Can we stop teaching about divine feminine & masculine energies in ways that uphold cisheteronormativity?

originally published January 16, 2023

On acknowledging harm & power in so-called healing spaces

I’m often asked about divine feminine and masculine archetypes and how to include trans, and especially non-binary, people when speaking to these teachings. The truth is that divine feminine and masculine energies are traits that exist in us all, regardless of our gender identities. What is often harmful and trans exclusionary is utilizing these teachings without acknowledging the toxicity of our dominant culture.

We exist in a society premised upon cisheteronormativity—"a pervasive system of belief that centers and naturalizes heterosexuality and a binary system of assigned sex/gender when there are two rigid, distinct ways of being: assigned-male-at-birth masculine men and assigned-female-at-birth feminine women” (definition sourced from The Gender and Sexuality Campus Center at Michigan State University).

Furthermore, cisheteronormativity is rooted in settler colonialism, white supremacy, capitalism, patriarchy, etc.—power systems that limit the freedom of our expressions, our being-ness, and our embodiment; systems that advantage and privilege some at the expense of many. And I would also argue that cisheteronormativity impacts all of us, including cishet men and women—we see this via toxic masculinity, fatphobic beauty norms, slut-shaming, etc.

To me, if we’re speaking to divine feminine and masculine archetypes, we must acknowledge systems of oppression and harm—we must acknowledge the way power functions in our culture and how hard it is to disentangle these teachings from said power structures and their individual and collective impact.

I’m reminded of a teaching from Michelle Cassandra Johnson’s Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World (2nd edition) in which she invites us to understand that “We live in a toxic culture that affects us all. We are not encouraged to see it, so we must learn to see our culture and how it teaches us to transform the absurd into normal.”

Ultimately, it's absurd that we are put in binary gender boxes according to our genitalia; it’s absurd to conceptualize of human experiences according to two gender norms, and it’s absurd that these norms influence the expectation of who we love. When we do not do the work of naming and acknowledging these absurdities, we risk perpetuating harm, trauma, and systemic oppression. We risk othering the very people we may be seeking to hold healing space for.

Consider how your privilege might impact your relationship to divine feminine and masculine archetypes. Consider how your gender and sexual identities might be normalized in these teachings. Consider the ways in which you share these energetic essences and how you might be reinforcing power and oppression in your healing work and spaces.

And remember, we must do more than simply use thoughtful or inclusive language. Language is important when it comes to culture shift and challenging power norms, and we must also commit to the deeper work needed to dismantle oppression. We must understand that solidarity and culture shift requires action.