Why the Medusa Statue is a Poorly Conceived Expression of the Feminine
By: Maren Morgan
Tags: Metoo, Medusa, Masculinity, Femininity, Me Too Movement

Source: Smithsonian Magazine

Let’s talk about why this statue is problematic, and it’s not the fact that a man created the statue (which is currently causing an outcry with certain groups of feminists).

Medusa was a sexually embodied expression of the feminine. She was raped by Poseidon in The Temple of Athena, so Athena punished her by turning her into a gorgon. Much later in mythology, Perseus was sent off to kill Medusa as one of his trials, who had been for a long time known as a monster.

This statue is now being unveiled as a symbol for female “empowerment” in the times of #MeToo, as if feminine empowerment is equivalent to a masculine empowerment (which murder and revenge is also not an expression of masculine empowerment). I’ll go into a little more detail as I go on.

Furthermore, if this is meant to be a statue championing the #MeToo movement, wouldn’t it make more sense for her to be holding the heads of the people who subjected her to these patriarchal assaults? Poseidon and Athena? Athena upheld an misogynistic patriarchal view of Medusa being deserving of punishment, while Poseidon sullied her temple even more by committing the rape against Medusa, yet he received no punishment, emulating and perpetuating the toxic masculine power dynamic.

But I don’t believe that empowered, embodied, divine feminine is murderous and vengeful. I don’t believe this depiction of a decapitating Medusa is empowering to the feminine. These are aspects of a dark, shadowy masculine. I think a much more profound response would be a depiction of Medusa being sexually and spiritually embodied in spite of everything that had happened to her. To me, resilience is far more feminine than revenge, and that is what we ought to be celebrating. Celebrate the wildness of women, the courage, and the bravery: but have it not be predicated on how those qualities compare to how they are expressed in men.

Femininity conjures a unique power, equal yet different to the power of the masculine. This is something I’ve struggled to grasp my entire life, constantly comparing my abilities to men and always falling short in those comparisons. I believed this notion that there’s nothing different between the sexes, and hated the aspects of myself that expressed more femininely. But there is a difference, and I’m finally allowing myself to acknowledge this and embrace the divinity that comes from empowered, healthy feminine, as well as the divinity that comes from empowered, healthy masculine.

The patriarchal paradigm is shifting, but it’s not “the future is female”. If the future is female alone, we subjugate society to the same system of oppression that the patriarchy placed upon us. I don’t believe that to be a true expression of empowered feminine. That’s revenge. That’s anger. That’s control of power. That’s not reconciliation, resiliency, understanding, compassion, and patience — this is what I believe to be the way forward. This is the way of the divine feminine. The divine feminine is able to acknowledge and work in tandem with the divine masculine — Eros and Logos, as partners.

I’m sure a lot of people will read this and get triggered and assume I’m expressing “internalized misogyny”. And not that it’s anyone’s business, but I am writing this as a woman who has endured sexual assault. The reality, however, is that we perpetuate misogynistic perspectives when women align their worth with how much they can be like men. We perpetuate misogyny when we deny our femininity in exchange for the acceptance of a patriarchal society. I think we can move forward with grace knowing that the feminine and masculine are different, and elevate both expressions to a place of maturity, intentionality, and empowerment.