PantheaCon 2012; Unity in Diversity and Controversy Recap
February 21, 2012 in Uncategorized
The 18th annual PantheaCon event was held this weekend, February 17, 2012 to February 20, 2012, in San Jose, California over the President’s day weekend. This event was held at the Double Tree Hotel and featured four days of workshops, concerts, vending and parties.
Some of the most notable Pagan musicians, leaders, authors and community members were present to share in the theme of Unity and Diversity. While much of the Pantheacon weekend was without incident or controversy, the topic of Transgender inclusion once again became a topic of discussion.
On February 18, 2012, the Saturday of the event, a public announcement was made on Facebook by T Thorn Coyle that she would be sitting in silent meditation outside of the Z Budapest Sacred Body of a Woman ritual. In the program description for the ritual it used the words “genetic woman only” for the event that was happened the following night. Thorn posted a blog titled Holding Beloved Community on her website to express her thoughts on the issue.
“The only words attributed to Z as part of the conversation of anger, exploration and healing last year felt ugly, hateful, and inflammatory to me, and this year, her one offering to our collective included the words “genetic women only.” After all the work so many put in last year, my heart could not let this stand unmarked.”
Z Budapest responded with a statement of her own on facebook asking for supporters to “Come out to stand for the rites of the Dianics to have safe ritual space at Pantheacon” and a call to many elders within the community.
On the night of the event approximately 89 people were present for this silent meditation in the hallway of the Double Tree Hotel for the 9pm ritual performed by Z Budapest. Pantheacon organizers were also present at this time. The hallway echoed with the singing of sacred Goddess songs upon Z Budapest’s entrance into the hallway and stopped as she faced the crowd to make a statement.
Z Budapest made a statement to the crowd that included an apology for the hurt that has been created by this situation. Her flustered speech to the crowd deviated from the statement that was pre-prepared and therefore the statement was passed out afterwards by Pantheacon staff.
“I know you are here for me. I come out to say something to all of you. I am sorry if I have hurt anyone’s feelings. I apologize. I stand for your right of sacred space for the trans community. I stand with my life’s work for the women to have the right to their sacred space equally. I have supported PantheaCon goals for unity and diversity for the 18 years this conference has existed and an opportunity to have everyone to express themselves in a safe place. Peace”
The crowd stayed for 30 minutes in silent meditation after the ritual doors closed.
More reports, information, community impressions, editorials and follow up will be posted throughout the week, including other Pantheacon news and reporting. Please stay tuned for information as posted.
Crystal Blanton reporting, Pagan Newswire Collective Bay Area
I’m disheartened that this is the (only?) news report for PantheaCon. Did anything else happen at this four day event? Who were some of the “notable Pagan musicians, leaders, authors and community members” who were there to “share in the theme of Unity and Diversity”?
Last year at this time I was on the verge of joining (or more fully participating) with either Reclaiming or CAYA. Then the mud started slingin’ and I realized that this was not where I wanted to find my spiritual guidance and inspiration (at least at that time).
I attended PantheaCon again this year–but not for the evening programs–and it was a wonderful experience. The speakers were amazingly insightful, a delight to listen to; attendees were outgoing, gentle in discussion, and very helpful in explaining things I didn’t understand; the rituals were powerful.
Where are the PNC reports on THIS aspect of PantheaCon?
Greetings and absolutely there will be more. That is why the end of this report says that there is more to come, including about other reports of pantheacon. Due to timing and the event ending today, reports will be posted throughout the week. Thanks for your patience and understanding as we continue to mobilize our supports and upload the reports to the site. Stay tuned.
Perhaps the Pantheacon organizers, given the controversy surrounding last year’s exclusionary event, should have refrained from offering another one – particularly one held by the person who made the most hateful and bigoted statements in response to PCon 2011′s rite. A teaspoonful of sewage in a barrel of fine wine turns the whole thing into sewage – and Z’s attitudes are definitely sewage. Shame on Glenn Turner and the rest of the PCon staff for lacking the courage and foresight to avoid this.
The Pantheacon staff were in a position to evaluate what it would mean to deny much of the diversity being celebrated by excluding one section of Paganism. The staff were present and appeared supportive to both sides of the concern, including Glenn Turner. The previous year’s ritual that was controversial was not Z’s ritual and the problem was the communication concern where it was not outlined in the program that trans women were not able to attend, not the rite itself.
I somehow doubt that telling a group of vulnerable, disempowered and traumatized women that their bodies are monstrous and don’t deserve to be celebrated with other women’s bodies is a part of diversity that we should be celebrating.
Crystal: you’re engaging in the fallacy of the excluded middle. There’s a difference between giving Dianics a venue (i.e. allowing Z Budapest to offer a presentation on Dianic Wicca) and allowing them to hold a rite which willfully excludes a number of other attendees based on a distinction which many within the community find hateful and hurtful.
There are many BTW practitioners who traditionally excluded gay men and lesbians because of questions about “polarity.” Would they be allowed to hold a ritual which turned away homosexuals at the door? Now let’s suppose the person holding the event had earlier made some very controversial public comments about “perverts spreading AIDS” and the like? Would Pantheacon give them a venue in the name of “diversity” so long as they made it clear their ritual was intended for heterosexuals only? (After all, there are lots of gay and gay-friendly events going on: who are you to discriminate against homophobes?)
