The History of Mythology & Misogyny

About this event

Trace how classical myths cast women and queer people as warnings, and how feminist retellings are reclaiming their power. Followed by Q&A. From Medusa to the Amazons, ancient myths still shape how we understand women, power and danger. But what happens when we confront the misogyny embedded in the stories we keep retelling? Western pop culture is full of classical myth, from Venus in pop songs to echoes of Artemis in The Hunger Games. Yet these stories were shaped by cultures that cast the homemaker as the only acceptable model of womanhood. Virgins, warriors, femme fatales, monsters, witches and madwomen were turned into warnings, while medical ideas such as the “wandering womb” reinforced prejudice in everyday life. In this workshop, classicist and author Mara Gold will trace how mythology helped define the social position of women and queer people, comparing classical traditions with stories from around the world. We’ll discover how suffragettes, feminist thinkers and gender non-conforming communities reclaimed figures such as the Amazons, and why today’s feminist and queer retellings can become powerful vehicles for change because of these myths’ misogynistic origins, not in spite of them. Learn how classical myths shaped ideas about women, power and danger Gain insight into the social and medical beliefs that reinforced misogyny Explore how mythological archetypes compare across cultures and still influence the present Discover how suffragettes, feminist thinkers and gender non-conforming communities reclaimed figures such as the Amazons Stream Opens 6:30pm, Talk Starts 6:35pm! Mara Gold is a researcher and writer specialising in queer and feminist receptions of Classics and mythology. A former performer and archaeologist, she has completed a PhD at the University of Oxford and has worked with the Pitt Rivers Museum and Ashmolean Museum to showcase queer and disability histories and champion access. Her book Ancient Myths and Legends Without Men has taken her to sold-out audiences across the UK and Europe and is being published in more than ten territories. She is disabled and autistic, with a particular research interest in witchcraft.