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Radical faeries (also faeries and faes) are a loosely affiliated worldwide network of queer people seeking to "reject hetero-imitation" and redefine gay identity; many are also pagans or members of counterculture movements. The Radical Faerie movement started in the United States among gay men during the 1970s sexual revolution.[1][dead link] The Faeries trace the origin of their movement's name to a "Spiritual Conference for Radical Faeries" called in 1979 by Harry Hay, John Burnside, and Don Kilhefner in Benson, Arizona.
Originally consisting of gay men, the movement has spread throughout the world over the past decades since, in tandem with the larger gay rights movement, challenging commercialization and patriarchal aspects of modern LGBT life while celebrating pagan constructs and rituals.[2] Radical Faeries today also embody a wide range of genders and sexual orientations, and most sanctuaries are open to all.[3] They adapt rural living and environmentally sustainable concepts to modern technologies as part of creative expression.[2] Radical Faerie communities are generally inspired by aboriginal, native or traditional spiritualities, especially those that incorporate genderqueer sensibilities.[4]
Faeries tend to be fiercely independent, anti-establishment and community-focused.[2]
The Faeries were a contributing influence to John Cameron Mitchell's film Shortbus.[5]
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History
In 1979, Harry Hay, his partner John Burnside, Don Kilhefner and Mitch Walker, veterans of various phases of gay liberation, issued the call to a "Spiritual Conference of Radical Faeries."[6] Those who responded met at an ashram in Benson, Arizona over Labor Day weekend (September 1). They introduced the idea of merging spirituality into gay liberation.[6][unreliable source?]
In keeping with hippie, neopagan, ecology, and eco-feminist trends of the time, gatherings were held out-of-doors in natural settings. To this end, distinct Radical Faerie communities have created sanctuaries in many rural settings.[citation needed]
In addition to the groups founded by Hay among others, there were also, concurrently meeting a group referred to as a "fairy circle" meeting in San Fransisco and organized by the queer liberation/ gender binary questioner/ neo-pagan phylosopher and writer Arthur Evans. [1]
Philosophy
The magical and "radical humanist" views of Arthur Evans, specifically his work Witchcraft and the Gay Counterculture (1978) have been seen by some faeries as influential to the movement.[7]
In an article published in White Crane on the subject of "Fairies", early Faerie, Mitch Walker emphasizes the queer cultural significance of the Faeries. Proposing that the Faeries represent the first spiritual movement to be both "gay centered and gay engendered", where gayness is central to the idea, rather than in addition to, or incidental to a pre-existing spiritual tradition. Arguing that for the Radical Faerie exploration of the "gay spirit" is central, and that it is itself the source of spirituality, wisdom and initiation. Stating that, "Because of its indigenous, gay-centered nature, the Radical Faerie movement pioneers a new seriousness about gayness, its depth and potential, thereby heralding a new stage in the meaning of Gay Liberation."[6]
Sanctuaries
Radical Faerie sanctuaries — rural land or urban buildings where Faeries have come together to live a communal life — now exist in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia[2][verification needed]
Bibliography
- Hay, Harry; Will Roscoe (ed.) (1996). Radically Gay: Gay Liberation in the Words of its Founder. Beacon Press. ISBN 0-8070-7080-7.
- Evans, Arthur (1978). Witchcraft and the Gay Counterculture. Fag Rag Books. ISBN 0915480018.
- Timmons, Stuart (1990). The Trouble with Harry Hay: Founder of the Modern Gay Movement. Alyson Publications. ISBN 1-55583-175-3.
- Thompson, Mark (2005). Gay Spirit: Myth and Meaning. Lethe Press/White Crane Books. ISBN 1590210247.
- Press
- RFD: A Country Journal for Queer Folk Everywhere
- White Crane, a journal of Gay Wisdom & Culture, is edited by Radical Faeries and has included many articles by and about Radical Faerie consciousness.
See also
References
- ^ Thompson, Mark (21 January 2003), "Remembering Harry", The Advocate, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_/ai_96072134, retrieved 2008-10-17
- ^ a b c d Morgensen, Scott. 2009. "Back and Forth to the Land: Negotiating Rural and Urban Sexuality Among the Radical Faeries." In Ellen Lewin and William L. Leap eds. Out in Public: Reinventing Lesbian / Gay Anthropology in a Globalizing World: Readings in Engaged Anthropology. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 1405191015, 9781405191012.
- ^ Gallagher, Eugene V.; Ashcraft, W. Michael (2006), Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 260, ISBN 0275987124
- ^ Encyclopedia of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history in America Marc Stein, Editor; Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004; ISBN 0684312646, 9780684312644.
- ^ Dubowski, Sandi (2006, Fall). "Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret". Filmmaker Magazine. http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/fall2006/features/erotic_cabaret.php. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
- ^ a b c Walker, Mitch (Fall 1997), "Contradictory Views on Radical Faerie Thought" (– Scholar search), White Crane Journal 34, http://www.whitecranejournal.com/wc01019.htm
- ^ Johnson, Toby, International Gay and Lesbian Revue: Critique of Patriarchal Reason, http://gaybookreviews.info/review/2593/919, retrieved 2008-03-25
External links
- Web Portal for Radical Faeries
- EuroFaeries website
- AsianFaeries
- Paganism and Gay Spirituality: A Survey of Radical Faeries in Asheville, North Carolina
- FAQ about the QueerNet Faerie Email List: online radical faerie community since 1996
- New York City Radical Faeries
- Radical Faerie Gatherings at Breitenbush, since 1982
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