{"id":4775,"date":"2012-02-17T13:56:47","date_gmt":"2012-02-17T17:56:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/?p=4775"},"modified":"2012-02-17T15:05:41","modified_gmt":"2012-02-17T19:05:41","slug":"missing-pantheacon-and-a-ritual-of-exclusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/2012\/02\/missing-pantheacon-and-a-ritual-of-exclusion\/","title":{"rendered":"Missing PantheaCon and a Ritual of Exclusion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The only thing worse than not attending an awesome event, is seeing all the posts from everyone who is attending on social media.<\/p>\n

PantheaCon<\/a> is awesome. It\u2019s like a big diversity fair showcasing the full spectrum of the Pagan community. There are really fantastic classes, presentations, rituals, music and people.While I can\u2019t make it this year, I do look forward to attending next year, and seeing all the amazing people that I only run into on the West Coast.<\/p>\n

This year I know a lot of people are angsty about inclusiveness. This year\u2019s theme is \u201cUnity In Diversity\u201d and PantheaCon strives to make a place at the table for every type of Pagan. Last year there was a bit of a ruckus over transgender women being barred from a women\u2019s ritual, and this year there are rituals labeled as being for genetic women only.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
I just don't feel comfortable sharing sacred space with blue mugs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I don\u2019t agree with rituals being exclusive in such a way (would a ritual for genetically Caucasian people be allowed?), but I am glad that people are being clear about who is excluded from ritual space. It makes it easier to plan, minimizes confusion, and lets folks know where you stand on inclusivity. Straight up, such a label on a ritual in my program pretty much guarantees that not only will I not attend, but I likely won\u2019t attend the facilitators other presentations and rituals.<\/p>\n

In fact, this idea of excluding people has given me an idea for a ritual. An exclusive ritual. One in which each person interested in attending is challenged at the gate and found unacceptable. A ritual only for people just like me<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Do you have a penis? Yes?<\/em> Then you can\u2019t attend.<\/p>\n

Is that your natural hair color? Yes?<\/em> Then you can\u2019t attend.<\/p>\n

Do you live outside the Southeast US? Yes?<\/em> Then you can\u2019t attend.<\/p>\n

Are you taller than 5\u20194\u2033? Yes?<\/em> Then you can\u2019t attend.<\/p>\n

Are you slim or athletic in build? Yes?<\/em> Then you can\u2019t attend.<\/p>\n

Do you have children? Yes?<\/em> Then you can\u2019t attend.<\/p>\n

Are you in a serious relationship? Yes?<\/em> Then you can\u2019t attend.<\/p>\n

Do you have brown, hazel or green eyes? Yes?<\/em> Then you can\u2019t attend.<\/p>\n

Do you like white chocolate? Yes?<\/em> Then you can\u2019t attend.<\/p>\n

Do you have a tattoo? Yes?<\/em> Then you can\u2019t attend.<\/p>\n

Are you GLBTQI? Yes?<\/em> Then you can\u2019t attend.<\/p>\n

Are you over 30? Yes?<\/em> Then you can\u2019t attend.<\/p>\n

Are you a college graduate? Yes?<\/em> Then you can\u2019t attend.<\/p>\n

Eventually all comers would be turned away, because this ritual is only for people like me, who can understand and share my experiences. People I will feel absolutely comfortable with and who won\u2019t challenge me. Which means I would stand in the circle alone.<\/p>\n

Of course, I\u2019ve been trained too-well in Wiccan principles to leave it there, so then the process of inclusion and connection would begin. Each person would step forward again and I would find something in common with them. I would find something we both share.<\/p>\n

You like Monty Python? Join the circle!<\/em><\/p>\n

You love the smell of rain? Join the circle!<\/em><\/p>\n

You have a scar? Join the circle!<\/em><\/p>\n

You like to chant? Join the circle!<\/em><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve been hurt by people you love? Join the circle! <\/em><\/p>\n

