What does Wicca/Paganism have to say about the relative status of the sexes?

Question

Hello, all:

This post was inspired by another question:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071217182204AAzrmuc

My questions are this: What do Wicca and Paganism have to say about the relative status of the sexes? Are they considered equal and fundamentally the same? Equal and fundamentally different? Is one above or below the other? Or are such questions not important in your own experience of your religion?

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to respond.

EDITED TO ADD: Diane M, I should have been more specific :-) -- by Paganism I mean the NeoPagan religions, and I use that term in order to include everything that isn't Wicca.

Answer 1

In the past 60 years, the position of women in Wicca has changed. In the 20 years that I have been a part of Wicca, I have noticed a move towards equal and complementary, and also a move towards a broader interpretation of what male and female mean.

My physical coven, the one I work with most often, is lead by 2 women, neither of whom is "playing the man." This absolutely would not have happened outside a Dianic Wiccan coven 20 years ago.

While a cursory read of the British Traditional materials often lends the impression that women are revered in Traditional Witchcraft, it's really the trap of the pedestal. Women are revered but given no true power. Behind every High Priestess is a High Priest, and he's the one with power.

Another reason I've no interest in such things.

Answer 2

Well in my experience as a Wiccan, I've found that the general status is this: men and women are not the same. They have different attributes and needs, however they are still equally important and valued.

I do think such questions are important to ask, not only because Wicca focuses so much on the god and goddess and their different aspects, but for the benefit of the followers who may have gotten into Wicca for the wrong reasons. You've probably seen it before- a woman who just learned about the "divine feminine" from the DaVinci Code, and now she wants to be Wiccan so that she'll be treated like a goddess because she has a uterus.

Answer 3

From my experience, most Wiccans consider the sexes to be equal but fundamentally different (the notable exception would be Dianic Wicca). Masculine and feminine are viewed akin to the yin / yang symbol where one compliments the other to form the whole. Wicca also acknowledges that within each of us is a small part of the other (again akin to yin / yang).

Neither should be above or considered first. I have noticed in a few workings ('The Witch's Bible Complete' by the Farrars) where this isn't always the case and women are put before men but I tend to attribute this to the current patriarchal world view and a seeking of restoring balance by empowering women.

Blessed Be )O(

Answer 4

That's a good question, and one I've thought often about. In theory, the sexes are Equal. A few Pagans see them as being Equal and the Same, but in the teachings of some traditions, particularly Wicca they are different (polarity being central to their cosmology). In theory, different and equal. In practice, well, that's a different story.

In Gerald Gardner's original covens, the High Priestess would lead, until she got old and wasn't hot anymore, then she got replaced. Like someone else said, it was the trap of the pedestal, and worship is another form of objectification.

In the 1907's, when Feminism got a hold of Wicca, the pendulum swung the other way. Men were seen as the root of all Evil. Christianity was rejected, not because it's basic cosmology and sotereology made no rational sense, but because it was "Patriarchal." And that idea of polarity -- that some traits are stereotypically Male and some traits are stereotypically Female -- led to a romanticization of "Female" traits, and a demonization of "Male" traits. I have actually heard Pagans chanting, "Thinking bad, Feeling good," as a Mantra.

So, anti-male sexism has become a persistent problem in the Neopagan community -- mostly in Wicca, but not limited to Wicca. I once quit a Reiki circle, because the woman leading it would always make comments about how "men are naturally more aggressive and prone to violent anger than women." I was at a Pagan convention (like a festival, but in a hotel) and I wanted to buy a crystal ball. I asked the woman selling them about the rings she had to set the ball on, and selected a Hematite ring. She said, "Good, Hematite is very grounding, and men need extra help grounding, because you're not as close to the Earth. You don't have a womb." I walked away, and spent my money elsewhere. There is also a double standard at festivals. A woman who flirts with every man at the bonfire is "liberated." (and personally, I agree, I encourage such behavior) But a man who does the same is "creepy." And don't get me wrong. I believe in empowering women. I just don't think we need to disempower men. Look at everyone as individuals, not members of groups, and empower the individual! Every man and every woman is a star! But I digress. . .

And, sexism has seeped into our Magickal Theory. Women are believed to be more "emotional" and men are believed to be more "intellectual." Now, instead of countering this sexist view by showing that women can be just as intellectual, and that men can be just as emotional, and there's nothing wrong with either one -- instead of that, they've changed the word "emotional" to "intuitive," and made "intellectual" a bad thing. Again, "thinking bad, feeling good." It is believed that the Intellect gets in the way of the Intuition. And, since men are more prone to being "intellectual," they are less in touch with their intuition than women. So, women are spiritually and magickally superior to men. Do you see the problem with this thinking? The truth is that the intellect can be a powerful magickal tool, that there are many traditions, such as Ceremonial Magick and Kabalah (denounced as being Patriarchal, of course) which make use of the intellect as a pathway toward the intuition.

The problem with the theory of Polarity is that it so easily slips into the dogma of Dualism -- Good and Evil, Us and Them -- and it's Dualistic thinking that we need to get past.

The sexes are Equal, and the Same. Traits that are supposedly more "masculine" or "feminine" exist in both sexes. How they are expressed is culturally determined, not biologically determined. And, there is no reason a man or woman would be any better or worse at Magick or spirituality. We need to get over the Dualism, get beyond the Sexism, and rethink the whole notion of Polarity.

Answer 5

Wicca teaches that the sexes are equal and complementary to each other. Neither is dominate over the other.

As for Paganism, the term covers such a wide range of religions(Hindu, Buddist, Etc) I'm sure you could find pretty much any attitude you looked for.

Answer 6

For the most part, Pagans tend to treat ALL as equal in stature within the community. True, some have different roles for the genders but that is NOT based on gender stereotypes but more on mutually agreed upon ideas, not dogmatic dictates. Women have as much power and authority as do men in MOST of the different sects of Paganism although not ALL of them, Dianic Wicca (Female Dominated) being one that stands out in my mind at the moment.

Brightest Blessings,
Raji the Green Witch

Answer 7

In Hellenic Polytheism the sexes are considered to be equal in status and responsibility. Some things are fundamentally the same (both sexes can serve as clergy), and some are fundamentally different (SOME festivals are primarily for women or primarily for men -- Such as the Thesmophoria).

The religious status extends to everyday life in modern Hellenismos.....

Answer 8

I don't know that Wicca has an "official" policy, and paganism is really too broad a category to speak about in general terms like that. The individual Wiccans and other pagans I know tend to be very much into equal rights, though, with (of course) the occasional jerk.

Answer 9

We are not equal and we are not the same but we are just as important. If that makes sense. LOL I suppose it's sort of equal but different so to speak.
I am a woman and I like being one. I can not stand when people attempt to strip that from me to make me "equal" or the same. Am I "less"? Hel freaking no. But we ARE different and I LIKE being that way. I'm not sure if it has to do with religion. Most pagan men respect women for what they are, the givers of life and the protectors of home. And we can be just as warrior as men can be. Screw my kids and find out. We are celebrated for it. I like it that way too. :)

Answer 10

Equal and fundamentally the same. Most Wiccans and Neo-pagans seem to hold this view. Not all. Generally we believe that each person has a masculine side and a feminine side. We try to respect both and value both aspects . We do not always succeed.