Women Bite Back

In Neil Gaiman’s American Gods Bilquis is a female character that is revealed after the first chapter. She works as a prostitute, selling her body to men for money. However, there’s a twist. She ends up vaginally eating her partner during intercourse, ultimately consuming him. This is commonly known as vagina dentata, where there is teeth and ability to consume a partner during intercourse with female genitals. The 2007 film, Teeth, is about a teenage girl who believes in abstinence but finds out that on top of dealing with high school, boys pressuring her into sex, and puberty, she also discovers she has vagina dentata.  Both Bilquis and Dawn (the protagonist of Teeth) exhibit a power only women can possess, and use that power to fight back against misogynistic behavior and sexual violence.

Vagina Dentata is literally the ‘pussy bites back.’ The myth can be found in almost every culture and originates from men’s fear of castration. Or does it? Castration takes away a man’s genital’s and because in society men’s sexual activity (how much, how often, and how many partners) determine their masculinity, it makes sense castration would be a primal fear. However, this fear of castration being caused from having sex with a woman can reveal another fear: the fear of women taking back power.  Essentially, this is women taking back their sexual power, something men have continuously tried to possess and control for centuries. 

In Teeth Dawn does not discover her hidden ability until she is raped. Of course, this leaves her rapist castrated, and he dies from blood loss. Dawn is left utterly traumatized from not only the rape, but also because she blames herself for the death of her rapist. She ends up attempting to see a gynecologist, because she does not know who else to turn to. The gynecologist proceeds to sexually assault her (using his un-gloved hands to finger her) and ends up losing two of his fingers. Dawn leaves crying and desperate. She is your stereotypical damsel in distress, that is, if all damsels in distress had toothed vaginas. 

Finally, after doing extensive research, she thinks she’s found an answer: a hero must come and tame her. So far, the film seems utterly sexist and bogus, so this is not at all surprising. She finds a guy, one who seems genuine and respectful of her, and thinks she has found the said ‘hero.’ But, yet again, she is disappointed. During intercourse, he reveals him and his friend made a bet to see who could sleep with her, and the audience hears the satisfying crunch of his genitals leaving his body. She leaves him, and realizes she must own her power and not ever be ashamed or fearful of it again. So far, it has only come to her in aid, and has saved her from multiple occasions of sexual violence. The film ends with Dawn choosing to own her power, as well as her sense of sexuality. Dawn essentially turns the tables on sexual predators; by them attempting to assault or rape her, they are becoming victims themselves, and ultimately losing their ability to ever rape a woman again. 

Bilquis does something similar. Instead of using her power in self-defence against predators, she uses her power to feed herself, both literally and figuratively. She eats her client for nutrition, but also, there is satisfaction in taking back power. In her situation of being a prostitute, the client has the power and usually objectifies her and treats less than human. Her client degrades her, and openly insults her several times: “‘I shoulda just got you to suck me off in the car … When I saw you first, on Sunset, I almost thought you were a man … Let me fuck you … I have to fuck you’” (Gaiman 25-26). ‘Fuck’ is a derogatory term for sex and is sexist. Why? People often use the term to describe something bad, like, “Fuck that,” or “fuck you.” This means it has a negative connotation. It is also simultaneously switched out with ‘screw’ as in “Screw you.” When a screw is drilled into wood, the screw is perfectly fine but the wood is permanently damaged. Using these terms like this suggest negative things for women and sex, and insinuates and inherent patriarchal view. Bilquis lets this slide, and ultimately shows that she is the one in power and with control, not him. In fact, some can say he was ‘screwed’ the moment he ever agreed to hire her.

            Vagina dentata is a myth created to suppress women’s sexualities, but in Gaiman’s use of the myth, it empowers women’s sexualities by refusing to be submissive, suppressed, and inferior.

           

References: 

https://www.vice.com/en_asia/article/new558/vagina-dentata-myths-from-around-the-world