Growth and Evolution

The HIV epidemic has not, as was feared by some, brought about the demise of the faerie phenomenon. Indeed, the faerie movement continues to grow.

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While it is true that some of the "founding faerie fathers" held gender specific and essentialist views that now seem exclusive and discriminatory, the faerie movement has actually been more inclusive than many people realize. People of all genders and orientations now find and identify themselves as faeries.

Finally, faerie culture is both evolving and evanescent. There are as many definitions of the faeries and their movement as there are faeries to ask. What is certain is that the faerie experience has enhanced and sometimes profoundly changed the lives of many glbtq people.

Goddess religions, especially those that feature a singular Great or Mother Goddess, honor female energy for its role in fertility and the creation of new life.

Patriarchy, literally "the rule of the fathers," is a social system in which men hold positions of power and women are oppressed and glbtq people are treated negatively.

Rural life offers both challenges and satisfactions for glbtq people.

Although sometimes reviled by heterosexuals and homosexuals alike, the sissy has historically helped define gay culture, and has questioned the dominant constructions of sex and gender.

Today's glbtq spirituality movements must be seen as part of a long history in which gender-special people were considered sacred to their tribe or family because of their obvious spiritual gifts.

Primarily a nature religion that seeks to commune with the divine through the contemplation and celebration of nature and its mysteries, Wicca--like other contemporary pagan traditions--celebrates our existence in this world.

Activist Harry Hay, an original member of both the Mattachine Society and the Radical Faeries, is recognized as one of the principal founders of the gay liberation movement in the United States.