The Concept of Gender in a Wiccan

By John Anthony Limanto

Wiccan Church of Canada 569 Spadina Ave., Toronto, ON March 1, 2020

Late at night, within University of Toronto’s Multi-Faith Centre, the scheduled of the Wiccan Church of Canada take place. The religion I saw there is known as “modern ,” or . Observing their ritual, I noticed two themes: the of unknown gender, but also the distinct gender roles of the priestly witches. I will explore these two seemingly paradoxical themes through the theories of the ideology of gender by Mary Daly, and Judith’s

Butler’s views on sex and gender. My understanding of these two theories has come from

Malory Nye’s Religion: The Basics. The Wicca religion stands out to me as a counter-cultural experience as it is a revival of medieval , which is an object of disdain in many major world religions. I wanted to see for myself how paganism is represented in Wicca as a real faith outside of the historical texts about it.

The first pattern I noticed is that the Wiccan ritual maintains some distinctive gendered clothing for their priests in their rituals. To an extent, the priests’ clothing indicated the role they played in the ritual. Outside of the ritual circle was one male priest with a giant staff. He wore baggy monk-like clothing and appeared to act as the “guardian” of the ritual. He did not participate in the ritual but scouted the perimeter while it took place, an act we were told symbolically conveyed that he’s the protector of the vulnerable priests and worshippers engaged within the ritual. Other male priests within the ritual also wore “baggy monk” clothing. In contrast, the women within the ritual were in distinct white dresses. Although dressed differently,

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both men and women took charge of the ritual at various points, invoking different gods in turn.

The final ritual dance involved a man in warrior clothing and a woman in a white dress.

In responding to the question of whether gender is biological or socially constructed,

Judith Butler challenges the question altogether. Specifically, Butler defines gender as “a powerful discourse which creates the sense by which we define and understand the bodies we live in.”1 Wiccan commitment to medieval witchcraft seems to also have inherited a discourse about differences between “male” and “female,” expressed in the distinct, gendered clothing of men and women. This discourse seems to indicate at least one basic male role in society as the guardian with unfashionably minimal clothing needs. This role of guardian may also be connected to the man who seemed to be dressed as a warrior. These roles may relate to Wiccan ideas about the need to take on responsibility for the threat against nature. The female roles however were more ambiguous. It’s possible the white dresses represent “purity” of some kind, but this meaning was never stated. Aside from this point, the women’s clothing simply distinguished them from the men but did not explicitly indicate specific gendered roles. They shared responsibility for the ceremony with some of the men, but otherwise did not appear to have distinct responsibilities.

The second pattern I noticed was one of the most striking features of the gods: their anonymity. In fact, this point was mentioned to me in a conversation before the ritual. One of the priests told me that the essence of Wicca is the of “many gods” which are not part of the mainstream Christian, Jewish, or Islamic faiths. She explained that the gods’ origins could range from Norse to Greek mythology. During the ritual, the participants would invoke vague forces of nature such as the “ of wind,” “god of fire,” etc. But, for them, even the god they invoked for their blessings is unknown. This is summed up in their closing chant: “we are grateful for all the

1 Nye, Religion, 83.

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unknown blessings already on their way.” Behind the unknown blessings are the unknown blessers. The anonymity of their identity is also the anonymity of their gender. In other words, the gods were not presented in any specified gender or sexual expression.

Observing the “gender-less” gods can also help us to see how “gender-less”-ness empowers genders of all stripes. After all, a god embodied in gender may also be a god that normalizes a gender domination over other expressions. For example, Mary Daly believes that religion is androcentric and is a reflection of the male struggle for control.2 For Daly, the gods represented as males are the figures that females worship; in doing so, females are “silent participants… forced into exploitation.”3 With this idea in mind, Wiccan silence towards the gender identity of the gods might aid in creating gender-inclusive power structures. Similarly, the frequent appearance (or invocation) of the Wiccan gods in large diverse groups may inhibit dominance of one specific group. The Wiccan ritual—in its emphasis on a broad range of gods— does not allow for any god to be singled out and held up as an ideal. According to Daly, such a perspective prohibits male domination in the realm of the gods and on earth. One can see how the non-gendered gods of the Wiccans are compatible with the non-gendered authority of their priests. Although it appears somewhat paradoxical that the Wiccans presented gods without gender, but represent gender distinctions by their priestly outfits and roles, power appeared to be shared among the group; there was no single person or gender in charge of the ritual.

2 Nye, Religion, 85. 3 Nye, Religion, 85.

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Student photo: Shivdeep, Tanjim, and John at the University of Toronto’s Multi-Faith Centre

Relating this analysis to my own personal life, one startling event for me involved the weight loss program that I had been undergoing for many months. One of the motives for the program was my own dissatisfaction being regarded as an overweight/obese male. Remarkably, the question I keep coming back to seems to be the answer that Judith Butler gives in Nye’s book: “gender is a powerful discourse which creates the sense by which we define and understand the bodies we live in.”4 As a heterosexual male, I understood an attack on my traditional notion of gender as a powerful attack on my sense of identity. Intuitively, it is easy to be hurt over the issue that we are not physically capable to fit with the body we have in the

4 Nye, Religion, 83.

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society we live in. In the end, the weight-loss program was unexpectedly successful. There have been a few things that I learnt personally in the aftermath that have allowed me to appreciate

Judith Butler’s theory. The main thing, I think, is the issue of fitting in to the discourse of masculinity. Like Butler, I do believe that a huge portion of masculine expectations have been revised through discourses as opposed to biology. Perhaps becoming physically may be a natural result that emerges from attempting to overcome health problems. However, expectations such as how to use a physically fit body in the context of masculinity seem arbitrary and yet hold astonishing authority over us. Socially, males are appreciated when our physical appearances and behavior allow us to attract sexual partners. Such is the power of Butler’s discourse—the powerful discourse of gender and sex.

Bibliography

Nye, Malory. Religion: The Basics. 2nd ed. New York and London: Routledge, 2008.

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