#the resurgence of the monstrous feminine

[1200flowers]

The Resurgence of the Monstrous Feminine: Hannah Williams

#the resurgence of the monstrous feminine #woman as wound #womanhood #girlhood #femininity as violence #waw #gh #pp #mine

[philosophika]

If women are unsupervised, then what might they be doing? What might they be wearing? What could they become? What if, instead of being powerless and pliable, they learned that they could fight back? What if the woman who lies next to you at night, folds your laundry, cooks your meals, is merely hiding her claws and scales and razor-teeth and licking her lips with her forked tongue, counting the wrongs you committed against her – against all women – biding her time.

The Resurgence of the Monstrous Feminine by Hannah Williams

#The Resurgence of the Monstrous Feminine #Hannah Williams #monstrous feminine

[cryptidcurrencies]

I used to be a human then i was godlike and perfect for a while and then I got tired and now im an beast. you know how it is. 

Rainer Gersten (1101-) web weave; monster, woman, bloodied saint and local insane person.

Safia Elhillo, Girls That Never Die: Poems; “Orpheus”/ Jeanette Winterson, “Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal.” / Saint Rose Tempted by the Devil, Cristóbal de Villalpando / Black Shuck, Aiden Kassis / Witches and their incantations (Detail), Salvator Rosa / Perseus and Medusa, Luca Giordano / Taylor Swift, "Anti-Hero"/ Robert Pattinson / As a Child, You Worried You Would Be An Orphan, Charlotte Pence / "Dante and Virgil in Hell ('Ninth Circle for the Traitors to the Country')", Gustave Courtois / Psyche Weeping, Kinuko Y. Craft / Hannah Williams, The Resurgence of the Monstrous Feminine / Sylvia Plath, Apprehensions / Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Idiot / The Reincarnation of Peter Proud / Head of Medusa, Anonymous Flemish 16th Century / tumblr user exitwound

#rainer #can you believe i didnt put any kafka on this #fear not ill make more this was soooo fun

[luxe-pauvre]

To be a woman is to be feared, to know fear. To hold the two simultaneously within yourself, to know that your body, by the sheer fact of its existence, will be terrified by the society that claims to be terrorised by it; that the patriarchy deems women’s bodies so awful, so monstrous, that it seeks to limit and control their power. These people not only hate women, but are afraid of them; scared of the capacity for women’s bodies to be unruly, unclean, unknowable. Despite the sheer and uncommunicable amount of violence enacted upon the female body throughout history, it’s woman as terroriser, as beast, that we keep coming back to. What better way to justify the ways in which we break her?

Hannah Williams, The Resurgence of the Monstrous Feminine

#Hannah Williams #The Resurgence of the Monstrous Feminine

[w-o-o-l-f]

To be a woman is to be feared, to know fear. To hold the two simultaneously within yourself, to know that your body, by the sheer fact of its existence, will be terrified by the society that claims to be terrorised by it; that the patriarchy deems women’s bodies so awful, so monstrous, that it seeks to limit and control their power. These people not only hate women, but are afraid of them; scared of the capacity for women’s bodies to be unruly, unclean, unknowable. Despite the sheer and uncommunicable amount of violence enacted upon the female body throughout history, it’s woman as terroriser, as beast, that we keep coming back to. What better way to justify the ways in which we break her?

The Resurgence of the Mounstrous Feminine (x)

#the resurgence of the monstrous feminine #feminism #moje #hannah willia

[dollypartonswig]

The Resurgence of the Monstrous Feminine

Hannah Williams

[medusarevengetheory]

devotionals of ugliness, part five: offensive v defensive

“(That girl on the news never invited that man to touch her. All I can think about is how I wish she had had something savage coursing through her skin.

God should have made girls lethal when he made monsters of men.)”

Elisabeth Hewer, from God Should Have Made Girls Lethal, in Wishing for Birds

There lies a certain sort of freedom in wanting to be monstrous. Not simply ugly, but monstrous, and thus powerful. A monstrous woman is so far beyond the realm of acceptable that none of the rules apply to her anymore. She’s ferocious, fierce, free, and most of all (best of all): untouchable. The monstrous woman doesn’t need to be afraid of men and male violence, which is why it’s such a romantic fantasy for women. 

