Women and Gender Issues in British Paganism, 1945–1990 (Palgrave Historical Studies in Witchcraft and Magic)

Description

This book explores the ways in which changing views on gender and the place of women in society during the latter half of the twentieth century affected women’s participation and standing within British Paganism. More specifically, it examines how British Wiccans and Wiccan-derived Pagans reacted to the rise of 'second-wave' feminism and the Women's Liberation Movement in the UK – with a special emphasis on the reception of feminist theory hailing from the USA – and to the emergence of feminist branches of Witchcraft and Goddess Spirituality during the 1970s and 1980s. The book draws on primary sources never before analyzed in an academic context and makes a valuable contribution to the growing body of knowledge on gender and religion during the twentieth century, as very little research has been conducted on the relations between the history of modern Paganism and that of second-wave feminism in the UK. Acknowledgments Contents Chapter 1 Introduction Occultism During the Victorian Through Interwar Periods The Rise of Wicca and Contemporary Paganism(s) Women and Gender Issues in British Paganism, c. 1945–c. 1990 Layout Chapter 2 The 1950s–1960s: Gerald Gardner and Alex Sanders Alex and Maxine Sanders Chapter 3 The Women’s Liberation Movement and the Rise of Matriarchy Study Groups in the UK During the 1970s–1980s Radical and Cultural Feminisms in the United States The Women’s Liberation Movement in 1970s–1980s Britain The Rise of Dianic and Feminist Forms of Witchcraft in the United States Matriarchy Study Groups Chapter 4 The Arenas: Glastonbury, Greenham Common, Summer Festivals, and London Glastonbury The Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp Festivals, Conferences, and London Chapter 5 Individual Case Studies of British Goddess Women and Dianic Witches Connecting British Wiccans and Feminism Pauline ‘Asphodel’ Long Kathy Jones (b. 1947) Jean Freer Janet McCrickard Felicity Wombwell Shan Jayran Monica Sjöö (1939–2005) Chapter 6 Main British Wiccan Authors React to WLM and Feminist Witchcraft The Sanders During the 1970s Stewart and Janet Farrar Patricia Crowther Lois Bourne Doreen Valiente Vivianne Crowley Marian Green Rae Beth Chapter 7 Women and Gender Issues Among the 1970s–1980s Wiccans and Wiccan-Derived Pagans: An Analysis of the Magazine Scene Researching Zines The Wiccan The Cauldron The Aquarian Arrow Wood and Water Beth Neilson, Loren Liebling, Imogen Cavanagh, and Batya Podos Jo O’Cleirigh Pagans Against Nukes Moonshine Phil Hine’s Northern PaganLink News and Pagan News Julian Vayne and Catherine Summers’ Pagan Voice Progressive Wicca and Dragon’s Brew Kimberley Morgan’s Magazines and Booklets John Rowan The Changing Status of the Horned God Changes in Gender Relations During the 1980s Chapter 8 Conclusions Bibliography Index