Goddessian Apologetics: A series in defense of the validity of Goddess Centric Paths (Part One)

I originally posted this as a thread in my Goddess Group on Paganspace.net.  

We, Goddess Worshipers are a small minority in a minority religion, but even still we are often the subject of misunderstanding, suspicion and scorn.  While I see many people talking about Dianic Wicca/Witchcraft and other forms of Goddess Worship, most of what I see is criticism from those not on Goddess Centric paths.  There are very few voices from the Goddess movement being heard.  Because of this I decided to create this series to address the most common criticism I’ve come across.  I should note, that I can only write about my knowledge, understanding and opinions on Goddess Worship. These are my opinions and I cannot speak for all on Goddess Centric paths.  Just like the rest of the pagan community, Goddess Worshipers hold a variety of beliefs and are likely to contradict each other at times.

Before I start let me note some things:

• My use of the term “Goddess Worship” in this series will refer to any Goddess centric path.  This includes paths where only the Feminine face of the Divine is given focus, any paths in which the Goddess is viewed as the Supreme Being, or any paths where while male deities are also observed, the vast majority of focus is placed on the Feminine.  I realize that many pagans, if not most, worship or honor the Feminine Divine.  I also realize that sometimes “Goddess Worship” is used to refer any worship of the Feminine Divine, even paths that give equal attention to male deities.  But for sake of clarity I will be only using the term “Goddess Worship” in relation to Goddess centric paths.
• I understand not all under the “Goddess Worship” umbrella hold the belief of the Great Goddess.  But it’s just not efficient to have to write something like “the Goddess/or a Goddess” every time I refer to belief in the Feminine Divine. 
• I consider myself as a Pantheistic Eclectic Neo-pagan Goddessian.  I have researched Feminist Dianic Wicca in the past.  While there is much I like about the tradition, I take major issue with some of their teachings, and some of the views of its leadership.  I have included information about the tradition in order to educate others about it.  I don’t necessarily agree with all of it, and I do not consider myself Dianic.

1. Goddess Worship is only for Women. 
This is a common misconception.  The Goddess is open to all Her creatures.  You do not have to be female to have a connection to Her.  There are some in both Goddess Centric paths and more mainstream pagan paths that believe that women have a better connection to the Goddess than men, solely because we are female.  But I honestly believe that is bullshit.   We are drawn to what we are drawn to, and the Goddess calls who She wishes.  I doubt what a person has between their legs really matters much.  There are men out there who feel a greater connection with the Goddess and little to no connection to the God.  And that’s perfectly okay.  For these men a Goddess Centric tradition/path might be a better fit than a pagan path that’s based on the God/Goddess binary.

On the other hand there are Goddess Centric Traditions that are for women (and many times for ciswomen) only.  The most well known one is the Feminist Dianic Tradition.   The Feminist Dianic Tradition was born of the Feminist movement during the 1970’s.  Z Budapest, its founder, has stated that during that time many feminist were turning away from religion all together, because of the misogynistic teachings, and views held by many mainstream religions.  Z came across Wicca and created her own tradition which was centered on the Goddess, Women and honored women’s cycles.  Z’s tradition was not only created to make sacred the lives of women, but to serve as a safe space where women could come together and heal from the negative effects of oppression.  The Feminist Dianic Tradition was created, is still, and will probably always be women centric tradition.  For example, the tradition is heavily (pun intended) centered on the five Women’s Blood Mysteries, which are birth, menses, birthing, menopause, and death.  Because of examples like this the tradition just isn’t relevant to men.  I believe if more men knew more about the this tradition other than it’s Goddess centric, there wouldn’t be any men banging on the tradition’s door demanding to be let in.  Men, do you really want to be a part of a tradition centered on women’s menstrual cycles.  Really?

On the upside for men, Feminist Dianic Wicca doesn’t own the patient on Goddess Worship; in addition it isn’t even the only Dianic Wicca Tradition.  There are other forms of Dianic Wicca such as Mc Farland Dianic Tradition, and many more Goddess Centric paths that are open to everyone.

2. All Goddess Worshipers are separatist, man-hating, feminazi, lesbians!!!
I’ll be easiest for me to break up the above statement and address the segments separately.

All Goddess Worshipers are separatist … As I stated in the previous section not all Goddess centric traditions are exclusively open to women.  But in defense for women only traditions, just because a space excludes men doesn’t mean it is anti-man, it only means it’s a space that isn’t for men.

I love women only space and will always be a defender of it.  I’ve been a part of and have experience the power of women only space, both in secular and spiritual atmospheres.  As many of us know, men and women tend to act differently in the presence of the opposite sex.  This is the main idea behind gender exclusive schools.  When I was in college I took a “Language and Gender” class. In addition to other topics we discussed studies on the dynamics in mixed gendered groups.  These studies found that in conversation taking place in mix gendered groups, men were more likely the interrupt and dominate the conversations, and women were more likely to hold back in the conversation to let men speak.  This is indeed the best time to be a woman in history but it’s delusional to believe that all the effects of thousands of years of misogyny disappeared completely in the matter of a few decades.  This is just one example of the residue of patriarchy.

In my opinion this is the strongest argument for Women Only Space.  It allows women to have a space where we can free to speak without being interrupted, corrected, or have our experiences questioned by a man.  It also allows a space were women can discuss more sensitive topics most women wouldn’t feel comfortable discussing in the presence of men, such as experiences with sexual violence, reproduction issues, self image, etc.  And sometimes women just want a space where they’re surrounded by other women.  Our society has long understood for the need for men to have space free from the women in their daily lives.  It’s time we extend this understanding to Women Only Space, instead of viewing it with suspicion and as a threat.

man-hating, feminazi…  First I must say that these words are slurs, which are used to describe women involved in Feminist movements.  They mostly serve to create fear and the discount those who continue to work against sexism and other forms of oppression.  With that said, I realize that there are women who claim the Feminist banner who are in reality Female supremacist.  Most Feminists are about creating true equality between the sexes.  It’s not about elevating women over men, or lording power over men.

Unfortunately there are Goddess centric individuals and groups that are about Female supremacy.  While I have luckily never come across one, I have heard about them on both paganspace.net and elsewhere online.  As I stated earlier there are many paths under the Goddess Worship umbrella as well as the Dianic umbrella.  Just because some Goddess centric groups are full of belligerent misanderists doesn’t mean all Goddess centric groups and individuals are of the same nature.  Just like the existence of neo nazi Nordic Pagan groups, does not mean that all Norse Pagans are white supremacist.  For many of us our Goddess Worship is centered on connecting to the Goddess and our Goddess nature in ourselves, not the anger and hatred of the male gender.

lesbians!!!  I find it kinda funny in this common complaint of Goddess Worship and Women Only Space, that people feel the need to include the word “Lesbian” in with slurs like “feminazis” and “man-hating.” Like being a lesbian is a negative thing.  In my opinion it’s homophobic, as if Lesbians only exist as a part of some plot for male oppression.  With that said, while many leaders in Goddess Centric traditions are lesbians, and many lesbians may feel attracted to Goddess centric paths, not all Goddess Worshipers are lesbian.  In the same way not all Lesbians are interested in Goddess Worship.  The vast majority of Goddess traditions, including Feminist Dianic Wicca are open to women of all sexual orientations.

*** End of Part One. Way more to come. ***