Vagina dentata
Vagina dentata is Latin for toothed vagina. Various cultures have folk tales about women with toothed vaginas, frequently told as cautionary tales warning of the dangers of sex with strange women and to discourage the act of rape.[1]
The vagina dentata appears in the myths of several cultures. Erich Neumann relays one such myth in which "a fish inhabits the vagina of the Terrible Mother; the hero is the man who overcomes the Terrible Mother, breaks the teeth out of her vagina, and so makes her into a woman."[2]
The legend also appears in the mythology of the Chaco and Guiana tribes. In some versions, the hero leaves one tooth.[3] An Ainu language tale containing this element was published as "The Island of Women" by Basil Hall Chamberlain, where it was described as a well known Japanese tale by E. B. Tylor.[4]
In his book, The Wimp Factor, Stephen J. Ducat expresses the view that these myths express the threat sexual intercourse poses for men who, although entering triumphantly, always leave diminished.[5]
The grain of truth in these stories is that dermoid cysts, which can occur anywhere in the body, often contain teeth.[1] Although there are no documented sightings, it is theoretically possible for a tooth-containing dermoid cyst to develop in a woman's vagina.
[edit] See also
- Teeth, a horror comedy film in which the protagonist has a vagina dentata
- Penetration Angst, another horror film on the topic
- Rape-aXe, a South African anti-rape device
- Snow Crash, the 1992 novel by Wired magazine author Neal Stephenson, in which the character Y.T. uses a dentata device.
- Moon Over Soho, the second book in the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch features an assassin with vagina dentata.
[edit] References
- Notes
- ^ a b Rankin Lissa, Christiane Northrup (2010). What's Up Down There?: Questions You'd Only Ask Your Gynecologist If She Was Your Best Friend. Macmillan. p. 59. ISBN 9780312644369. http://books.google.ca/books?id=2ybaNhKqGmwC&pg=PA59&dq=%22Vagina+dentata%22+teratoma+OR+congenital&hl=en&sa=X&ei=wfM2T5rMEYi70QHolo3IDQ&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22Vagina%20dentata%22%20teratoma%20OR%20congenital&f=false. Retrieved 2012-02-11.
- ^ Neumann, Erich; translated by Ralph Manheim (1955). The Great Mother. Princeton: Princeton University Press. pp. 168.
- ^ Leach, Maria (1972). "vagina dentata". Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend. entry by Erminie W. Voegelin. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. pp. 1152. ISBN 0308400909.
- ^ Chamberlain, B. H. "The Island of Women" Aino Folk-Tales, 1888. pp. vii, 37.
- ^ Ducat, Stephen J. (2004). The Wimp Factor. Boston: Beacon Press. pp. 115–149.
[edit] External links
- Dr. Dean Edell Health Central
- Article at BBC - h2hg
- Artist's vision of Vagina Dentata by a Czech fine art photographer Jan Krasňan (from his series created in October 2010)
|
||||||||
