Bite Me. The Myth of Vagina Dentata

Mythcrafts first full length book is out now on Amazon everywhere, and to celebrate we have dropped a preview here:

Bite Me. The Myth of Vagina Dentata by Emma Woods, PhD.

Patriarchal rule has a long and sordid history of creating moral panics around female sexuality to control and subjugate women. They spin lies about female bodies, telling us that they are wild, dangerous, and untamed. They loudly proclaim that our only solution is to turn female bodily autonomy over to their dominance and rule.

Brimming with razor sharp teeth, the vagina dentata presents a surreal representation of the sexually dangerous woman. Found in the creation myths of First Ancestors to the box office hits of today, the vagina dentata has always been lurking. Yet it is not just found in fictional tales and artist representations, but appears in religion, ritual and social policy. As this book demonstrates femicide, genital mutilation, medical negligence and sexual violence are just some of the real repercussions of retelling stories of the vagina dentata.

These stories are designed to create division through fear, dictate male dominance, denigrate female sexuality, and demolish self-worth. They actively work against equality by manipulating us into believing women are immoral, weak, and unworthy. Female sexuality should be celebrated; it is natural, beautiful, life affirming, and life giving. These are the stories we should be sharing. I suggest we reject the toxic and dangerous ideology of the sexually dangerous woman in our society. In response to those that continue to try and control female bodily autonomy through misinformation and slander we should definitively proclaim: Bite me.