Eventually everyone who was excluded would be admitted as I work to find a connection with each person. Because it\u2019s easy to write people off. It\u2019s easy to draw dividing lines. It\u2019s easy to say that someone can\u2019t understand you or connect with you because they are different. The hard work is forging connections. The human work is forging connections.<\/p>\n

If you exclude someone from your ritual space, it should be for a good reason. It should be because the person\u2019s behavior is unacceptable. Because the person has stated an intent of ill will towards the participants or has made it known they intend to disrupt the ritual. Because the person is dishonest, dishonorable, disrespectful and disruptive.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a strange idea floating around that someone having a penis automatically makes them unsafe in ritual. It\u2019s an idea that is actively promoted and nurtured. It feeds on itself, creating a cocoon of circular logic. It invents a devil, feeds him, and keeps him menacing outside the circle\u2019s edge. It prevents real healing and growth. But a penis doesn\u2019t make someone unsafe anymore than having a vagina makes someone nice, emotional, nurturing and safe.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve said all this before. I\u2019ll likely repeat it again at some point. But if you ain\u2019t inclusive, then I don\u2019t wanna boogie \u2019round your balefire. I think there are more people who feel like I do every day. I think these exclusive viewpoints that make a demon of the Other<\/em> are fading into the past. I think the future is bright.<\/p>\n

So have fun at PantheaCon<\/a> and be certain to post updates and pictures to make me green with envy! I\u2019ll see y\u2019all next year!<\/p>\n

As I have been accused of propagating rumors, I\u2019m including this statement made 9 months after the original incident at the 2011 Pcon<\/a>. I leave it to you to judge which version of the incident seems to be reasonable and accurate:<\/p>\n

