The enigma of sirens and femme fatales is a concept well-known since the beginning of time, yet not known at all-because that’s precisely what they are-an enigma
What possibly could make their almost mythical existence revolve around attracting men only, to use and destroy them? What even is a jarring (or should I say-“seducing”) mystery without an equally captivating backstory? Or is it just an exaggeration to subdue women all over again-by painting a magnetic, confident woman as evil?
Well, let’s start from the very beginning, shall we? Such seductresses are often transformed into what they become after they are shunned or outcast first. So, do they yearn to be desired, or do they have no choice but to believe that’s the only way to be valued—even just a little?
The debate on whether item songs promote women’s empowerment or objectification also ties this. It comes down to two things: agency and boundaries. The agency of the woman who accepts the gaze and shapes it with her skill in seduction and the art of allure, or the boundaries of another who firmly rejects its intrusion into her space. Therein lies the answer to the question, “Is it alright to gaze upon her in this manner?”—consent and direct acknowledgement from her.
The Other Woman is another well-known trope. Does a woman only hold value when she’s being pursued? Because that’s the whole premise, the lack of this value gives rise to ‘The Other Woman’—a tragic interpretation of a discarded, second-choice lover, known in slang as ‘a side chick.’
Or perhaps both are somehow linked—the Femme Fatale is The Other Woman we know nothing about a mystery because of which, she can hypnotize those around her.
Because of this, everyone wants a piece of her, but no one fully tries to understand her reasons, her hopes, and her dreams.
Or perhaps both are different – Femme Fatale is an object of desire, villainous even because women aren’t ‘supposed to wield that level of control over men through her bewitching energy’, and The Other Woman is an object of pity – a lady being everything devotional and sacrificial, everything good for her man yet being left behind without a second thought
These opposite extremes of how women are perceived in popular media reveal much about how the narrative and gaze function towards them.
A good soul—yet not good enough for the one she did it all for.
Who are we to decide that she has lost it all? She has worth outside the narrowed thinking, tight box of desire that she’s been pushed to learn to crave validation from. And once she realizes that, it’s all over for good.
‘A pretty face-but that’s all there is’
“But what’s wrong with that? Pretty privilege is real.”? It undoubtedly is-but many don’t recognize the dark, extreme downside of it.
I recently watched Malena, a critically acclaimed Italian film shot entirely through the male gaze. And I can’t even begin to list the moments when I wasn’t uncomfortable or disturbed watching it. Followed through the perspective of an adolescent boy, Malena challenges you to confront how misogyny, objectification, violence is conditioned and the reaction of the entire town is used to show just that. The whole story, in its simplest sense, is a huge metaphor for all of it.
The men all want her—yet they degrade her.
Their wives are jealous—and they humiliate her.
She’s the one targeted—yet everyone frames her as the vulgar monster.
I don’t want to include spoilers here but if you want to read then here’s the link of my full review of Malena
“Her only crime is her beauty”
– Malena (2000)
Perhaps the bigger crime is to overlook slut-shaming—or worse, to be part of it-the gravest of sins which was the last straw in causing the greatest of wars in Hindu mythology, Mahabharata.
Perhaps if you think a woman is doing it for attention, think again. Think what could have put her in such a position to do so, think what the society did to contribute to it, think why, and think again. And perhaps a woman will remain the other one, only up to the point from whence she chooses not to be.
Many intelligent queens understood this, they knew the power of allure, and learnt the skill, because of the very fact that they may never have been taken seriously otherwise, especially in that era, for their brains and talent unless they first break through the barrier of objectification. So they decided to bend it to their advantage first and then prove their wit. Classic example? Cleopatra-Queen in every sense of the word.
In conclusion, we must awaken that powerful force within us—to revolt, to revive, and to transform even the most twisted situations, seducing them toward a brighter horizon of opportunities.
For more interesting reads, visit HerCampus at MUJ!