Lindsay's Fortress : Female Creatures in Myth

I'm a sucker for a story featuring a strong female character/creature/being, which is why I really liked the article "Magical Femininity: Womanly Creature That Kick Ass" from mysticfiles.com. The author brings up an idea from some of the readings, that "[female] magical beings may take on the negative aspects of womanhood as viewed by men or adapt certain scary or intimidating creatures into their feminine physique..." I find this concept intriguing because while some may say it's sexist or demeaning I find it to be empowering in a way. It shows that men are scared of females because they don't completely understand them, and they should be scared! (haha).

Some of my favorite creatures mentioned in the article were gorgons, valkyrie, the sphinx. Gorgons just look so cool and the fact that their gaze can turn people into stone brings a whole new meaning to the "female death stare". Valkyrie are kind of the definition of a female badass. They are powerful and strong and are able to choose who lives and who dies in battle. I've always been fascinated with sphinxes because I am obsessed with all things cat (or half-cat I should say). I was first introduced to sphinxes in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I remember seeing the illustration in the book and thinking how majestic she looked. Though Halloween is a long way off, I'm thinking about dressing up as one of these awesome female creatures this year...