The Myth Of The Femme Fatale

The femme fatale is a kind of “man-devouring woman” who is both fascinating and terrifying at the same time. Although this myth has existed since ancient Greece, it did not take on a known form until the end of the 19th century. Femme Fatale was first heard here with the rise of female emancipation. And nowadays this image of women is often used in advertising.

Characteristic for this figure is a special kind of beauty that appears enigmatic and threatening, but always attractive. It is more than just seductive, it literally hypnotizes. She manages to have the world of men at her feet, but her real intention is to destroy men.

It is what psychoanalysis describes as hysteria.

“For me love means struggle, big lies and a few slaps.”

Edith Piaf

The femme fatale and the misogynous stereotypes

Before romanticism and the emancipation of women emerged, there were very clear ideas about what kind of women existed. There were three basic stereotypes: the wife and mother, the mystical woman and the witch and / or prostitute. With the onset of female emancipation, women began to feel threatened by these stereotypes. Not only did women raise their voices and get involved in many social areas, they also changed their attitudes.

It was at this time that the femme fatale appeared in literature for the first time, and this new, but above all dangerous, facet of women was the subject of many novels. From a literary point of view, their victims have always been men.

Until the 1940s, the femme fatale was a popular object in film art. It was the time of the great divas known as “Vampirella”. The fact that these beautiful women have been compared to vampires is clear evidence that they have always been associated with something terrible because they drained men of their lives and literally destroyed them.

In this era, the femme fatale was not just a character, but had many different psychological facets.

She was an imperturbable woman who was calculating and for the most part callous. Her unique ability was to make men fall in love with her without making her fall in love with them. She was aiming at something else – she wanted power and money.

She was, so to speak, the female counterpart to the womanizer “Don Juan”.

How the femme fatale became the top model

During the second half of the 20th century and through the 21st century, cinema, advertising and even much of the literature reinvented the typical image of the femme fatale. In truth, they made a cliché of the myth.

This terrifyingly attractive woman is better known today as a top model. The majority of advertising images contain this feminine facet: the indecent and disreputable woman, but seductive and irresistible.

The image of women is even becoming more and more masculine. The attractive woman of today is a kind of contemporary Amazon who at the same time carries the values ​​of a warrior.

She is an extremely attractive, determined and challenging woman. It seems like day in and day out she is busy conquering something that appears to be important in the masculine world. Today’s femme fatale sits in the boardroom, is a conspirator, gets involved in politics, is in the military, is an athlete, etc.

The femme fatale meets the man at eye level, but, like the famous Bond girls , uses her attractiveness and her ability to seduce to find a way out of difficult situations.

She has lost that mysterious beauty that the former femme fatale possessed. In the meantime the stereotype has got a clear picture: a perfectly shaped body, European facial features, skin color does not matter, full lips.

The contemporary femme fatale not only wants to be an object of desire for men, but wants to serve as a role model for all other women.

That is why the femme fatale has a dominant demeanor, a stunning personality, is independent and beautiful, even if she catches a not-too-good year full of rain – she gets up, straightens her crown and carries on. She is also a rebel at the same time and always follows the latest fashion trends.

Today’s femme fatale still has the same problem that many men have always had: society forces them to always appear inviolable, but thereby loses the opportunity to experience the feeling of sensitivity in all its facets.

Images courtesy of Antonio Marín Segovia