A Gay Man, Author, and Pagan
Interview with author Michael Thomas Ford By Christopher Blackwell

Michael Thomas Ford is the author of more than fifty books of both nonfiction and fiction that often deal with Gay life. Ford began his writing career in 1992 with the publication of 100 Questions & Answers about AIDS: What You Need to Know Now, one of the first books about the AIDS crisis for young adults. He has since published collections of essays, nonfiction books about sex and religion, and novels in a variety of genres. His work has been nominated for eleven Lambda Literary Awards, twice winning for Best Humor Book and twice for Best Romance Novel. He was also nominated for a Horror Writers Association Bram Stoker Award.

What caught my attention was his book The Path of the Green Man: Gay Men, Wicca, and Living a Magical Life (Citadel Press, 2005). So I asked him for an interview on it.

Christopher: Much of your writing is dedicated to the Gay Community. Would you consider yourself something of an activist?

Michael: Not in the traditional sense of the word. I have done some work with activist groups, most notably when I lived in New York in the worst years of the AIDS crisis, but now any activism I do is in the form of my writing. And I do think writing about issues of importance to Gay people is a form of activism in that it gives a voice to people and issues that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Anything that gets people to think about their place in the world and what they can do to improve their lives and the lives of others is, I think, a kind of activism.

Christopher: Why did you decide to do a book for Gays in the Wiccan community?

Michael: I'd been involved with the Pagan and Wiccan community for a number of years, and although I mostly found it a very accepting community I still felt that there was a need for a book addressing the experience of Gay men in that world. I had started with a group of Gay male friends, a circle we called the Green Men, in which we explored different possibilities for celebrating our experiences and deepening our connection to the pagan world. It was a very eclectic group, so we didn't define ourselves by any one name like Wiccan or even Pagan. We explored all kinds of traditions and in a way made up something uniquely our own. It was a wonderful experience, and I wanted to write a book that captured some of that magic.

Christopher: There have been a number of books that have tried to cover this aspect of Wicca. What did you feel that they missed and what do you bring to the subject that had not yet been covered?

Michael: At the time there had been, I believe, two books that directly addressed the experience of Gay men in Wicca. One was a very, very angry book that espoused an almost violent path based on getting revenge for the abuse Gay men had suffered from straight society. The other was a lovely book celebrating gay spirituality, but it didn't address actually creating a path for exploring the connection of Gay men to Paganism and Wicca. So I felt it was time to do that. I really just wanted to create a book so that Gay men interested in the topic could read it and say, "Okay, now I have an idea of what I might want to do."

Christopher: Where can people find this book and buy it?

Michael: The book is no longer in print. However, copies are still available on the secondary market. I recommend those interested in having a copy check bookselling websites such as www.alibris.com, abebooks.com, and the used copies for sale through Amazon.

Christopher: How long have you been Wiccan?

Michael: I consider myself more Pagan than Wiccan, primarily because I have not worked with a group in some time and don't follow a specific practice. My life now is about being aware of how interconnected we all are and using that to effect change in myself and in the world around me. In that sense I think I've always felt Pagan. I just didn't have a name to put on it until I was in my 20's.

That's when I began studying in earnest and participating in groups.

Christopher: In general how do you find Gays are treated within the Wiccan community?

Michael: I think it varies. My personal experience has always been very positive. However, I can't say that every group I've encountered has been especially understanding of Gay spirituality. Traditional Wiccan groups in particular strongly emphasize the male/female pairing, and I think sometimes people of that mindset don't know how to -- or don't want to -- make room for Gay people in that structure. We often make the mistake of thinking that because people are interested in Pagan spirituality that they're somehow more evolved or more accepting. But the reality is that people bring all of the usual baggage into this, and sometimes that includes homophobia.

Christopher: Can Gay men do anything that might improve how people respond to them in the Community, Wiccan or the larger community?

What could straight men do?

Michael: I don't think it's up to Gay men to change how we are perceived in any community. I think it's more important that we develop traditions and practices that help us grow into the best people we can be. When we do that we become people who are in tune with the rest of the world and our place within the larger community develops naturally.

I do think that the majority of the resistance to Gay men in Pagan and Wiccan communities does come from straight men. My suspicion is that this is because a certain percentage of straight men are attracted to Wicca because of its emphasis on the feminine. In short, they like the idea of adoring women. For some of them Gay men don't fit into that vision. Again, it isn't our job to show them we belong. It's their job to achieve what in my opinion is the entire point of spiritual practice, which is to recognize the interconnectedness of everything. When you do that you no longer fear other people and who and what someone else is should no longer threaten who you are.

Christopher: What would you like to see both for Gay men or just men in general in the Wiccan community?

Michael: I would like to see more Gay men learning about what it means to be Pagan and/or Wiccan. There are a lot of opportunities in that world for exploring our spirituality, and for men who have felt excluded or uncomfortable in other traditions Paganism and Wicca offer a way to create something that is not only welcoming but useful to achieving a better life.

Christopher: You feel that we men need to develop our relationship more with the god? Should we try to beef up the god's part in ceremony?

Michael: That's a personal choice. I think everyone should work with the deities they find themselves responding most to. I do think it helps a lot of men to envision a male deity. My personal feeling is that deities are simply reflections of aspects of ourselves we have or wish we had, and that celebrating them and learning about them strengthens these parts and helps us use those traits to better our lives and the lives of others. Again, I don't think there's any one right way to do anything when it comes to spirituality. In fact I'm immediately distrustful of any group or any individual who insists that there is a way we're "supposed" to do things.

Christopher: Women had women's lib, do men need a men's lib to redefine just what they want manhood to be to fit their personal needs and abilities rather than trying to follow a stereotype of what a man should be?

Michael: I think we need people's lib in general. Looking at the world in terms of male/female is an outdated concept. Rather we should be encouraging everyone to celebrate individuality in all its forms. What matters in life is becoming the best person you can be.

Yes, that can include understanding and celebrating your role as a man who is a father, or husband, or friend to other men, or whatever role you take in your life. But I think it's more important that we understand who we are as people and that we allow ourselves to grow into the best example of that person we can. Can you imagine if every person, beginning at birth, was encouraged to develop his innate talents and interests without being told, "This is what it means to be a man"? It would be an interesting world to live in.

Christopher: You write quite a variety of types of books and are pretty prolific. What is your latest published book and what is coming?

Michael: My most recent book is Jane Bites Back, a comic novel about Jane Austen living as a modern day vampire. That's in stores now. In April my next novel for gay readers comes out. That's called The Road Home, and it has a very strong Pagan theme to it. Then this fall I have coming out Z (a novel about zombies) and the follow-up to Jane Bites Back, which is called Jane Goes Batty.

Christopher: Where can people learn more about you, your books and where can they find them for sale?

Michael: The books are available at bookstores everywhere and of course through online sellers. And readers can find me at www.michaelthomasford.com, www.janebitesback.com, and at my blogs at http://mtford.blogspot.com and http://grumbledog.livejournal.com.

Christopher: Anything else you would like our readers to know?

Michael: I would just encourage them to focus on understanding who they are as human beings and how they connect with the world around them. I think that is more important than any organized spiritual system. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in looking for someone to tell us how we "should" do things that we forget why we want to do them in the first place. So whatever spiritual path you take, first understand what it is you want to achieve with your life and then explore how you can achieve that within your chosen tradition.