I Hate Ovid, But Do We Really Wanna Die On This Hill?

If you really want a segment of the types of people in the pagan and occult communities, check out how people are responding to the Medusa statue by Luciano Garbati. Also for fun, see how many of them are familiar with the Greek myths vs Ovid’s own interpretation as a Roman.

Even better, those who react to this from a feminist perspective vs those who really, really, really can’t handle anything that reminds them of their own privilege as a cis male.

Why is this statue making so many people so angry?

This was posted to one of my FB groups, and we actually had to turn off comments and shut down other posts about it. The conversation got THAT toxic.

The people made angry by this statue fall into one of a few categories:

• Dudes who hate women, hate feminism, and hate anything that suggests that maybe, just maybe our lived experiences have been hell. And we’re more than a little sick of it. See also people who refer to themselves as “apolitical.”
• People who think that Medusa was a rape victim who was blamed for it by Athena back in ancient Greece. And same people being angry that this statue is reminding them of this idea.
• People who know that the Medusa as a rape victim blamed for it by Athena was NOT a thing back in ancient Greece. And hate having to have these discussions again for the 1,000,015th time, cause Ovid.
• People who are angry at having to explain once again that myths aren’t the religion.
• People who are angry that people are angry cause wtf.

I hate Ovid, and here’s why

The myth of Medusa as a rape victim punished for it by Athena was actually a concoction of the Roman poet Ovid. Many of us sick of having to explain this over and over again. Cause obviously it makes Athena look terrible.

Nonetheless, the very real rage and understanding of said rage obviously went into this work of art. And many, many women fully feel this rage and understanding. Self included.

Is this a hill you really wanna die on, my dude?

The statue is widely talked about right now because it is installed in front of a Manhattan court. That court specifically handles cases concerning violence against women. The whole thing is in support of the #metoo movement.

We can argue about Ovid and our interpretations of this myth all we want, but the intent is pretty clear. If there’s a hill I’m gonna die on in regards to this statue, it’s not that.

I’ve discussed the #metoo movement in the past in relation to the pagan and occult communities and have gone into my own experience with it as a survivor. The reality is that men are far more likely to be a survivor of rape and sexual assault than falsely accused of being a rapist. This has not stopped various misogynistic far right individuals from attempting to weaponize it. The purpose being, of course, to use it against us in order to discredit innocent individuals as well as rape victims.

I like this statue, die mad about it

Its intent is fully clear and I support it. I get the frustration with Ovid and all of that, and I just don’t care. I back the artist, its installation, and everything about it.

I’m not letting bad actors and those in bad faith try to bring down the #metoo movement. We still need it. If that hurts your feelings, I don’t care.

It’s not about you.