Friday 26 September 2014

Wicca On Non-Binary Genders And Intersex

I am not sure if I have mentioned it before but I am Wiccan. More specifically I consider myself an Eclectic Solitary Wiccan. In all religions it does fall on the question are queer people accepted in the religion? 

Wicca is not an organised religion by a sense. Wicca is a branch of paganism but many different Wiccans follow different paths and worship different deities and have different beliefs. Even if the same coven it is rare that two different Wiccans will hold the very same beliefs but many will be similar.

When it comes to non-binary genders I am referring to those who are made up by transphobic teenagers who have special snowflake syndrome, I am referring to the very real non-binary people who desire both genitals, or none or even moving fluidly between genders. Transgenderism is not a choice as many want it to be because they wish to deny that they hold any privilege, transgenderism is caused when a person's mind holds a mismatch to their genitals they have. For example I was born with a vagina and breasts and uterus but I have dysphoria that means sometimes I want no breasts and no genitalia, sometimes I want no breasts and a penis, sometimes I want breasts and a vagina, sometimes I want breasts and a vagina and penis, and sometimes I want no breasts and a vagina and a penis. That is what is it. Now I am not in a coven, but I would like to be, so I might not be the best person to talk about this as I do not have much experience facing discrimination within Wiccan or Pagan groups. 

However it is a general rule that within Paganism and Wicca itself that being transgender or non-binary people are accepted into individual study groups, covens, communities and circles. In fact this inclusion where sexual orientation and gender identity are not meant with hostility that draws many queer people towards Wicca, myself included. It is a heartwarming experience to fully embrace a religion that does not view you as a sin or immoral or an abomination. For those who haven't read the 'Energetic Boundaries' study guide by Karla McLaren it states that transgender people are magickal people. I believe this also implies to non-binary people as some people do not separate non-binary and transgender-which is in their rights to class themselves as transgender or not. 

That being said there are some individual paths within Wicca which are not so accepting to due an large emphasis of a union between man and women. Not only does this exclude transgender people but non-binary people who do not identify as male or female as well as queer people who are attracted to the same-sex.  Dianic Wicca is one of those which are notorious for being transphobic due to their belief that people have certain spiritual qualities deprived from biological sex. However I do believe that such groups are a minority while the majority are accepting.

As for acceptance of intersex individuals I am not intersex myself so my assessment is not based on personal experience but based on extensive research into Wicca and all its various paths as well as speaking in various forums. There is a lot of God and Goddess imagery but there is not open bigotry as far as I can see. People can not help how they are born after all and regardless of genitals many do respect that we are all human beings. Some do want to press "gender corrective" surgery but most are very accepting and open minded. Intersex people as well as those who are non-binary can chose whichever role they most identify with, feminine or masculine.  

In whole I do not find much issue being queer with Paganism or Wicca itself. While as in all groups there is some bigotry there is far more acceptance. In the Wiccan Rede it states 'as ye harms none, do as ye will' and a lot of Wiccans takes to mean open acceptance and tolerance towards all. I as an pansexual pangender Wicca have never been meet with open hatred or ignorance when around other Wiccans in real life or via the internet. I have always been meet with openness and understanding. Sometimes I have to explain what pangendered is but everyone is very welcome to learning and understanding. I am personally not against educating people. 

I know this is another short post and for that I apologise deeply but I don't believe I have anything left to say about being non-binary and intersex within Wicca. I don't want to repeat myself so I shall leave it as this. I hope I have helped people understand what it means to be non-binary within Wicca. I like to think that this blog isn't just helpful to me but helpful to everyone else too. 

1 comment:

  1. hi- I was excited about reading this until i got to the third paragraph. First of all, what, are teenagers not allowed to identify as trans? secondly, gender and physical sex are separate issues. They can interact with each other, as you said they do with you, in some cases, but not all trans people want to change their genitals. Physical dysphoria, while commonly seen among trans people, is not the end-all-be-all. I am nonbinary transgender, and I experience mental and social dysphoria, which are just as real as physical dysphoria. I was told that I was a girl when I was born and sometimes I do feel like a girl, but sometimes I feel like a boy, and sometimes I feel like neither. Just because it doesn't have to do with my genitals does not make it less valid or that I'm a "special snowflake" looking for attention. Like you said, it's not a choice, nor would I change it, but there are oppressions and hardships that go along with being transgender and not feeling physical dysphoria as well. I'm not saying that your experience is invalid or that you are wrong for having dysphoria, but that other people have a different experience from that, and what you were saying was very invalidating and adding to the oppression and gatekeeping of transgender individuals.

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