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Feb. 19th, 2012 11:30 pmI went to the protest at the Sacred Body of a Woman ritual tonight here at PantheaCon, and you can read about my experiences here.
First, I want to emphasize that this is only my opinion, not that of any organization I am a part of or write or otherwise work for. This is me, as an individual, speaking.
Second, this is raw material—emotionally and otherwise. PantheaCon ends tomorrow (Monday), and I need to release this from myself before I make the long, rejuvenating journey back up the 101 to enjoy the coast as I return to Portland. If there is time to process further, then I will continue to share the distillations when and as I can. Such as it is, I will be reading comments as they come into my inbox, but may not respond immediately. In the meantime, if you feel the need to comment, please keep it as civil as you can; I realize this is an emotionally charged topic for a lot of people on all sides.
FInally, I do have to thank PantheaCon for allowing room for continued discussion, debate, and demonstration. I know it's easy to say that they just shouldn't have allowed the ritual to occur due to discrimination, but they're in a tough place with a lot of pressures and people coming at them from all directions. So I want to thank the PCon people for the space for everything that has occurred this weekend, and handling it as well as they could under the circumstances.
So. I was not at PCon last year, so I did not firsthand experience the controversy surrounding the Lilith Rite, which was limited to cisgender women only, though this was not made clear, to my understanding, until people were turned away at the door for being male or transgender women. If you wish to read more about that, just Google “PantheaCon 2011” “Lilith Rite” and you'll get plenty of observations from people who were there; it may be helpful just to familiarize yourself with what's fueled this year's theme. I will say that I found out about the controversy from people who were here and experienced the situation firsthand, but I would prefer to speak of my own firsthand experience here tonight.
( First, what I observed happen: )
( And now, my initial impressions, still fresh and raw in my mind and heart. )
First, I want to emphasize that this is only my opinion, not that of any organization I am a part of or write or otherwise work for. This is me, as an individual, speaking.
Second, this is raw material—emotionally and otherwise. PantheaCon ends tomorrow (Monday), and I need to release this from myself before I make the long, rejuvenating journey back up the 101 to enjoy the coast as I return to Portland. If there is time to process further, then I will continue to share the distillations when and as I can. Such as it is, I will be reading comments as they come into my inbox, but may not respond immediately. In the meantime, if you feel the need to comment, please keep it as civil as you can; I realize this is an emotionally charged topic for a lot of people on all sides.
FInally, I do have to thank PantheaCon for allowing room for continued discussion, debate, and demonstration. I know it's easy to say that they just shouldn't have allowed the ritual to occur due to discrimination, but they're in a tough place with a lot of pressures and people coming at them from all directions. So I want to thank the PCon people for the space for everything that has occurred this weekend, and handling it as well as they could under the circumstances.
So. I was not at PCon last year, so I did not firsthand experience the controversy surrounding the Lilith Rite, which was limited to cisgender women only, though this was not made clear, to my understanding, until people were turned away at the door for being male or transgender women. If you wish to read more about that, just Google “PantheaCon 2011” “Lilith Rite” and you'll get plenty of observations from people who were there; it may be helpful just to familiarize yourself with what's fueled this year's theme. I will say that I found out about the controversy from people who were here and experienced the situation firsthand, but I would prefer to speak of my own firsthand experience here tonight.
( First, what I observed happen: )
( And now, my initial impressions, still fresh and raw in my mind and heart. )