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Social media's newfound interest, Medusa tattoos, has been trending for quite some time now. Some TikTokers and Instagram reel makers have been showing off their tattoos with Greek mythological character Medusa's face on it.
According to the Met Museum, Medusa is a symbol used as protection from evil, much like the modern evil eye.
The Greek mythological character was said to have been sexually assaulted. As such, Medusa tattoos are being used to stand in solidarity with sexual assault survivors and fight against the idea of victim shaming and blaming.
Many social media users have been creating aesthetic designs to reclaim Medusa and Medusa tattoos as symbols of power, confidence, and strength.
In Metamorphoses, Ovid wrote that Medusa was a beautiful maiden who was assaulted by Neptune in Minerva’s temple. Later, Minerva punished Medusa by transforming her hair into poisonous snakes.
English professor Elizabeth Johnson wrote in an article for Atlantic:
"He r***s her in Minerva’s temple, and Minerva, incensed that her temple has been defiled, punishes the victim rather than the perpetrator."
Other interpretations of the Latin text by Ovid note that Medusa's hair was transformed into snakes by Minerva not as a punishment, but rather to protect her against men.
The Met Museum states that Medusa's image represents "an image of evil to repel evil." It further notes:
"The most common interpretation of Medusa suggests she is an apotropaic symbol used to protect and ward off the negative, much like the modern evil eye. She represents a dangerous threat meant to deter other dangerous threats, an image of evil to repel evil.”
Sexual assault victims have been proudly wearing their meaningful Medusa tattoos under the hashtag 'medusa tattoos' on TikTok. The hashtag has received 105 million views, making it an active awareness campaign against sexual assault, victim shaming, and r*pe.
While there are other meanings to the tattoos as well, many are moving forward and opening up on their own assault survival experiences while sharing videos of their tattoos.
Exploring another Greek legend on Medusa
Another Greek legend claims that Medusa's hair was turned into snakes by Athena after Poseidon assaulted her in the temple of Athena.
The Goddess also gave Medusa the power to turn anybody into stone if they looked at her.
In modern Gorgon tales about sisters Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, the latter has been used to describe female rage.
However, the current 'Medusa tattoos' trend started when TikTok user r.bree.xo showed off her Medusa inking. They captioned it as:
"A lot of people didn’t realize the meaning of a Medusa tattoo. If you do, I am so sorry you went through this too. You are so strong.”
TikTok has been denoting Medusa as a victim rather than a villain. Since then, TikTok and Twitter have been flooded with Medusa tattoos that hold deeper meanings than simple aesthetic inkings.
