Wicca been influenced by other Pagan religions, thus making clear-cut distinctions between them more difficult for religious studies scholars to make. The terms "wizard" and "warlock" are generally discouraged in the community. In Wicca, denominations are referred to as "traditions", while non-Wiccans are often termed "cowans". When the religion first came to public attention, it was commonly called "Witchcraft". For instance, Gerald Gardner—the man regarded as the "Father of Wicca"—referred to it as the "Craft of the Wise", "witchcraft", and "the witch-cult" during the 1950s. There is no evidence that he ever called it "Wicca", although he did refer to the
Chthonioi Alexandrian Wicca traditional Alexandrian Wicca worship of the Gods and Goddesses of Britain, and changes in rituals to suit this change in mythology. As in Traditional Wicca, the standard initiation practice is cross-sex initiation (female to male; male to female) but Chthonioi Alexandrian Wicca also accepts as valid same-sex initiations. As quoted from their statement of identity: "Some branches of the Chthonioi-Alexandrian have incorporated Same-Sex Initiations (SSI) as a way of acknowledging the importance and validity of inner contacts and true connection to the divine regardless of physical sex. Although not universally practiced by all within our Tradition, we nonetheless acknowledge SSIs