I am intrigued by how women in power are often called 'witches'. Through this project, I aim to highlight three prominent powerful women who have been fairly or unfairly associated with the term 'witch':

• Hillary Clinton - 'The Wicked Witch of the Left'
• Theresa May - ' The Wicked Witch of Westminster'
• Margaret Thatcher - 'Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead'. 

I have chosen to use 3 examples, redolent of 'The Three Witches' in Macbeth, as well as many other depictions of witches.

This is not a reflection of my own political views; it is not for me to say they are a 'witch' or not - I am merely displaying how the term has been thrown around, particularly on social media, when in relation to these women. Have these women been called 'witches' to belittle them? Are people too quick to 'burn the witch'? Why aren't powerful men called 'witches'? 

Quotes of interest:

• Madeline Miller

"The persecution of witches, she [Matilda Joslyn Gage] said, had nothing to do with fighting evil or resisting the devil. It was simply entrenched social misogyny, the goal of which was to repress the intellect of women." 

"When we say witch, we almost exclusively mean woman. Sure, men have also been accused of witchcraft, but they are by far the minority. Further, the words used to describe men with magical powers – warlock, magus, sorcerer, wizard – don’t carry the same stigma."

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/apr/07/cursed-from-circe-to-clinton-why-women-are-cast-as-witches

Source: Samantha Rothenberg (@violetclair https://www.instagram.com/p/B9j6a1gJZNC/)

Source: The Simpsons

• WITCH

“Witches have always been women who dared to be: groovy, courageous, aggressive, intelligent, nonconformist, explorative, curious, independent, sexually liberated, revolutionary,” read the manifesto. “You are a witch by being female, untamed, angry, joyous and immortal.”

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/aug/07/monsters-men-magic-trump-awoke-angry-feminist-witches

Political Gender Inequality

Example 1:

In the news currently: Boris Johnson (PM) is expecting another child after finalising his divorce

Example 2:

Theresa May says women are either seen as weak or robotic

Theresa May has attacked her critics for saying she is “robotic” and “lacking sympathy”, revealing that she intentionally hides her feelings to avoid sexism.

Mrs May, who memorably cried in the final lines of her resignation speech, said that women who show emotion are accused of weakness, while women who hide it are “accused of having a hard heart, lacking sympathy and empathy and being robotic”.

“The same tests are not applied to men,” she added.

Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/11/15/theresa-may-says-women-either-seen-weak-robotic/

Bushfire Brandalism, 2020

The 48 Sheet, 2012

Source: http://brandalism.ch/projects/