This episode is dedicated with love to Imre Torok.
Warning: We discovered during our research that Z Budapest has been labeled and embraced the label of TERF – for those of you not familiar with this acronym, it stands for Trans Exclusive Radical Feminist. We at Missing Witches are not that. INclusivity is our mandate and our guiding principle, so we were a bit shook by this discovery. After some discussion, we realized we had three choices: we could ditch the episode, we could go ahead with the story but sweep that stuff under the rug, OR we could use this platform to respectfully disagree and tell this story as a way to start a conversation not just about Gender but ALSO about what we do when we find rot amid the ancestors’ bones we’ve been collecting. In the spirit of Safe Spaces of all kinds, we want to make Missing Witches as safe as we can – a place where we can talk about issues from a core ethic of radical compassion. Where it’s safe to ask questions, make mistakes, or respectfully disagree. Learn. Grow. Change our minds. Recognize how experience shapes point of view. We want to name and shame the failings of our ancestors but retain the ability to separate the toxic from the healing. Our goal is learn from their missteps, why they happen, and do better, without throwing away the valuable lessons they have to teach. As Layla Saad wrote, “the loftier goal, is to help us to become better ancestors for those who will come after us.” And as Michelle the Birch Trail taught us: Call in before you call out. So this is us, Z. Calling in.
Referenced in this episode
My Dark Sordid Past As A Heterosexual
Summoning the Fates: A Generational Woman’s Guide to Destiny and Sacred Transformation
The Holy Book Of Women’s Mysteries
