Sexual Politics and the Witchcraze:The War on Popular Culture

Sexual Politics and the Witchcraze:The War on Popular Culture

• I. Construction of the Witch stereotype

• III. Church and Sexuality• The Malleus Maleficarum on women• Ideal of womanhood• class prejudice of this ideal

Witch StereotypeWitch Stereotype

• weird

• old

• woman

• poor

The church and sexualityThe church and sexuality

The Malleus Maleficarum on women

The Malleus Maleficarum on women

• “Hammer of the Witches”• Written by two Inquisitorial priests, 1486

• Quoting St. Matthew: “What else is woman, but a foe to friendship, an unescapable punishment, a necessary evil, a natural temptation, a desirable calamity, a domestic danger, a delectable detriment, an evil of nature, painted with fair colours.”[11 (117)]

• Quoting Seneca: “When a woman thinks alone, she thinks evil”[11 (117)]

• “Since they are feebler both in mind and body, it is not surprising that they should come under the spell of witchcraft” [13 (120)]

• Why are they feeble?

• “The natural reason is that she is more carnal than a man, as is clear from her many carnal abominations.”[13 (121)]

• “She is an imperfect animal who always deceives.”[13 (121)]

• “A woman is beautiful to look upon, contaminating to the touch, and deadly to keep.” [16 (126)]

• “She is a liar by nature, so in her speech she stings while she delights us.”[16 (126)]

• “All witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable, which is in women insatiable.” [16 (127)]

• “It is common to all to practice carnal copulation with devils.”[19 (132)]

Demure woman and male control

Demure woman and male control

St Thomas AquinasSt Thomas Aquinas

• For good order have always been wanting in a family if some were not governed by those wiser than themselves. So by such a kind of subjection, woman is naturally subject to man, because naturally in man the discretion of reason dominates."

Martin Luther - the Reformed Church

Martin Luther - the Reformed Church

• "The rule remains with the husband, and the wife is compelled to obey him by God's command. He rules the home and the state, wages war, defends his possessions, tills the soil, builds, plants, etc... The woman, on the other hand, is like a nail driven into the wall. So the wife should stay home and look after affairs of the household. She does not go beyond her personal duties”

The ideal womanThe ideal woman

Carnal womanCarnal woman

• rational man

Class prejudice of this idealClass prejudice of this ideal

• "I would not enter into a spiritual conversation with a woman who belongs to the lower classes of the people, except in church or in places visible to all. For such women are easily won, and through such conversations, rightly or wrongly, evil talk arises.”

• St. Ignatius of Loyola