Who Am I?
There are some things that you can't know/ unless you've been there/ but oh how far we could go if we started to share. . . - Ani Difranco
I don't want to get bogged down in arguments that have nothing to do with the points I'm trying to make so let me make some statements here that are applicable to whenever I write about difficult issues such as gender and feminism and how it relates to witchcraft. Please, feel free to call me out if you feel I don't understand an issue about class, sex, gender, religion, race, etc. But let's try to have a conversation and not a shouting match.
I realize I've shied away from writing about these issues for a few reasons:
1. I don't like internet shouting matches and I don't particularly like being yelled at. Talking about any of these issues is an open invitation to get yelled at. If you're not sure how to structure your discussion points and you're feeling mad about something I've said but you would like to treat me like I'm an actual human by taking time to frame your discussion points, please consider this article. We may end up agreeing to disagree , but I will be likely to engage with you as long as the discussion is productive and not attacking me personally. If you would like to just shout at me through the ether, I'm going to ignore it.
2. When I first started blogging about magic, I didn't want to be pigeon holed as a Dianic Wiccan. It's part of my experience in magic and a very important part to me but I've found once you say those two magic words, people have a lot of misconceptions about who you are and what you believe in. At this point, I've been blogging about magic for five years and I've written over five hundred posts. I invite you to check out my WitchVox articles to get a good idea of who I am generally speaking as a Witch and as a human. Or you know, my archives since they're prolific.
With that being said, here's some things about me and what I believe in:
1. I identify as a third wave feminist. I believe anyone can be a feminist, regardless of gender.
2. I identify as a Witch.
3. I have a degree in Women's Studies from Douglass College with a minor in Pyschology.
4. I have been an initiated Priestess in the Dianic Wiccan tradition for fifteen years.
5. I am married to a man. I don't hate men or women or trans* people based on their gender.
6. My sex is female, my gender is female too.
7. I have found/continue to find women's space to be very healing for me. Women's space is defined by me as a space where anyone who identifies as a woman is welcome, regardless of biology. It's not for everyone and spaces that are defined by gender can be problematic for trans* people as well as people who don't strongly identify with their sex/gender.
8. I am aware that I have privilege as a white middle class woman who lives in the U.S. My feminist struggle comes from that background and is different than a woman of color's struggle, a gay man's struggle, a trans* person's struggle, etc.
9. I live with an invisible condition that effects me every day (fibromyalgia).
10. The patriarchy hurts everyone. Men too.
11. The Divine Feminine is very sacred to me. I believe anyone who feels called to access that for themselves should have a right to do so.
12. I believe in The Goddess and I believe in goddesses. I believe in God and gods, too.
13. I believe everyone should be allowed to love and marry (if desired) whomever they love in whatever configuration.