Medusa

Ancient Greek

Gorgon of Greek mythology whose gaze turns onlookers to stone. A figure of dangerous female power, often read as a symbol of the monstrous feminine.

Connection to Taylor Swift

Part of Taylor's vocabulary of dangerous, punished womanhood. Uncle Jerry traces the monstrous-feminine tradition through Medusa when reading Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?, the woman remade as a monster by the stories told about her, and her petrifying gaze surfaces again in the mirror-and-reflection imagery the hosts unpack around mirrorball. Medusa stands for the female figure feared for a power she never asked for.

Notable Works

• Greek mythology (Ovid's Metamorphoses)