My collection explores cultural opinions on women’s bodies and sexuality through the lens of mythological Sirens. The first and most famous mention of Sirens is in Homer’s “The Odyssey” (Botamino 2019), which follows Odysseus and his crew’s return home from the Trojan war, running into many monsters on the way, including the Sirens (Elbein 2018). In this depiction, the Sirens’ physical attributes are barely mentioned–and their allure is not sexual in nature (Elbein 2018). In fact, the temptation of the Siren Song is that of knowledge–knowledge of the workings of the world, and very importantly, death. It wasn’t until the Middle Ages and the rise of Christianity in Europe that Sirens were depicted as mermaid-esque, and became sexual temptresses, or “Femme Fatales” (Marques 2022). This shift between the nature of the Sirens’ temptation is an interesting way of looking at the social implications of women and sexuality. Monstrous creatures temp men with knowledge and taboo, whereas beautiful creatures hide their monstrosity and rather tempt men with sexuality. This rhetoric paints women’s sexuality as sinister, rather than an inherent part of their identity. Putting the female body on display doesn’t inherently make women evil temptresses, but rather celebrates the beauty of our bodies.
Sources:
Art Talk: The Scary Truth about Ancient Sirens. (2021). Harvard Museums. Retrieved 2024, from https://harvardartmuseums.org/article/art-talk-the-scary-truth-about-ancient-sirens.
Botamino, C. (2019). Siren’s Song: Getting out of the Bird Suit. Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics, 42(S1), 34+. https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.lib.torontomu.ca/apps/doc/A597616356/LitRC?u=rpu_main&sid=summon&xid=3c521b60
Elbein, A. (2018, April 6). Sirens of greek myth were bird-women, not mermaids. Audubon. https://www.audubon.org/news/sirens-greek-myth-were-bird-women-not-mermaids
