—
Time Magazine cover artist John Mavroudis, whether intended or not, made a most powerful visual connection between his subject, Professor Christine Blasey Ford, and Medusa, one of classical mythology’s most famous rape victims (see below).
According to the poet Ovid, Medusa was once a beautiful young maiden, the only mortal of three sisters known as the Gorgons. Poseidon the sea god was captured by her beauty, pursued her and raped her in Athena’s sacred temple. Furious at the desecration of her shrine, Athena transformed Medusa into a monster with serpentine braids and the deadly capacity to turn men who looked upon her face to stone. Afterward, Medusa wandered away to hide in a cave with her sisters in the Hebrides. Eventually, she was hunted down and slain by the demigod Perseus with a magic sword and a mirrored shield.
Poseidon, typical of the male Olympian gods, disappears from the scene with no consequences.
Mavroudis does not portray Christine Ford and her intriguing locks as a monster. Her hair, her face and her hand are represented by letters that comprise the powerful words of truth she spoke at the Senate Judiciary hearing. She is serene, heroic. We can only admire her courage in coming forward and telling her story to our nation.
With blinders, however, the Republican leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, our President and his wife ignored and mocked Dr. Ford’s testimony in order to rush through confirmation of a man whose alcohol history and unhinged behavior should have disqualified him as a legitimate candidate for the Supreme Court.
We still live in a time when women get blamed for being victims of sexual abuse, and the men who abuse them, especially powerful ones, fly off to their Olympian retreats with no second thoughts or consequences for their behaviors.
In Ovid’s myth, Perseus saves himself by looking at Medusa’s reflection in the mirrored shield, avoiding her gaze. What if he had looked at himself at the same time? Reflected on his own image, contemplated his own role in her tragic situation? Beauty is said to be in the eye of the beholder, but so too is our violence.
If we, men particularly, want to support the goals of the #MeToo Movement we must help liberate women and other victims of sexual abuse from the Medusa Curse. We must stop looking the other way, avoiding and projecting blame. When we begin to see ourselves as an essential part of the equation we can become compassionate allies, not simply indifferent bystanders.
—
What’s your take on what you just read? Comment below or write a response and submit to us your own point of view or reaction here at the red box, below, which links to our submissions portal.
◊♦◊
Sign up for our Writing Prompts email to receive writing inspiration in your inbox twice per week.
—
Photo: Getty Images