Julia Armfield writes: “When Daphne transforms into a bay tree, the moment is one of both horror and deliverance. She is no longer what she once was, but the metamorphosis frees her from the unwanted attention of Apollo. This duality of horror and emancipation sits, I think, at the core of female transformation. Within the horror genre (and arguably everywhere else), bodies read as female are always subject to pain, and to the threat of violation. Becoming something else—a tree, a freak, a monster—preempts this pain and reduces the risk of harm. It may even, if the transformation is the right one, allow you to cause harm in return.” (Emphasis mine). 

Daphne and Medusa are two women in the Metamorphoses that are transformed either because of rape, or to escape rape. Daphne is transformed in the nick of time, but she becomes static, unable to escape the moment of terror that necessitated her transformation. And Medusa was not protected by her goddess, but rather punished, and said punishment made her a living weapon. Perseus had to wait until she slept to kill her, and he needed a goodie bag full of godly gifts to do it (not to mention that Athena guided his sword-hand). 

The freedom inherent in monstrosity is clear in many of today’s current horror literature by women. Julia Armfield, Carmen Maria Machado, and more all explore this theme. 

As does Hannah Williams, in her essay on the monstrous-feminine, which concludes thusly: “Sometimes, when I’m walking home on my own at night, I think about what it would be like to stalk silently behind men, my feet soft and easy on the pavement, quick flash of my shadow under the street lights. How I’d watch the whites of their eyes shine as they turned to look behind them – softly, quietly, can’t be too obvious – see the glisten of sweat on the back of their necks. I’d watch them quicken their pace with fear, recognise the measured gait – not wanting to run so as not to inspire a chase, keep calm, breathe deeply, act self-possessed but do not linger. I’d like to test it; to not be five-foot-four, soft-fleshed, short-sighted, to not think about the keys slotted between my fingers, the correct way to escape a chokehold. To not think, even in passing, of defence. Just once I’d like to think about attack: scaled wings, glinting incisors, long, yellowed claws. A pact with the devil that let me split concrete, burn with the touch of my finger.” (Emphasis mine). 

[Wishing for Birds, Elisabeth Hewer]

[On Body Horror and the Female Body, Julia Armfield] 

[The Resurgence of the Monstrous Feminine, Hannah Williams] 

#devotionals of ugliness #the monstrous feminine

[the-phantom-author]

Clara and Her mother Aunt Polly

"“Same as you, then?” Clara said, the notion striking her at the same moment. “A sister and aunt, mothering when it’s not her job.”" ~@hb-writes

Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games // Kate Bush, And Dream of Sheep // Matt Adrian, The Mincing Mockingbird Guide to Troubled Birds // Taylor Swift, Cowboy Like Me // @cursedsuggestion // @/macrolit.books on Instagram // Hannah Williams, The Resurgence of the Monstrous Feminine //

#clara shelby #polly gray #im just thinking about that ine line 'clara will always be Polly's in a way that ada cant be' or something like that #little lady blinder #peaky blinders #web weaving #paralles #this line as well- in just the Shelby/Gray women all being each other #'Putting a drunk Shelby to bed again eh Sarah? If it’s not your husband it’s me isn’t it?' #becuase who knows how many times polly put one of the boys™️ to bed after they come home drunk- especially right after the war #same with ada no matter how much she deny it #this is the last of the peaky blinder web weaving for now boys #it was fun

[gorgonapologist]

i’m going thru big trauma hours and reading your compiled research has been very cathartic and oddly healing in a way. i was just wondering if you had recommendations for writing with more trauma-focused/interpretation of Medusa or other horror ish, female-focused works?

i hope whatever you’re going through eases soon. here are some things i hope might help. 

What If We Cultivated Our Ugliness? or: The Monstrous Beauty of Medusa, Jess Zimmerman

Transforming Medusa, Charlotte Currie

Grand Unified Theory of Female Pain, Leslie Jamison

Nightingale: A Gloss, Paisley Rekdal

The Thread: Forged in Fire, Marissa Korbel

The Thread: Volcanoes, Marissa Korbel

The Girls Who Turned into Trees, Miranda Schmidt

There Is No Way Out of Here: Trauma and Transformation, Andrea Applebee

Make Me a Cold and Pitiless Goddess, Sharma Shields

Xenomorph, Sara Eliza Johnson

The Resurgence of the Monstrous Feminine, Hannah Williams

Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies, Brooke Bolander

Embrace Your Monstrous Flesh: On Women’s Bodies in Horror, Rebecca Harkins-Cross

Horror Lives in the Body, Megan Pillow Davis

Hero Status: Medusa, Hazel Cills

Medusa Writes for Teen Vogue, Dorothy McGinnis

Snake Eyes: The Power to Turn the Patriarchy into Stone, McKenzie Schwark

The Timeless Myth of Medusa, a Rape Victim Turned Into a Monster, Christobel Hastings

