Witch-Shaming: Why You Must Stop Using "Witch" As An Insult

Why You Must Put An End To Witch-Shaming

By Ghia Vitale
@GhiaWasHere
QuailBellMagazine.com

I’m a real person. I’m also a witch. That’s why asking you to please stop using the term “witch” to describe women whom you don’t like.

During many points in history, being accused of witchcraft could get you killed. We might not get murdered today for our spiritual beliefs and practices, but we still face stigmatization that needs to end. In an age where society values social awareness, it’s time to wake up to the fact that witches come in all shapes, sizes, genders, and moral codes. To call someone a “witch” as an insult is like using any other religious label as such: disrespectful. Undoubtedly an effect of Abrahamic religion’s scorn for witchcraft, people either think of us as mythological beings or just all-around rotten individuals. Hence why people still use the term “witch” as an insult.

It’s about time that you realize that witches are members of incredibly varied spiritual traditions, arguably the oldest in the history of humankind. People considered medical and scientific applications to be “sorcery.” Having a third nipple or birth mark, midwifery, medicine, and hanging out with women are only a few things considered to be “witchcraft.” Witches can do all of that and more, but 1 thing that all of us do is deliberately alter our circumstances and future through the art and science of magick. Prayers can be spells, depending on how you use them. We use our intentions first and foremost to bring about desired change varies based on individual beliefs and traditions.

Witch-shaming definitely has something to do with the idea of a woman being in power because “witch” is an insult that targets women exclusively. Notably, ladies who manipulate and connive. Witches are always depicted as female; it’s part of the stereotype. While some scholars might claim that it’s “an exaggeration to state that the crime of witchcraft was sex-specific and solely attributable to women, it remains quite undeniable and quite compelling the role of gendered structures of power in the European witch-hunts: misogyny, though not the only explanation, pervaded every aspect of early modern society.” Today, people of all genders are called “witches,” not warlocks. Why give us such a terrible association based on stereotypes?

“Pagan” is the term that most witches identify with because the label applies to anyone “holding religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions.” It also carries a strong association with nature worship, something that most witches participate in to some degree. Yes, a lot of us do wear witch costumes and celebrate the dark mystique that surrounds the public imagination’s image of us. But it’s our place to reclaim it, not yours. I can’t wear a pentacle without getting funny looks or rude remarks. We still have to justify why we take Samhain/”Halloween” off (you know, the Christianized term for our very-old Sabbat) to employers. We have to deal with people assuming that we’re evil and thinking it’s alright to crap all over us because they’ve decided we’re bad people based on our religious beliefs.

If you pride yourself on being tolerant and open-minded, then please omit “witch” from your insult-vocabulary.

#Real #GhiaVitale #PaganPride #WitchProblems #Witchcraft #WitchShaming #Feminism
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