It's about time for a thesis update I feel!
Reflecting back on the first 11 months of my PhD I have learnt a lot about Goddess Spirituality's origins which I had never thought to look much into when I was more fully involved in the movement on a personal level. This has been super interesting and really valuable. It is sometimes easy to make judgments on the past based on current opinions and contexts; but looking at the motivations behind GS and second-wave feminism has really opened my eyes to broader perspectives and experiences.
I now have 119 questionnaire responses - 113 of which I can use - so I am delighted and very grateful! There are so many fascinating insights that have been offered!
The biggest challenge for my thesis this year has been attempting to define what GS is today, and to obtain primary sources and contacts who identify with it. Pre-millennium GS (in its modern manifestation and interpretation) placed an emphasis on feminism, making it a lot easier to identify than it is today. Today, feminism is certainly still involved for the majority of my round 1 questionnaire respondents - but not for all. The early new millennium saw a decrease in feminism as a socially attractive stance. Fast forward into the second decade and it started to become maintstream again. This has had an affect on GS, in that many new adherents happen to align with feminism but it may not be the reason for pursuing GS or be considered relevant to it.
This makes identifiying GS Goddess devotees and related literature hard to find! For one thing, there is no shared label for a Goddess devotee, and devotees may align with additional spiritual paths, thereby going by labels such as "Witch", "Eclectic Pagan", or "Hellenic". This means if I find a YouTube channel or a blog post by an Ecectic witch working with/worshipping Aphrodite, I often need to contact them directly to ask if they align with GS - which also often requires a definition on my part as the term is vague! Some of my questionnaire respondents identify with GS because they primarily work with/worship one or more Goddesses - but they don't adhere to any other the other characteristics gor GS that I suggested. Others identify with GS but do not consider themselves Goddess-centred because their form of GS embraces all manifestations of deity.
This becomes more complicated when looking at books. Goddess devotees use books from all different traditions and so it is rare for me to find a book that declares itself GS (though there are some). This means that when I am reading the perspectives offered in the book I cannot tell if it is informed through a GS perspective or not.
There are some very clear sources but typically these are from those who were active in GS pre-millennium. The are still active today so can certainly to referenced - but they may demonstrate a continuation rather than new developments.
This is all super important because it all affects a vast continuum of historical revivial and modern innovation. Early on in my research I can already see that Goddess devotees rest upon the entire spectrum.
So how do I obtain sources which are truly reflective of GS and not other forms of contemporary Paganism?
- Well, firstly I have advertised my questionnaire and research amongst some relevant online groups and self-identifying Goddess devotees and hope that the word gets out. Self-identification is of course preferred to my own assumptions.
- When I search for sources online, I try to ask the author if they identify with GS - though I don't always get responses. I have to make an educated guess, based on my suggested five charactertistics.
- I typically consult books and related literature that I know have been used by identifying Goddess devotees; although the author may not identify this way, their work is used to inform GS nonetheless.
- Importantly, I also have to accept the data I find - which means that in the 21st century there is considerable overlap between GS and other forms of contemporary Paganism. Schoalrship likes things to fit into a tidy box, but traditionally GS has never done so. And that's ok.
