What a Witch!
Witches are fascinating for the way they seem to have evolved greatly over the centuries and yet one thing has always remained the same in my observations. Witches are women who don't fit neatly into society's small definition of womanhood. That's part of the reason we've seen witches grow extremely popular as positive figures, especially in counter culture or marginalized groups like the LGBT community. Joan of Arc was a women leading the French army to victory, claiming to hear the voice of g-d. Despite her heroic actions, she ultimately fell victim to the fear of witchcraft and was burned at the stake. She was a woman who stepped out of place and was punished for it. The Salem witch trials unfairly targeted woman and in the frenzy of panic, women who had stuck out from the norm were punished. Women who step outside of societal roles are seen as a threat to the system. A women who would dare be so bold must have fallen for the evil trickery of the devil. If independent women go unpunished, then what is to stop more women from following suit?
Fast tracking to the 1930's, we look at the wicked witch of the west. The character defined the look of witches, an older woman who was not conventionally attractive and with great power. She cackled and relished in her revenge on Dorothy. Older woman are often invisible in the eyes of society as men do not see them as useful to them as they can no longer bear children or even work as eye candy. The idea of these invisible women turning against the society that shuns her is a source of fear for men. Even the younger sexier witch that eventually rose to popularity still suffered from the misogynistic vitriol of men. She was a tempest, tricking men with her beauty and luring them into their deaths. In class we saw the strange sexual mutilation of women on pulpy dime store novels.
In the nineties, after the feminist movement of the seventies and onward helped to start bringing women into a more equal role in society, we saw the desire of women to reclaim those images that were once used against them. Witches became more fun as Sabrina the Teenage Witch grew in popularity and Bewitched became a hit. These were more playful witches, hiding plainly among regular society. The internet has allowed subcultures to connect and reach a wider audience. In recent years Wiccan has gained an unusually large following. Typing witches into the youtube search bar, most of what came up were beginner tutorials for charms and spells. Some women even to go as far as to take popular witch paraphernalia and incorporate it into their self presentation. With the rise of the #Metoo movement and further awareness of the wrongs women face in society, some women are saying enough is enough and embracing their role as a powerful woman who doesn't fit in. They no longer care about men's fear, if anything some even relish in the taboo of Wiccan. Even those who don't go as far as to follow Wiccan enjoy commodifying the aesthetics of witches, creating cut art and buying merchandise. Witches are becoming something greater, something to be celebrated and I am fascinated in seeing how they continue to evolve.
Fast tracking to the 1930's, we look at the wicked witch of the west. The character defined the look of witches, an older woman who was not conventionally attractive and with great power. She cackled and relished in her revenge on Dorothy. Older woman are often invisible in the eyes of society as men do not see them as useful to them as they can no longer bear children or even work as eye candy. The idea of these invisible women turning against the society that shuns her is a source of fear for men. Even the younger sexier witch that eventually rose to popularity still suffered from the misogynistic vitriol of men. She was a tempest, tricking men with her beauty and luring them into their deaths. In class we saw the strange sexual mutilation of women on pulpy dime store novels.
In the nineties, after the feminist movement of the seventies and onward helped to start bringing women into a more equal role in society, we saw the desire of women to reclaim those images that were once used against them. Witches became more fun as Sabrina the Teenage Witch grew in popularity and Bewitched became a hit. These were more playful witches, hiding plainly among regular society. The internet has allowed subcultures to connect and reach a wider audience. In recent years Wiccan has gained an unusually large following. Typing witches into the youtube search bar, most of what came up were beginner tutorials for charms and spells. Some women even to go as far as to take popular witch paraphernalia and incorporate it into their self presentation. With the rise of the #Metoo movement and further awareness of the wrongs women face in society, some women are saying enough is enough and embracing their role as a powerful woman who doesn't fit in. They no longer care about men's fear, if anything some even relish in the taboo of Wiccan. Even those who don't go as far as to follow Wiccan enjoy commodifying the aesthetics of witches, creating cut art and buying merchandise. Witches are becoming something greater, something to be celebrated and I am fascinated in seeing how they continue to evolve.
"Witches are women who don't fit neatly into society's small definition of womanhood." I strongly agree with this statement. One of the first witches in Greek mythology Circe, was a goddess who did not fit in entirely with her family because she had an "mortal voice" as well as not the same powers as her parents/siblings. When her isolation on Aeaea began, she started practicing witch craft. She also turned an sea nymph named Scylla into a huge monster that would lunge it's heads forwards to eat men off of their ships. Which is how she figured out she can do witch craft. So, yes there is even an example of a witch that doesn't even fit in among Gods/Goddesses and Titans.
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