medusa and the female gaze

The female gaze is conceptually similar to the male gaze; that is, when women take up the male gaze, they view other people, and themselves, from the perspective of a man. In Dungeons and Dragons editions 3 and 3.5, Medusa is an Always Female species with a humanoid body but serpent skin. It begins with a critique of the Court of Appeal ruling in R v. Evans (Chedwyn) and its forensic examination of the details of a female rape complainant's consensual sexual activity with other men. Project MUSE is a leading provider of digital humanities and social sciences content, providing access to journal and book content from nearly 300 publishers. Miriam Robbins Dexter’s conclusions about Medusa could equally apply to Athena: ‘[Medusa] reminds us that we must not take the female “monster” at face value; that we must not only weigh her beneficent against her maleficent attributes but also take into consideration the worldview and socio-political stance of the patriarchal cultures which create her, fashioning the demonic female as scapegoat for the benefit and comfort of the male members of their societies.’. Alban offers a wide perspective in her arguments regarding the Medusa gaze, offering the reader multiple insights through an array of literary texts. Especially the woman’s down-cast eyes point to the Medusa, whose gaze, in most images of her (thus, for instance, in the celebrated paintings by Caravaggio [1596] and Rubens [c.1618] as well as in the Flemish School painting “Medusa” [c.1620–30] attributed to da Vinci), is directed side- or downwards as if to spare the viewers from petrifaction. Medusa was a formidable foe, since her hideous appearance was able to render any onlooker into stone. It illuminates women’s power and vulnerability as they construct their … When Poseidon raped her, Athena’s wrath focused on Medusa (not Poseidon) and she turned her into a gorgon, hideously cursed with evil looks and left to live out her life as a monster. field of Women's Studies. Psychoanalytic theory has decided that Medusa was "the terrible symbol of the female genital region," because the … Athena transformed the rape survivor into a monster with hair of snakes and a gaze that could turn men into stone. Since we are directly told that Medusa is originally a virgin or is an anima-based personality, I have serious doubts as to the validity of this version of the story. The story of a powerful woman raped, demonized, then slain by a patriarchal society? Simply put, the female gaze is the greatest threat to the dominating male gaze.The female gaze in DuPlessis' poem triumphs over the male gaze, and the female voice is free to express itself "in sight, my netted reach/ in voice, my knotted speech"(DuPlessis, 1980: 42) As opposed to DuPlessis' empowerment and revitalisation of the female gaze, the gaze of Stanford's Medusa loses its vitality and freshness as … Download Medusa S Gaze Book For Free in PDF, EPUB.In order to read online Medusa S Gaze textbook, you need to create a FREE account. Feminine voices are few and far between in the classical narratives that have formed the foundations of our literary traditions, so by using myths female writers have been able to give the feminine voice an element of authority that is equated, as, with so-called ‘high culture’, putting them on an even playing field with the male voices that have oppressed and silenced them for so long. The great irony of Medusa is that she has become a classic example of the female object, though the greatest emphasis in the Medusa myth is the terrifying power of her own gaze. In ancient Greek mythology, Medusa is a Gorgon, one of three hideous sisters whose appearance turns men to stone. of Contents. Medusa is an instantly recognizable figure from ancient Greek art. This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. Her face, whether fierce and grotesque or feminine and composed, appears in virtually all media in varying contexts. Medusa S Gaze. In this capacity, the NWSAJ serves as a leader in the Medusa is widely known as a monstrous creature with snakes in her hair whose gaze turns men to stone. The Medusa story is more than two millennia old. Check out using a credit card or bank account with. Journals This paper analyses the visualisation of rape and sexual assault in legal and scholarly language. Request Permissions. The story of Medusa is rather late, from OVID. The NWSAJ accepts articles that Feminists reinterpreted Medusa as a woman who used her anger to avenge herself on the male gaze. publishes interdisciplinary and multicultural feminist scholarship With critically acclaimed titles in history, science, higher education, consumer health, humanities, classics, and public health, the Books Division publishes 150 new books each year and maintains a backlist in excess of 3,000 titles. With a head of poisonous snakes and a murderous gaze, Medusa has come to epitomise female monstrosity. What can the myth of Medusa tell us about classical myth, perceptions of female power and sexism from antiquity to today? Medusa Gaze: Female medusae gain the hardening gaze power. Once on an even playing field, these female writers are in prime position to question, destabilise and ultimately change the traditional narratives that have been so instrumental in defining and silencing women. Studying the female characters as both the bearers and receivers of the “petrifying, nurturing and redemptive” gaze of Medusa, the “dreadfully gorgeous victim” (2), she views them through the vision filters of such giant figures as Freud, Lacan, Laing, de Beauvoir, Cixous, Irigaray, Spivak, … For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions (16) Within this detailed, scholarly, yet accessible investigation of “the power Through the lens of theology, film, art, and feminist literature, my students and I map how her meaning has shifted over time and across cultures. From this, therefore, we can see why feminists have chosen to use myths to re-evaluate traditional perceptions of women. In her 1975 manifesto The Laugh of the Medusa, the feminist theorist Hélène Cixous asserts that man created the monstrous legacy of Medusa through fear of female desire. The most famous painting of Medusa – a female character from Greek mythology who had a hair of snakes and could turn men to stone if they met her gaze directly – was painted by Caravaggio in 1596. She is famed for her snake-like hair and her gaze, which turns those who look at her to stone. Athena transformed the rape survivor into a monster with hair of snakes and a gaze that could turn men into stone. HFS provides print and digital distribution for a distinguished list of university presses and nonprofit institutions. scholarship and its reviews of books, the NWSAJ regularly publishes Freud had a bloody field day. Alban presents Medusa and other goddess figures as inspirational, repelling evil through the ‘evil eye’ of their powerful gaze or inspirational force; she conversely shows the obverse perspective on women who are condemned as monstrous Gorgons, trapped in enmity, rivalry and rage. It is mentioned that Medusas can procreate with any humanoid species, the offspring normally becomes Medusas. Medusa remains a potent icon at a time when women leaders continue to be viewed skeptically or, at worst, as inhuman. Medusa is one of the more unusual divine figures of ancient Greece mythology.. One of a trio of Gorgon sisters, Medusa was the only sister who was not immortal. Medusa’s story, though, is indeed the most telling: Raped by Poseidon, she is cursed for it by Athena – her fabled beauty converted in to a monstrous and frightening visage with snakes instead of hair and her gaze a weapon in and of itself. When you hear the word Medusa your brain is likely to immediately conjure images of a fearsome and hideous monster no one should look at. MEDUSA AND THE FEMALE GAZE by Cheryl Gault, The story of Medusa is rather late, from OVID. No one could look Medusa … The Medusa figure has been presented by writers and scholars as the symbol of the victimized woman, a figure of both power and anger. She is killed by the hero Perseus, who cuts off her head.To the Greeks, Medusa is the leader of an ancient, older matriarchal religion that had to be obliterated; in modern culture, she represents vital sensuality and a power that is threatening to males. JSTOR®, the JSTOR logo, JPASS®, Artstor®, Reveal Digital™ and ITHAKA® are registered trademarks of ITHAKA. The Medusa story is more than two millennia old. The Journals Division publishes 85 journals in the arts and humanities, technology and medicine, higher education, history, political science, and library science. ... Medusa has become a symbol of female empowerment. Shakespeare wrote about her. Which turns those who look at her to stone 16 ) Within this detailed,,... Snake-Like hair and her gaze, offering the reader multiple insights through an array of texts... 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