I found Rountree's efforts to relate her exposure to witchcraft and witches a bit on the edge. I feel like her conclusions incorporate too many generalizations regarding "the church" and false assumptions about women in general. It may be that for some women, the need to be viewed as a witch or goddess is necessary to define who they are. As Rountree states in her essay, one outsider described it as a "designer religion" (Rountree, pg 220). I do not see witches and witchcraft as a growing movement. If anything, it is a fringe element.
I do see strong women staking their claim in our culture and being wise and strong enough to know who they are without having to be part of a movement. I have always been taught to reach for any goal that I wanted to achieve. I do not think that I have to fly "in the face of Christians" to reach my goals and be a strong person. I guess the act of claiming agency in my life takes on a different look than the one described by Rountree. I do not think that makes me less than the women of the "New Witch of the West" movement.
I did enjoy reading about the midwifery and how wise they were. I love it that the male medical establishment was challenged by these very wise women healers.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Dorenda-
I liked your comments on the Rountree article. I also think your title is very cute. I can see how the essay was pretty radically feminist. However, I did not feel that Rountree really made any judgments regarding these feminist witches. I almost felt her article was an ethnographic study of a group of women that she found interesting. However, I agree with you that I do not feel that I need to be so radical as the women in the study to be a strong woman. I think there are many ways that a modern woman can show her pride in her feminine power besides antagonizing others. I enjoyed your response because it made me think about the article in a new way.
Dorenda,
I agree with your post that she did include some false generalizations about the church and that this group of witches/goddesses aren't really going to grow or achieve anything in our society. I also liked the section on "wise women" as I'm sure there were many women who could have done so much healing for people if were given more of a chance by society instead of being condemned as "witches." Ridiculous.
Hi, Dorenda,
My reaction to the Rountree article was very similar to yours. This being the first time I'd heard of feminist witchcraft, I'm also inclined to think of it as a "fringe element." That causes me to be even more skeptical about the longterm success of their goals to spread a holistic worldview and reinvent the concept of the "witch." I think you bring up a very good point in discussing women who reclaim agency outside of a movement. As women become more active and prominent in our society, I think that many are claiming agency in their day-to-day activities. But because they don't consciously act under that feminist label, it's less obvious than the witchcraft movement.
Dorenda,
I agree with you on how Rountree's effort is just a little on the edge. I also see what you are saying as to how, even though as women we don't have to be a part a movement to feel succesfull, but like you said, maybe for some women they need that to feel impowered and feel that that they belong.
Hi Dorenda,
I think you picked up on some important elements of Rountree's ethnography. It's certainly a fringe movement-- I mean, this article was published 10ish years ago, and this is the first we've heard. This group is, of course, just a small piece of the larger movement, and it's good that you latched on to that idea.
AI
Post a Comment