Re: Is Wicca Bad For Feminism
To play devil's advocate: Doesn't that amount to ye ol' "Separate but Equal" fallacy?
There is an issue, relating to the socialization of women, where women are encouraged to seek lower paying careers than men. Nursing, as opposed to being a doctor. In teaching, women tend to take the younger children, with men gradually ramping up their participation as the children get older and more intellectually capable. University professorships too have a similar problem - there are plenty more men than women, especially among hard sciences and mathematics; I've seen this even present at traditionally Women's only schools that have gone Co-Ed decades ago.
The issue here is - how much does the dichotomy of masculine and feminine archetypes in Wicca simply feed that same issue of unequal Socialization? Intellectually, people understand that no person is going to be purely one or the other among these archetypes; however, how much do we watch people use these to reinforce their own gender identity? Do male neopagans try to be manly, even to the point of being curmudgeouns? Do women neopagans try to be feminine, even to the point of abandoning the "masculine" elements they need to survive on their own in favor of more "feminine" attributes and practices?
I've watched people, and I've seen where plenty of young, independent, talented Pagan women forsake their gifts for more traditional roles - like motherhood - when they swore they would be terrible and miserable in these roles. You know what? Most of them, that I've had the displeasure of interacting with IRL were right. Its sad, but I do have to wonder how much the Gardinerian ideals of these archetypes played a role in their descent into misery. Meanwhile, I've seen guys who had never held a gun in their lives get into hunting accidents when they suddenly took interest in "masculine" pursuits.
Meanwhile, I've seen the appearance of a here-to-fore non-existent influence - the chauvenistic Wiccan. You know, that guy who thinks women belong in the kitchen and raising the kids, instead of having the opportunity to build her life as she sees fit - and he uses these Masculine and Feminine archetypes of his religion to justify it.
Is this merely individuals caving in to weaknesses in their own mental faculties? Yes, though the scale recalls how human reasoning is prone to such glitches when they're surrounded by a community that believes a certain way. Meanwhile, how many Pagans left Christianity over these same oppressive gender roles?
And rather than address it, as a community, the Pagans don't seem to acknowledge even the possibility that their beliefs contribute towards this... great.
Originally posted by thalassa
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There is an issue, relating to the socialization of women, where women are encouraged to seek lower paying careers than men. Nursing, as opposed to being a doctor. In teaching, women tend to take the younger children, with men gradually ramping up their participation as the children get older and more intellectually capable. University professorships too have a similar problem - there are plenty more men than women, especially among hard sciences and mathematics; I've seen this even present at traditionally Women's only schools that have gone Co-Ed decades ago.
The issue here is - how much does the dichotomy of masculine and feminine archetypes in Wicca simply feed that same issue of unequal Socialization? Intellectually, people understand that no person is going to be purely one or the other among these archetypes; however, how much do we watch people use these to reinforce their own gender identity? Do male neopagans try to be manly, even to the point of being curmudgeouns? Do women neopagans try to be feminine, even to the point of abandoning the "masculine" elements they need to survive on their own in favor of more "feminine" attributes and practices?
I've watched people, and I've seen where plenty of young, independent, talented Pagan women forsake their gifts for more traditional roles - like motherhood - when they swore they would be terrible and miserable in these roles. You know what? Most of them, that I've had the displeasure of interacting with IRL were right. Its sad, but I do have to wonder how much the Gardinerian ideals of these archetypes played a role in their descent into misery. Meanwhile, I've seen guys who had never held a gun in their lives get into hunting accidents when they suddenly took interest in "masculine" pursuits.
Meanwhile, I've seen the appearance of a here-to-fore non-existent influence - the chauvenistic Wiccan. You know, that guy who thinks women belong in the kitchen and raising the kids, instead of having the opportunity to build her life as she sees fit - and he uses these Masculine and Feminine archetypes of his religion to justify it.
Is this merely individuals caving in to weaknesses in their own mental faculties? Yes, though the scale recalls how human reasoning is prone to such glitches when they're surrounded by a community that believes a certain way. Meanwhile, how many Pagans left Christianity over these same oppressive gender roles?
And rather than address it, as a community, the Pagans don't seem to acknowledge even the possibility that their beliefs contribute towards this... great.
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