Aristasia

{{Short description|British subcultural group}}

{{Short description|British subcultural group}}

'''Aristasia''' was a British female-focused subcultural group--or shared [[worldbuilding]] project and [[role-playing]] setting--that combined [[René Guénon|Guénonian]] [[Traditionalism (perennialism)|Traditionalism]] with elements of [[lesbian separatism]].<ref name='sedgwick2004'>[[Mark Sedgwick|Sedgwick, Mark]]. ''Against the Modern World'', Oxford University Press, 2004, pp. 216 ff.</ref><ref name='MoChridhe'>MoChridhe, Race (2020) "[https://arrow.tudublin.ie/ijrtp/vol8/iss3/7 The Still Center as Invented Topos: Static Pilgrimage in Aristasia]," ''International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage'': Vol. 8: Iss. 3, Article 7. doi: https://doi.org/10.21427/a2a5-2e06</ref> The group had its origins in the Oxford area in the 1960s or 1970s. They received the most media attention in the 1990s. Rejecting the modern world (and post-1960s culture in particular), Aristasians sought to recreate the lifestyles of the 1920s-1950s, wearing period clothes, watching period movies, etc.<ref name='sedgwick2004' /> The writer [[Marianne Martindale]] was a prominent member, acting as the face of the movement. Her previous group, the [[Silver Sisterhood]], had similar beliefs and practices.

'''Aristasia''' was a British female-focused subcultural group--or shared [[worldbuilding]] project and [[role-playing]] setting--that combined [[René Guénon|Guénonian]] [[Traditionalism (perennialism)|Traditionalism]] with elements of [[lesbian separatism]].<ref name='sedgwick2004'>[[Mark Sedgwick|Sedgwick, Mark]]. ''Against the Modern World'', Oxford University Press, 2004, pp. 216 ff.</ref><ref name='MoChridhe'>MoChridhe, Race (2020) "[https://arrow.tudublin.ie/ijrtp/vol8/iss3/7 The Still Center as Invented Topos: Static Pilgrimage in Aristasia]," ''International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage'': Vol. 8: Iss. 3, Article 7. doi: https://doi.org/10.21427/a2a5-2e06</ref> The group had its origins in the Oxford area in the 1960s or 1970s. They received the most media attention in the 1990s. Rejecting the modern world (and post-1960s culture in particular), Aristasians sought to recreate the lifestyles of the 1920s-1950s, wearing period clothes, watching period movies, etc.<ref name='sedgwick2004' /> One anonymous member explained the nature of the group: "Aristasia is a game. But then schools, corporations, armies, nations are all games. They happen to be bigger and wealthier games than ours. But ours is better."{{efn|Along these lines, some Aristasians have made reference to the Hindu concept of [[Lila (Hinduism)|Lila]].<ref>Mayhew, Clarity Anne. [https://aristasia.guide/realness Daydream Believin'?]. ''The Aristasian Reminiscence''</ref>}}<ref name='MoChridhe' /> Estimates of the the group's size ranged from dozens to hundreds of followers. The writer [[Marianne Martindale]] was a prominent member, acting as the face of the movement. Her previous group, the [[Silver Sisterhood]], had similar beliefs and practices.

Aristasians created an elaborate cosmology and lexicon in which different temporal periods were re-conceived as geographical locations within the imagined world of Aristasia--the Victorian period became "Arcadia," the 1930s became "Trent," etc.<ref name='MoChridhe' /> Men did not exist in Aristasia; instead there were two sexes, "blondes" and "brunettes." These labels roughly mapped onto the categories of [[butch and femme]], with "brunettes" being considered more masculine--although still more feminine than the average woman in the present-day "real world."<ref name='keir'>[https://archive.org/details/filament01 Aristasia: Where women live in the past]. ''Filament''. Issue #5. 2010.</ref> At one point there was an "Aristasian Embassy" in London (a private house) that held "Embassy balls" and cocktail parties, to which guests were sometimes driven in a refurbished 1930s car (the "Embassy car").<ref name='MoChridhe' /> Aristasians began creating websites and forums in the mid-1990s and used the internet (including [[Second Life]]) to engage in similar forms of creative writing and role-playing.<ref name='MoChridhe' /><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=tAen6Z2Qk48C&pg=PA1969&dq=aristasia+%22second+life%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiL7MPLqvaNAxXGkokEHa8_HLkQ6AF6BAgMEAM#v=onepage&q=aristasia%20%22second%20life%22&f=false A Companion to Digital Literary Studies]. John Wiley & Sons. 2013.</ref> In the mid-1990s Aristasia also incorporated practices reminiscent of [[BDSM]], though Martindale publicly denied that Aristasian "discipline" was sexual in nature. Connections to far-right politics were another source of controversy. One anonymous member explained the group: "Aristasia is a game. But then schools, corporations, armies, nations are all games. They happen to be bigger and wealthier games than ours. But ours is better."{{efn|Along these lines, some Aristasians have made reference to the Hindu concept of [[Lila (Hinduism)|Lila]].<ref>Mayhew, Clarity Anne. [https://aristasia.guide/realness Daydream Believin'?]. ''The Aristasian Reminiscence''</ref>}} <ref name='MoChridhe' />

Aristasians created an elaborate cosmology and lexicon in which different temporal periods were re-conceived as geographical locations within the imagined world of Aristasia--the Victorian period became "Arcadia," the 1930s became "Trent," etc.<ref name='MoChridhe' /> Men did not exist in Aristasia; instead there were two sexes, "blondes" and "brunettes." These labels roughly mapped onto the categories of [[butch and femme]], with "brunettes" being considered more masculine--although still more feminine than the average woman in the present-day "real world."<ref name='keir'>[https://archive.org/details/filament01 Aristasia: Where women live in the past]. ''Filament''. Issue #5. 2010.</ref> At one point there was an "Aristasian Embassy" in London (a private house) that held "Embassy balls" and cocktail parties, to which guests were sometimes driven in a refurbished 1930s car (the "Embassy car").<ref name='MoChridhe' /> Aristasians began creating websites and forums in the mid-1990s and used the internet (including [[Second Life]]) to engage in similar forms of creative writing and role-playing.<ref name='MoChridhe' /><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=tAen6Z2Qk48C&pg=PA1969&dq=aristasia+%22second+life%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiL7MPLqvaNAxXGkokEHa8_HLkQ6AF6BAgMEAM#v=onepage&q=aristasia%20%22second%20life%22&f=false A Companion to Digital Literary Studies]. John Wiley & Sons. 2013.</ref> In the mid-1990s Aristasia also incorporated practices reminiscent of [[BDSM]], though Martindale publicly denied that Aristasian "discipline" was sexual in nature. Connections to far-right politics were another source of controversy.

==History, beliefs and practices==

==History, beliefs and practices==