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lambda lore
Clap if you believe in Faeries ever been called a fairy? If so, how cool is that? In a world of cyber-assimilation, being called a fairy is a sign that you challenge the status quo. And if you are a Radical Faerie, then watch out! So what is a “radical” faerie? Well, it’s more than a single person, it’s a 43-yearold movement (consisting mostly of gay men) that seeks to reject hetero-assimilation and redefine gay identity by getting to the root (the “radical” in Radical Faerie) of queer spirituality. The late great Harry Hay and others founded the movement as the Spiritual Conference for Radical Faeries in Benson, Ariz. in 1979. To give you some context, Hay was one of the founders of the modern Gay Civil Rights movement who formed the Mattachine Society (an early gay rights organization) in 1951. By the mid-1980s, faerie clusters (that is, groups of Radical Faeries) had appeared in most cities with large gay populations. The organization also established communes in rural areas so they could practice “natural” magick and work towards healing the gay spirit during the height of the AIDS epidemic. Today, Radical Faerie sanctuaries exist in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. In many ways, the Faeries are a modern gay take on the old “Bohemian” countercultures that have manifested themselves in various forms — such as beatniks and hippies — over the years. Like these bohemians, Radical Faeries eschew the materialistic consumerism and patriarchal aspects of modern gay life and seek to restore healthier alternatives, such as constructs and rituals that celebrate nature and Mother Earth. Environmental sustainability and spiritual healing are prime directives. The Radical Faeries descended upon Salt Lake City in the summer of 1989 when I returned from New York City after celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. There, the New
Issue 337 |
JULY, 2022
York Faeries had rented out the basement of the old Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street and were taking guided tours of “10,000 years of Gay History in 20 Minutes” that culminated with throwing foam yellow bricks at the pigs (police officers) while shouting, “Gay Power!” When I first met the Faeries, it was a hot, hot sticky New York night and they were melting. One came up to me, gave me a $20 bill, and asked if I’d go across
land. Here I knelt as they whacked me with a faerie wand and showered me with glitter. And so I became a Faerie. Upon returning to Salt Lake City I immediately shared my adventures with friends. While some thought, “Oh brother, here’s another Ben Williams looney tunes escapade,” I could tell that some of the faerie dust was sticking. I sent out a Sufi call to the universe saying an organizational meeting of the Radical Faeries would commence under the July 20th full moon. Three souls showed for the gathering — Connell “Rocky” O’Donovan, Michael Pipkin, and me, of course. In our circle, we invoke the Gay Spirit to determine the focus of our endeavor
the street and buy as many soft drinks as I could carry for them. I looked the guy in the eye and said, “You asked the right person because I will do it.” He smiled a cute smile at me and said he could tell I was a kindred spirit. After I returned with the sodas, the Faeries showed me the altar of Maybelline beauty products and a shrine to the goddess Judy Gar-
and we did a butterfly spread from the Native American medicine cards to determine a four-year plan for our group. Rocky and I thought of our new group as sort of an urban guerrilla tag team, spray painting pro-gay graffiti, putting up posters, and generally waging “in your face” warfare against patriarchy with our outrageous antics. However, the Butterfly Spread
BY BEN WILLIAMS
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