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Paper short abstract

This paper explores how femininity and gender are constructed in contemporary alternative spirituality. Drawing on ethnographic material, it examines how spiritual discourses engage with gender-essentialist qualities and discusses whether these ideals foster emancipation or reproduce stereotypes.

Paper long abstract

This paper examines the construction of femininity and masculinity in contemporary alternative spirituality, focusing on the experiences of women and men involved in spiritual practices in the Czech context. Drawing on long-term ethnographic research, it re-explores gender roles and self-understanding in the contemporary holistic milieu.

The analysis of women's perspectives builds on existing scholarship on gender and spirituality, particularly the work of Woodhead and Sointu, to examine alternative spirituality as a space where women negotiate social expectations, work pressures, and unequal distributions of care. It shows how spiritual practices offer symbolic and practical resources for coping with burnout and for redefining personal boundaries, care, and self-care, while relying heavily on gender-essentialist ideas.

Through the lens of holistic cosmology and complementary gender principles, women are encouraged to “return” to their feminine qualities in order to restore personal and relational harmony. While this discourse may reinforce traditional gender binaries, it also revalues womanhood in ways that are rather progressive.

The paper therefore argues that alternative spirituality reproduces mainstream gender stereotypes but also, paradoxically, fosters new forms of “silent emancipation” from below.