Witches and Queers – they go together like chocolate and peanut butter, am I right? There is such an indelible bond between them, so much so that in many cases the line separating them does not seem to exist. If I had a dollar for every queer person I knew who is obsessed with movies and TV shows like The Craft, Practical Magic, and Charmed (as well as figures such as Maleficent, Nancy, or Ursula the Sea Witch), let me just say that I could retire comfortably. So, what is it that makes queer people gravitate toward Witches and the Craft?
One answer is that many LGBTQ+ individuals feel alienated from the religions of their upbringing, causing us to look elsewhere for spiritual fulfillment. According to a survey by the Pew Research center in 2015, queer people are nearly twice as likely to identify as a member of a non-Christian religion than their heterosexual counterparts.
Another component to this is that Witches often are figures of self-empowerment. They know what they want, and despite being held down by an oppressive and Puritanical state, are able to break the rules and thrive (I’m looking at you, Winifred Sanderson.)
You rang, Storm? (Winifred Sanderson from 1993’s Hocus Pocus) [Disney]
Though Witches can be —and often have been— any gender, Witchcraft, in popular culture, has always been at least strongly associated with women. While some areas during the infamous European Witch Trials accused more men than women (for example, in Russia 75% of the accused were men and in Iceland this was as high as 92%) when taken in its entirety, the Witch Trials showed a definite gender bias, with about 80% of the accused being women. This obvious imbalance cannot be ignored, as it highlights just how often the accusation of witchcraft was leveled at those who were societally powerless to begin with.
In Charles Godfrey Leland’s 1899 work, Aradia, or Gospel of the Witches, the Witches’ Craft is specifically described as a means for the poor and the subjugated to take power and use it against their oppressors. As classes of society that have been historically oppressed and abused, women, queer people, and people of color are increasingly looking to magic and Witchcraft as a means to fight back. Witchcraft offers the underclasses a methodology of self-empowerment and the promise of bettering one’s station in life. So, when we get to see fictional Witchy characters living their best lives, it gives us a renewed sense of hope that we might be able to do the same, even if they are not exactly the heroes of the story. And when Witches and queer folk collide? Well… that’s where the rainbow magic really happens.
Marvel’s latest hit Agatha All Along is one such gem, offering us a cavalcade of diverse representation and down-home witchy fun. Alongside the expected dose of white women, we are treated to a Black woman (Jennifer Kale, played by Sasheer Zamata), an Asian woman (Alice Wu-Gulliver, played by Ali Ahn), as well as a (presumably gay, maybe bi) teenage boy (“Teen,” played by Joe Locke of Heartstopper fame). As a queer guy who was also a teen Witch, I was really happy to see him included in this emerging coven, as most often TV tropes exclude boys and men from witchy goings-on.
Joe Locke stars as “Teen” in Agatha All Along. [Disney]
We get to see some heated Sapphic chemistry between Agatha Harkness (played by the fabulous Kathryn Hahn) and Rio Vidal (played by the equally delightful Aubry Plaza) which strongly hints at some prior romantic or sexual involvement between the two. We are given some comic relief in the form of “Mrs. Hart” (played by the hilarious Debra Jo Rupp, best known for her work on That 70s Show) but are gifted a huge gay treat in the form of Patti LuPone who plays one of the Witches (fortune teller Lilia Calderu), bringing every ounce of her Broadway-diva-ness to the project. Question: What could be gayer than that?
Answer: a same-sex kiss. I won’t spoil it for those who have not yet jumped on the broomstick, but let’s just say that it was delightful to see it, especially in a Disney property.
Minor spoilers ahead!
A spinoff from Marvel’s wildly popular WandaVision, Agatha All Along joins our titular character under the thrall of a powerful illusion spell, which has made her forget that she’s actually a centuries-old powerful witch, and instead believes herself to be a small-town detective. Suddenly freed from this mystical mind-prison she discovers that she is powerless and so must embark on a dangerous journey, down (down, down) the Witches’ Road, a mystical place of both power and danger, which offers those who complete its trials whatever the Witch is missing. The catch? She needs a coven to summon and then walk the road, facing the trials together with her. Oh, and the road will try to kill her, so there’s that. This all makes for a fun (and dangerous) road trip, the likes of Dorothy seeking the Wizard.
One does not need to have watched WandaVision to appreciate Agatha, but honestly, why wouldn’t you? Seriously, just binge it. It was amazing and will give you greater insight into Agatha’s story.
Though we still have 3 episodes left, I am compelled to go ahead and give it a rating of 5 out of 5 broomsticks. Part drama, part comedy, and all sass, Agatha All Along is a fun, exciting, and a thought-provoking journey that has us all asking, “What really is the nature of good and evil?” and “Can I get a coven and summon the Road, too?”
Readers can watch Agatha All Along on Disney+.
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