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Concept
Radical Faeries
Summary
The Radical Faeries are a loosely affiliated worldwide network and countercultural movement seeking to redefine queer consciousness through secular spirituality. Sometimes deemed a form of modern Paganism, the movement also adopts elements from anarchism and environmentalism.
Rejecting hetero-imitation, the Radical Faerie movement began during the 1970s sexual revolution among gay men in the United States. The movement has expanded in tandem with the larger gay rights movement, challenging commercialization and patriarchal aspects of modern LGBTQ+ life while celebrating eclectic constructs and rituals. Faeries tend to be fiercely independent, anti-establishment, and community-focused.
The Radical Faerie movement was founded in California in 1979 by gay activists Harry Hay and Don Kilhefner. Influenced by the legacy of the counterculture of the 1960s, they held the first Spiritual Conference for Radical Fairies in Arizona in September 1979. From there, various regional Faerie Circles were formed, and other large rural gatherings organized. Although Kilhefner and a later, pivotal member, Mitch Walker, broke from Hay in 1980, the movement continued to grow, having expanded into an international network soon after the second Faerie gathering in 1980.
Today Radical Faeries embody a wide range of genders, sexual orientations, and identities. Sanctuaries and gatherings are generally open to all, though several gatherings still focus on the particular spiritual experience of man-loving men co-creating temporary autonomous zones. Faerie sanctuaries adapt rural living and environmentally sustainable ways of using modern technologies as part of creative expression. Radical Faerie communities are sometimes inspired by indigenous, native or traditional spiritualities, especially those that incorporate genderqueer sensibilities.
Hay's biographer Stuart Timmons described the Faeries as a "mixture of a political alternative, a counter-culture, and a spirituality movement.
Official source
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