By now, many of you have seen the AFA's recent post on Facebook about "the values of our ancestors and our folk". Personally, I'm disgusted by it, and I want to speak out loudly and publicly against this kind of rhetoric in my community. I am a married lesbian woman in an interracial relationship. I firmly believe that my biggest responsibility as a heathen is to protect and provide for my tribe, to make my tribe stronger and better, and everything I do should align with that.
Being a lesbian doesn't stop me from doing that. Being married to a half Mexican-American, half white woman doesn't stop me from doing that. In fact, being true to myself makes me happier and stronger and more secure! Aren't freedom and honesty supposed to be important values for all heathens? The love I have for my wife is something to be proud of, not something to be hidden away. My marriage is a boon to my tribe, not a weakness. And our future children, regardless of the color of their skin, will be no less heathen than the children of the AFA. Whiteness and straightness and gender comformity are not prerequisites of being heathen and racism has no place in this religion. How can you say that gender is a gift from the gods when the gods themselves have been known to bend gender every once in a while? It's ridiculous! This anti-LGBT and racist rhetoric comes from Christian baggage and ignorance, not from "the holy powers and from our ancestors". To say that this abhorrent ideology comes from our gods is an insult. I've read nothing in the lore that suggests only white, straight, gender-conforming people can be heathen and there's plenty to suggest that everyone is welcome here. Diversity and inclusiveness is our strength. I have seen too many people agreeing with the AFA, and too many people staying silent on this. I cannot be silent about this. I hope that others in the Heathen community will stand with me and speak out against this ideology.
Here is the text of the AFA's statement:
"Today we are bombarded with confusion and messages contrary to the values of our ancestors and our folk. The AFA would like to make it clear that we believe gender is not a social construct, it is a beautiful gift from the holy powers and from our ancestors. The AFA celebrates our feminine ladies, our masculine gentlemen and, above all, our beautiful white children. The children of the folk are our shining future and the legacy of all those men and women of our people back to the beginning. Hail the AFA families, now and always!
Matt Flavel
Alsherjargothi, AFA"
