"The Burning Time Revisited: Rekindling the Fires of Radical Feminism"

a report from the Re-Imagining Gathering
by Doug King
posted 11-1-00

Mary Daly, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Theology at Boston College, where she teaches Feminist Ethics. Her courses are accredited for both graduate and undergraduate students, and are offered for cross-registration through nine theology schools and universities in the area. Mary is well known for her many books, beginning with The Church and the Second Sex to the most recent, Quintessence ...Realizing the Archaic Future: A Radical Elemental Feminist Manifesto. In the past 30 years, Professor Daly has lectured at over 300 colleges, universities and public gathering all over the world. Her most recent lecture was at "Festival of 2000 Women" in Frankfurt, Germany. She has also appeared on radio and television.

(From the Gathering program book)

While the other speakers at Re-Imagining were thanked with standing ovations at the end of their presentations, Daly was welcomed with one before she even started. Her significance to the feminist movement is that great, and her presence at this "Millennial Gathering of the Re-Imagining Community" was that important.

She began by proclaiming, "I'm really here to summon you, to offer you an invitation -- from the call of the wild and the world of the weird." She went on: "I'd like to make the seemingly absurd proposal that radical elemental feminism is the politics of the 21^st century." Quite clearly, in the face of gentle questions being raised by voices representing the "Third Wave of Feminism," Daly was calling her audience to remain steadfastly committed to the radical (and angry) vision that she has articulated over the last couple decades.

Weaving together snippets from many of her books, her feminist redefinitions of words like courage and nemesis and patriarchy, and insights from contemporary science, Daly seemed to be building a case that the world, still dominated by patriarchal systems and attitudes, is moving steadily toward a future in which humanity will render itself obsolete and the natural world will be destroyed. The only hope, she said, is for "wild women" who are unafraid to confront the evils of patriarchy, and who will live out of "the unseen fabric of connectedness," affirming the wholeness of all of reality.

Acknowledging that she had not heard Rebecca Walker's talk in the morning, nor read her books, Daly took the trouble to comment that "I disagree with the phrase 'Third Wave feminism,' because the generations must be linked and not separated." There is no real difference between the generations, she implied, except that the younger feminists don't appreciate the battles fought by the women who have gone before them.

So while she no longer feels any need for a patriarchal God, said Daly, the image of the goddess is still meaningful as "a great metaphor for the unseen fabric of connectedness."

In the time for discussion after her talk, Daly was asked to explain the meaning of "grace," as in the title of her latest book, Amazon Grace. Grace, she said, is the assurance that we are not alone, "that our foremothers are with us ... and the angels!"

Rebecca Walker then rose to respond as one of the founders of the Third Wave. Beginning with a very warm affirmation of Daly's work and all she has meant to younger women, Walker continued by saying that "I was dealing with young men and women who were turning away from feminism and activism. It was important to us that we connect to the Second Wave," but also that we find new forms of feminism that would appeal to people for whom the earlier struggles were finished. She asked Daly to comment on whether the two "waves" are really incompatible. Dr. Daly's response was very brief, and then Thandeka rose, asking Daly to give a more serious response to a serious question.

Daly's response seemed to offer impressive confirmation that there really are differences. "We're not enemies," she said sharply, "but I'm not dead yet lady!" She went on to add that "You have a great mother!" (Walker had never in her own presentation mentioned her famous mother by name.) She then made some reference to "right wing women pretending to be feminists."

Thandeka stood again to try to make a bit of understanding possible between the waves, insisting that the younger women are not denying the significance of people like Daly, but suggesting that both mothers and daughters need to be heard by the other.

PVJ's Facebook page

Mitch Trigger, PVJ's Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!

Voices of Sophia blog

Heather Reichgott, who has created this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:

John Harris’ Summit to Shore blogspot

John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive

Got more blogs to recommend?

Plan now for our 2010 Ghost Ranch Seminar!

GHOST RANCH SEMINAR

July 26-August 1, 2010

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