book by Christopher Penczak called "Gay Witchcraft" and I'm pretty sure he's Wiccan although maybe not traditional Gardner style. I think you can read a nice preview on Google Books.
Here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=bfgwjO ... q=&f=false
Take care.
Here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=bfgwjO ... q=&f=false
Take care.
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Greymalkin
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