Sorry, but allowing Z Budapest to hold a “genetic women only” ritual in the face of last year’s brouhaha can only be read as a slap in the face to transfolk and trans allies.
Kenaz, thanks for your input. I am only reporting the facts of what happened. I am not engaging in the fallacy of the excluded middle. I am stating the position that the Pcon staff had to make. Thanks again.
“There are many BTW practitioners who traditionally excluded gay men and lesbians because of questions about ‘polarity’.”
I’ve been BTW for almost 20 years, and I have yet to actually meet another BTW (of any trad) who does this.
I understand from conversations I’ve had with BTW elders that yes, this used to happen. But I don’t know of anyone who won’t admit that it did, nor do I know of anyone who would do so now. I think describing this as something “many” practitioners do “traditionally” is a bit misleading.
Crystal: thanks for clarifying that you are just relaying the official PCon position, not your own feelings. I’ve commented a bit more on this issue on my blog and would be interested in hearing your personal position on this insofar as you are able and willing to share it!
This is a very important issue for our community/s, and I thank you for reporting the facts for those who were not there.
I can’t disagree w/ Z’s supposition that dianics deserve a safe place to worship. But in light of last years hubbub , why do such a ritual at Pantheacon . She should have known this would open unhealed wounds/resentment from last year. Seems to me only open non exclusionary rituals should be done at large pagan gatherings . No one gets their nose out of jiont that way. No one in the pagan community would want to limit what any group , Dianics , Blood Woman , or any other does on thier own time . But to do such exclusionary rituals at a public event is sure to stir up a hornets nest. I may be wrong , was this her intent ?, some in our community thrive on publicity.We in the pagan community need to come to terms w/ all our members , doing this type of stuff is just plain inflamatory and ignorant to be blunt . There is a time and place for everything, a public gathering is not the place for exclusionary rituals The LGBT community has every right to be upset about this , as can straight men . No one shoulsd be excluded from a ritual at a large public event such as Pantheacon. Kilm
OK, riddle me this: Why do statements and stances that we would immediately howl in outrage about and repudiate if they came from the religious right suddenly become “understandable”, “negotiable”, or “trivial” as I have seen more than one leader espouse? Why do we need to be soothing over stances within the community that we would reject out of hand if they came from outside? If you don’t believe me, put some of Z’s remarks over Ann Coulter’s or Rush Limbaugh’s byline and see how you feel about them.
No, this is not to stir up more poop, it is meant to get people to take a real good look at all of the crap that we “tolerate” in our community that we’d never put up with from outside – not just the TG issue.
How could any Convention with a theme of “Unity in Diversity” permit an event with blatant exclusion to be included within the ambit of the authorised events? Any racist/ classist/ sexist/ cissist hierachy of excluding some people for not being good enough/ white enough/ rich enough/ woman enough …. is discrimination based on false ideas of superiority. Some people are born with bodily defects, maybe missing an arm due to thalidomide; this shouldn’t exclude them from an event that includes hand-holding. Some people are born with bodies that don’t match their brain gender, and they may transition later in life to their real gender after living with the wrong gender identity. A trans woman is still a woman. She may not menstruate but then neither do other women after menopause; are post-menopausal women also excluded?
If rituals and practices cannot be sensitively inclusive, then those who wish to practice them should remove themselves from the Convention for the practice or have a separate gathering at another time.
[...] Z. Budapest incident clarified something for me, though: The masculine/feminine polarity need to be, like, seriously [...]
[...] Pagan Newswire Collective [...]
It’s no coincidence that Z Budapest’s rhetoric reads like a broadside from the feminist movement of the 1970′s. That is when her generation initially fulminated their life-long animosity toward transwomen, and that is why this is at root a dispute between generations.
For those interested in the actual source of Z Budapest’s ritual beliefs, check out the decades-long controversy over the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. That is the culture she is attempting to insinuate into the Pagan world:
http://www.fuah.org/MWMF_press-statement.html
At least we are able to discuss our differences and opinions openly;not like when I was in college we couldn’t dicuss words like ‘warlock,witch as opposed to shaman,gay woman instesd of lesbian,reading Tolkien,Andre Norton,discussing Bell,Book and Candle-things my high priestess and high priest wanted to censor. Again, I am glad we can and should discuss and address these issues openly and honestly
I have not seen a single message of support for bio-women only space on this page. As a Dianic I believe it is important to have women only space to allow women to create supportive community without the influence of men. Not acknowledging patriarchy restricts our dialogue around this issue to oversimplification.
This being said, I believe in including transwomen with other women unless their are opportunities/enough people to create both an inclusive (cisgendered and transgendered) and exclusive (one cisgendered and one transgendered) groups. I still think it is vital to understand why separate groups are important in our community. Imagine that their was a hispanic group that did not want to include other people of color but just focus on their needs as hispanics. In some instances all people of color could circle together, or people of all colors just like all women and all genders, but sometimes people want to form communities or circles based on their identities. In some ways Pantheacon, in fact Paganism as a whole, is just that, people choosing community with others that they identify with and not people that they do not identify with. Why shouldn’t women be able to choose a community of women based on either identity or socialization?
Let’s not let this issue create misogyny or transphobia but rather explore our needs to identify ourselves as women, Witches, Pagans, transfolk and our myriad of other identities. We should all be able to explore our identities in community with others that identify similarly.