OUROBORICISMS, Alice Lesperance 

On the Haunted Lives of Girls and Women, Rachel Eve Moulton

Prey, Kathleen Hale

Medusa Reflects, Jacqueline Doyle

you’ve given me a very broad topic and thus i have tried to give you a wide range of things to read. some of these don’t exactly fit what you requested, but since they helped me, i hope they might help you too. i’m always available if you want more. i hope you find your healing soon, angel 💖

#ask #link compilations

[valiumvenus]

"If women are unsupervised, then what might they be doing? What might they be wearing? What could they become? What if, instead of being powerless and pliable, they learned that they could fight back? What if the woman who lies next to you at night, folds your laundry, cooks your meals, is merely hiding her claws and scales and razor-teeth and licking her lips with her forked tongue, counting the wrongs you committed against her – against all women – biding her time."

Williams, Hannah. 2019. The Resurgence of the Monstrous Feminine.

#feminism #femininity

[1200flowers]

The Resurgence of the Monstrous Feminine: Hannah Williams

#waw #hannah williams #the resurgence of the monstrous feminine #woman as wound #mine #pp #gh #girlhood

[philosophika]

Sometimes, when I’m walking home on my own at night, I think about what it would be like to stalk silently behind men, my feet soft and easy on the pavement, quick flash of my shadow under the street lights. How I’d watch the whites of their eyes shine as they turned to look behind them – softly, quietly, can’t be too obvious – see the glisten of sweat on the back of their necks. I’d watch them quicken their pace with fear, recognise the measured gait – not wanting to run so as not to inspire a chase, keep calm, breathe deeply, act self-possessed but do not linger. I’d like to test it; to not be five-foot-four, soft-fleshed, short-sighted, to not think about the keys slotted between my fingers, the correct way to escape a chokehold. To not think, even in passing, of defence. Just once I’d like to think about attack: scaled wings, glinting incisors, long, yellowed claws. A pact with the devil that let me split concrete, burn with the touch of my finger.

The Resurgence of the Monstrous Feminine by Hannah Williams

#the resurgence of the monstrous feminine #Hannah Williams #monstrous feminine

[witchstone]

— Hannah Williams, "The Resurgence of the Monstrous Feminine", Granta Magazine

#monstrous feminine #hannah williams #feminism #gender violence #granta magazine #*posts #anyways! i have a copy of witch by rebecca tamas sitting in my cart i just need to actually check it out #apprehensive but hopeful at the same time

[forseita]

To be a woman is to be feared, to know fear. To hold the two simultaneously within yourself, to know that your body, by the sheer fact of its existence, will be terrified by the society that claims to be terrorised by it; that the patriarchy deems women’s bodies so awful, so monstrous, that it seeks to limit and control their power. These people not only hate women, but are afraid of them; scared of the capacity for women’s bodies to be unruly, unclean, unknowable. Despite the sheer and uncommunicable amount of violence enacted upon the female body throughout history, it’s woman as terroriser, as beast, that we keep coming back to. What better way to justify the ways in which we break her? 

THE RESURGENCE OF THE MONSTROUS FEMININE ( do not reblog )

#☽ let me tell you a story of remembrance made of green glass shards ; insp

[luxe-pauvre]

If women are unsupervised, then what might they be doing? What might they be wearing? What could they become? What if, instead of being powerless and pliable, they learned that they could fight back? What if the woman who lies next to you at night, folds your laundry, cooks your meals, is merely hiding her claws and scales and razor-teeth and licking her lips with her forked tongue, counting the wrongs you committed against her – against all women – biding her time.

Hannah Williams, The Resurgence of the Monstrous Feminine

#Hannah Williams #The Resurgence of the Monstrous Feminine

[w-o-o-l-f]

Just once I’d like to think about attack: scaled wings, glinting incisors, long, yellowed claws. A pact with the devil that let me split concrete, burn with the touch of my finger.

The Resurgence of the Monstrous Feminine (x)

#the resurgence of the monstrous feminine #hannah williams #moje #feminism