Friday, January 25, 2013

Polywhaty What?

So it's finally happened. I have a blog. This is that fantastic moments in every modern activist's life where they start telling people they feel ways about things.

Twitter has been a fantastic resource, helping me to learn from more established activists in real time and keep up with major issues, but (character limit reached) it has an obvious drawback for larger blocks of content. Facebook doesn't have a character limit but I'm left with a limited pool of people to discuss issues with. I was warned away from Tumblr as if I had suggested poking a bear with a stick covered in meat. Now I've finally settled on a location and a format and I'm ready to begin for real.

So who am I? What is a Polyamorous Pagan and how does that differ from either of those things alone? Why do I suddenly have a blog?

For the purposes of this blog I'm a collection of identities attempting to express their connection to one another. I'm an eclectic polytheistic Pagan exploring multiple mythologies, learning to energy work, and engaging with city spirits.I'm a currently-single Polyamorist and self identified Queer. I'm a Socialist in theory, looking for a praxis I can get behind. I'm a cis-male but I like to present androgynously. I'm a student, an amateur novel writer, an activist. Most importantly I'm all of these things at the same time, trying to remain a single coherent idea.

The reason I want to blog is because I've spent a lot of time reading Pagan blogs and Polyamorist blogs without seeing the content that makes a sustained connection between those identities, and others that I myself have managed to experience simultaneously. I've been inspired by P. Sufenas Virius Lupus tying together Queer identity with Paganism in a way that helped me to make the same leap, Crystal Blanton and Nadirah Adeye from Daughters of Eve exposing the invisibilization and  marginalization of women of color by the larger Pagan community and demanding better, and the Poly & series by Modern Poly. I think a new voice is necessary not only to speak on these numerous groups and movements individually, but also to bridge the gap between them and show what they have to gain from one another. So I will be commenting on issues relevant to Paganism, or Socialism, or the Queer/LGBTQQIAAPP (and I'll be covering acronyms extensively) community, or Polyamory as distinct from Queer, but also how they connect to one another and to other communities and other movements.

My plan is to start my blog with a series of "what is..?" posts to help explain some of the terms I've already used. I can't provide a perfect definition of some (greater minds than I are arguing about what Pagan covers even as you read this) but I can explain what each identity has meant in my life and give some broader background for people entirely new to the terms. Following that I'll attempt to tie them together and show how neatly they can fit that way. Stuck between these posts and following indefinitely after will be posts on individual issues, ideas, or replies to other articles.

Ideally I'll even be able to keep things interesting.

2 comments:

  1. An excellent opening to what I expect will be quite an adventure. :)

    I can see why Tumblr isn't the best option for an actual written blog, like this one, as Tumblr is more focused on photos, GIFs, and fandoms. This is a space where you can truly let your keyboard express yourself properly, and it's easier to be heard/seen.

    I admire how many different intersecting identities you have. The more you use, the more complex you become on paper, which also reflects your interests and beliefs, and it really shows how strong you are mentally.

    Small advice: when using acronyms, make sure to either link or define them. It's taken me 7 years to know and understand what each of the letters you used stands for, and there's still plenty more where they came from.

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  2. Thanks for the advice. I'll try to go back in and make sure I at least define them in these initial posts, but I hope as I get more of this interface figured out I'll be able to put some some links to the posts defining different letters and identities in some easily referable place on the main page.

    I hope you enjoy the rest of the blog as it develops. I'll be keeping an eye on yours too.

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