{"title":"The Ferocious Medusa: The Petrifying, Apotropaic Gaze and Matrixial Vulva of Medusa, alongside Genital Display Figures","authors":"Gillian M. E. Alban","doi":"10.2979/jfs.2023.a893192","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: This review of ten articles, books, and chapters on the mythic Medusa and genital display figures illustrates Medusa’s petrifying and apotropaic gaze and her engulfing vulva, or eye blazoning her matrixial force, as her severed head demonstrates her abiding pro-creative, indomitable force. Through a history of women held under scrutiny while feared by patriarchy, with men projecting their own fear of castration onto them, the Medusa figure emerges as stunningly uncastrated, asserting her force and returning her stony gaze in the reflexive action pivotal to this myth. Objectified under the male gaze, her vulva faces the viewer, her inspirational force born through the birth of Pegasus even as she is crushed in rape and death. The mythic Medusa and vulva display women persistently retain their hold on the male unconscious in rising above castigation, asserting their amazing procreative force over life and death, enabled through Medusa’s stunning tale and transfixing gaze.","PeriodicalId":44347,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF FEMINIST STUDIES IN RELIGION","volume":"91 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"JOURNAL OF FEMINIST STUDIES IN RELIGION","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.2979/jfs.2023.a893192","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"RELIGION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract: This review of ten articles, books, and chapters on the mythic Medusa and genital display figures illustrates Medusa’s petrifying and apotropaic gaze and her engulfing vulva, or eye blazoning her matrixial force, as her severed head demonstrates her abiding pro-creative, indomitable force. Through a history of women held under scrutiny while feared by patriarchy, with men projecting their own fear of castration onto them, the Medusa figure emerges as stunningly uncastrated, asserting her force and returning her stony gaze in the reflexive action pivotal to this myth. Objectified under the male gaze, her vulva faces the viewer, her inspirational force born through the birth of Pegasus even as she is crushed in rape and death. The mythic Medusa and vulva display women persistently retain their hold on the male unconscious in rising above castigation, asserting their amazing procreative force over life and death, enabled through Medusa’s stunning tale and transfixing gaze.
期刊介绍：
The Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, the oldest interdisciplinary, inter-religious feminist academic journal in religious studies, is a channel for the publication of feminist scholarship in religion and a forum for discussion and dialogue among women and men of differing feminist perspectives. Active electronic and combined electronic/print subscriptions to this journal include access to the online backrun.
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