But radical faeries are willing to live on the edge. They want to be respected as human beings and they want their sexuality to be ignored. "Many gay men want to be middle-class Americans. "We are the equivalent of Shamans in modern culture," said Peter Soderberg, during an interview at the 1985 Pagan Spirit Gathering. Radical Faerie communities are sometimes inspired by indigenous, native or traditional spiritualities, especially those that incorporate genderqueer sensibilities. Faerie sanctuaries adapt rural living and environmentally sustainable ways of using modern technologies as part of creative expression. Sanctuaries and gatherings are generally open to all, though several gatherings still focus on the particular spiritual experience of man-loving men co-creating temporary autonomous zones. Today Radical Faeries embody a wide range of genders, sexual orientations, and identities. Although Kilhefner and a later, pivotal member, Mitch Walker, broke from Hay in 1980, the movement continued to grow, having expanded into an international network soon after the second Faerie gathering in 1980. From there, various regional Faerie Circles were formed, and other large rural gatherings organized. The Radical Faerie movement was founded in California in 1979 by gay activists Harry Hay and Don Kilhefner Influenced by the legacy of the counterculture of the 1960s, they held the first Spiritual Conference for Radical Fairies in Arizona in September 1979. Faeries tend to be fiercely independent, anti-establishment, and community-focused. The movement has expanded in tandem with the larger gay rights movement, challenging commercialization and patriarchal aspects of modern LGBTQ+ life while celebrating eclectic constructs and rituals. Rejecting hetero- imitation, the Radical Faerie movement began during the 1970s sexual revolution among gay men in the United States.
Sometimes deemed a form of modern Paganism, the movement also adopts elements from anarchism and environmentalism. The Radical Faeries are a loosely affiliated worldwide network and countercultural movement seeking to redefine queer consciousness through secular spirituality.