Well, not so much Vagina Dentata; I think that my second favorite Dread Cephalopod will have written quite enough about that by the time this is read. Instead, I want to talk about the phallic mirror to Vagina Dentata (that is, having teeth in your vagina). I was pleasantly surprised to find that it's a largely untouched subject, but I'm also hoping that it's a subject that is worth touching:
So
For me, Vagina Dentata is symbolically important due to the mythology surrounding it: Kai touches on this here It is also fascinating when you begin to look at real life mirrors of the concept of teeth, consumption, castration. So what of penises? What concept might match the castration fear of men, in women? Rape seems a very likely candidate, where men lose their ability to procreate, to parasite, to vamp, rape costs women their choice of mate (biologically of great significance), and, although more briefly, women their ability to procreate (for procreation has been forced and cannot be held simultaneously). I feel like castration is feared more, taboo'd further, but I'll leave that for Kai to talk about. For my interests, rape and castration will be drawn parallel.
I jokingly considered a toothed penis, or a penis endowed with some other sense, when starting to think about this topic. This was the wrong approach. The phallus is already fanged, it needs no second row of teeth. The penetrative symbolism of the penis mirrors the vampires bite perfectly- a necessary connection in trying to understand the inherant sexuality of vampires. The penis infests, parasites; like the fang that turns a vampires victim, like the mosquito's needle which spreads malaria, men must infect others to prolong their survival (genetic). This simple fact is displayed brilliantly in numerous species, the most appropriate being that of the flatworm. Certain species of hermaphroditic flatworms compete in penis fencing, the loser is penetrated and forced to bear the child. In a sense, the loser is both made female and raped simultaneously, the victor becomes the father. I say the "loser" because child-bearing is a remarkable strain on the body, and requires a great deal of resources- the parasitism of a child on any body is harsh. As much as all men may subconsciously fear Vagina Dentata, of castration amidst ecstasy (natures cruelest switcheroo?), all women may just as easily fear the fanged touch of the phallic, perhaps should. Then, like men, women have cause to fear what we most desire, in fact, far MORE justification. In my experience, this is true.
/Main idea
So it comes to a wash. The fear goes both ways.
In that sense we (men) are all parasites- castration is our greatest fear because it robs us of our sole PURPOSE. But one other possibility has occurred to me as far as phobias so I want to start a thread: not to be crude, but things should leave the penis, not the other way around. The reverse is uncanny.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candiru
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Perhaps semen and ejaculation is the equivalent of the vagina dentata, since procreation is the sole purpose of the man. And for a man it is unwise to harm the womb that would birth his offspring, therefore the injuries put upon a woman are more mental, emotional, and sexual, but a lot less physical due to the fact that the woman has something more to offer to the man.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. I think I just thought of another blog post to continue my Vagina Dentata series. Thanks for taking up the challenge!
It certainly is unwise to damage the womb, but NOT the vagina itself- the barbed penises of cats, or the gunky ejaculate of rats shows how animals have biologically evolved to differentiate this important fact
ReplyDelete