Unbeknownst to me, several gender equality activists had pre-planned a protest at PantheaCon regarding the issue of gender-and-sex-exclusive spaces. Unbeknownst to me, this group had already contacted the Pagan Newswire Collective letting them know that they planned this action. Unbeknownst to me, they were outside protesting our ritual while we were figuring out our technical difficulties, and saying that we excluded trans women. THE AMAZONS HAVE NEVER TURNED A TRANS WOMAN AWAY AT THE DOOR OF ANY OUR RITUALS.<\/strong> We believe in personal integrity. We believe that in women\u2019s culture, if a woman sets a boundary about her preferences, other women will honor that boundary. We believe that if any woman is in need of healing and is prepared to participate respectfully, lovingly and kindly in a ritual for such, she should have it. We do not do penis-checks or pat-downs. WE DO ASK THAT ALL PARTICIPANTS AT AMAZON RITUALS BE ABLE TO BE NAKED AND ALLOW THEIR YONIS TO BE PRESENT IN THE RITUAL SPACE<\/strong> for the purpose of a particular type of visceral experience, much the same way others hearken to the witches rune and gather naked at their own rites for their own purposes. There are many women, both cis- and trans-, who struggle with public nudity. There are many women, cis- and trans-, for whom this type of ritual might be triggering. There are also many women, cis- and trans-, who do not feel called to this particular type of worship. We support thoughtfulness and personal responsibility in the matter of selecting the rituals that will be most personally helpful, creating the necessary boundaries for any specific type of work one feels called to do, and respecting the boundaries of others, whether we share those boundaries and agree with them or not.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The only thing worse than not attending an awesome event, is seeing all the posts from everyone who is attending on social media. PantheaCon is awesome. It\u2019s like a big diversity fair showcasing the full spectrum of the Pagan community. There are really fantastic classes, presentations, rituals, music and people.While I can\u2019t make it this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":4776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[492,605,704,876,1285,2711,1311,2715],"class_list":["post-4775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-diversity","tag-festival","tag-glbtqi","tag-inclusivity","tag-pagan","tag-paganism","tag-pantheacon","tag-ritual"],"yoast_head":"\nMissing PantheaCon and a Ritual of Exclusion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The only thing worse than not attending an awesome event, is seeing all the posts from everyone who is attending on social media. PantheaCon is awesome.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/2012\/02\/missing-pantheacon-and-a-ritual-of-exclusion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Missing PantheaCon and a Ritual of Exclusion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The only thing worse than not attending an awesome event, is seeing all the posts from everyone who is attending on social media. PantheaCon is awesome.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/2012\/02\/missing-pantheacon-and-a-ritual-of-exclusion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PANTHEON\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-02-17T17:56:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-02-17T19:05:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/102\/2012\/02\/800px-Discrimination-Diversity-02.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"465\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Star Foster\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Star Foster\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/2012\/02\/missing-pantheacon-and-a-ritual-of-exclusion\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/2012\/02\/missing-pantheacon-and-a-ritual-of-exclusion\/\",\"name\":\"Missing PantheaCon and a Ritual of Exclusion\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-02-17T17:56:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-02-17T19:05:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/#\/schema\/person\/ac61b8c1a66bae870ac040938898606d\"},\"description\":\"The only thing worse than not attending an awesome event, is seeing all the posts from everyone who is attending on social media. PantheaCon is awesome.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/2012\/02\/missing-pantheacon-and-a-ritual-of-exclusion\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/2012\/02\/missing-pantheacon-and-a-ritual-of-exclusion\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/2012\/02\/missing-pantheacon-and-a-ritual-of-exclusion\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Missing PantheaCon and a Ritual of Exclusion\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/\",\"name\":\"PANTHEON\",\"description\":\"Where Star Foster Attempts To Be Clever Regarding All Things Pagan\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/#\/schema\/person\/ac61b8c1a66bae870ac040938898606d\",\"name\":\"Star Foster\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/448d4588747284e753d07aecb599dd2c?s=96&d=retro&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/448d4588747284e753d07aecb599dd2c?s=96&d=retro&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Star Foster\"},\"description\":\"Southern polytheist in the Midwest.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/author\/star-foster\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Missing PantheaCon and a Ritual of Exclusion","description":"The only thing worse than not attending an awesome event, is seeing all the posts from everyone who is attending on social media. PantheaCon is awesome.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/2012\/02\/missing-pantheacon-and-a-ritual-of-exclusion\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Missing PantheaCon and a Ritual of Exclusion","og_description":"The only thing worse than not attending an awesome event, is seeing all the posts from everyone who is attending on social media. PantheaCon is awesome.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/2012\/02\/missing-pantheacon-and-a-ritual-of-exclusion\/","og_site_name":"PANTHEON","article_published_time":"2012-02-17T17:56:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-02-17T19:05:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":"800","height":"465","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/102\/2012\/02\/800px-Discrimination-Diversity-02.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Star Foster","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Star Foster","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/2012\/02\/missing-pantheacon-and-a-ritual-of-exclusion\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/2012\/02\/missing-pantheacon-and-a-ritual-of-exclusion\/","name":"Missing PantheaCon and a Ritual of Exclusion","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-02-17T17:56:47+00:00","dateModified":"2012-02-17T19:05:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/#\/schema\/person\/ac61b8c1a66bae870ac040938898606d"},"description":"The only thing worse than not attending an awesome event, is seeing all the posts from everyone who is attending on social media. PantheaCon is awesome.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/2012\/02\/missing-pantheacon-and-a-ritual-of-exclusion\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/2012\/02\/missing-pantheacon-and-a-ritual-of-exclusion\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/2012\/02\/missing-pantheacon-and-a-ritual-of-exclusion\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Missing PantheaCon and a Ritual of Exclusion"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/","name":"PANTHEON","description":"Where Star Foster Attempts To Be Clever Regarding All Things Pagan","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/#\/schema\/person\/ac61b8c1a66bae870ac040938898606d","name":"Star Foster","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/448d4588747284e753d07aecb599dd2c?s=96&d=retro&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/448d4588747284e753d07aecb599dd2c?s=96&d=retro&r=g","caption":"Star Foster"},"description":"Southern polytheist in the Midwest.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/author\/star-foster\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pantheon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}