in defense of the femme fatale 🚬

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academic paper on it:

Sources:
The “Bad Girl” Turned Feminist: The Femme Fatale and the Performance of Theory by Michelle Mercure
The Emergence of the Feminist Fatale in American Film Noir by Anne Dennon
Fatal Woman, Revisited: Understanding Female Stereotypes in Film Noir by Danielle L. Barnes-Smith
Film Noir's Progressive Portrayal of Women by John and Stephanie Blaser
"Vicious Womanhood": Genre, The "Femme Fatale" and Postwar America by Marc Jancovich
Cultural Constructions of the Femme Fatale: From Pandora’s Box to Amanda Knox by Stevie Simkin
Challenging the stereotype: the femme fatale in fin-de-siecle art and early cinema by Jess Sully
The Big Seduction: Feminist Film Criticism and the Femme Fatale by Helen Hanson
Star Gazing: Hollywood Cinema and Female Spectatorship by Jackie Stacey
Woman's Place: The Absent Family of Film Noir ****by Sylvia Harvey
Women in Film Noir by Janey Place
"Gilda Didn't Do Any of Those Things You've Been Losing Sleep Over!": The Central Woman of 40s Films Noirs by Angela Martin
The Beauty and Horror of Medusa, an Enduring Symbol of Women’s Power by Allison Meier

[brayonnichols]

“More good women have been lost to marriage than to war, famine, disease, and disaster.”-Cruella de Vil, 101 Dalmatians (1996)

[Persepholeigh]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The negativity of the fem fatal is "men are weak, blame women".

[trinielenam]

“most of the women get punished by death, jail time, or worse MARRIAGE”



that’s honestly a mood

[imaninline]

I’ve always been particularly fond of the femme fatale, it’s the first female character I ever saw depicted as multidimensional her existence is more than the pursuit for love or to serve the men in her life. Plus I do love a good “good for her” moment 👀

[arualblues_zero]

Especially when you consider that (according to Ovid) Medusa was cursed because Poseidon forced himself on her on Athena's temple, and she was blamed and punished for it.
EDIT: After being schooled sufficiently, I'm adding "according to Ovid" to my sentence.

[haley]

I think it's so pretty interesting how we have recently been reclaiming the femme fatale and bimbo as aspirational archetypes (as seen with how we talk about Marilyn Monroe, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and any other powerfully independent women), instead of the negative reaction to these women with the bad press they got from older people. I read a published girl's diary from the 20s that had an entry about seeing a Mary Pickford film, and the writer had only distaste for her, saying that her ringlets were childish and Pickford was a boring actress. I wonder if girls had always liked the more independent and powerful women, and it was only the critics in media that gave them their bad reputation.

[jamiewojtal]

I would also love to see a follow up on the femme Fatale in the late 20th and early 21st century from you!

[dinahmyte]

It's always about men, that's my biggest issue. Women as "seductresses" or "temptresses" like men can't control themselves and that women must be punished for owning their own bodies. It's why I hate the movies where the husband cheats and we're supposed to be mad at the other woman, like uh, SHE didn't make a vow, he did. Punish him for cheating. I'm gay, I've never been so overcome with my lust for women that I've leered, harassed, or abused women, despite being attracted to them. I've also never blamed them when I get distracted by their looks, it's not THEIR fault they're hot...

:/ I just hate this idea that the femme fatale was BAD because she was sexy towards men. Like, duh, she knew that and used that. If I was hot, I'd also be a bad bitch who gets what I want.

[libertymorgan]

we love your deadpan/ annoyed tone while talking about Freud, he terrible!

[loujohnson]

Mina: the first femme fatale was Eve.

Lilith: I'll show myself out

[tojovvg]

As a psych student, I HATE learning about Freud. My professors always apologise for teaching his theories because they know he’s just talking out of his ass

Side note: Mina you look stunning <3<3

[dra]

No but the fact that the serpent in the garden isnt seen as the villain for manipulating Eve, whose innocence was like a child's, and instead Eve was thus labeled as a temptress and gave evangelicals an excuse to treat women as second class citizens is my villain origin story.

[lillytalesandwonders]

I've always found the femme fatale to be a symbol of power and an intelligent woman who use her beauty to get what she wants as a way to take back the control over her body. And Gilda will always be my fav🖤

[audebattistolo]

Note: in french "femme fatale" was mostly used (it becamme a little dated with time) to describe real women with a strong charisma that make them so attractive that they could turn men in a way it could possibly lead them (men) against their own benefit and potentially up to their death but still can't avoid even if their are aware of the risk.
However a better translation would be "fateful women" in the way we mean it.
To be a "femme fatale" was a compliment, ambiguous but still a compliment.

[sheridanfrancis]

I think a big part of what makes the femme fetale “not feminist” lies in the fact that a lot of her power is derived from her conventional beauty. She’s able to get what she wants by exploiting the male gaze. This idea is not empowering for women who do not fulfill this standard. All that in mind, I do love a good femme fatale.

[perrytheplatyhoe]

I believe Theda Bara once said that she thinks the reason why she had more women fans was because of their “desire for revenge.” This is how I personally feel and why I feel empowered when I see femme fatales in old Hollywood films. With the trauma that I and most women have experienced that has been perpetrated by men, the thought of using my sexuality and independence to cause some sort of distress in a man’s life sounds pretty damn cool to me.

[isychia]

I’ve always wanted to look like the femme fatale, but have absolutely nothing to do with men.

[iwannaandreou]

Actually historians have found Medusa's head carved in temples that were exclusively for priestesses and have concluded that it was a sign for victims of (domestic) abuse that this temple is a safe place for them. Based on this historians think that Athena didn't turn medusa into a "monster " as a curse but rather to protect her from Poseidon and men in general. Turns out Medusa is a feminist heroine and not a monster.

[niamhworrell]

Okie but can we talk about how cute Mina’s hair, makeup and outfit are??😌✋

[hhotdonnaa]

someone once told me that eve symbolizes free will and i was like “so we’re being punished for wanting free will?”