I found a great online text that looks through the history of sirens and mermaids in different areas of our culture and the symbolism behind them. http://northstargallery.com/mermaids/mermaidhistory2.htm
It looks a bit into religious mermaid symbolism in the medieval churches, they were a reminder of banned temptation, they were used in carvings in many churches (such as Zennor church in Cornwall which I have another blog post on) so from the 11th century onwards they took on this siren role just in a fish like form, sirens originally had wings.
It also mentions some interesting texts about the iconic barbie (Forever Barbie by M. G. Lord) and how she represents perfect female beauty, eternal youth, indulgent materialism and the parallels between the development of barbie and the evolution of our culture.
Also an interesting comparison of Barbie to this character Lillith (seen as half woman half snake or fish) who dates back to 2000 BC but isnt in the bible but is on Notre Dame cathedral, there are stories of her being the original woman adam was made with.The online text talks about Barbie being an incarceration of Lillith, both living a life absent of marriage/family, theyre strong and not the second sex. So its possible that we think barbie is so perfect and she's been so successful is because she taps into the iconology of Lillith, sirens and mermaids.
(Images of Lillith)
I think both these texts were really useful for my project. They were very informative and made me think differently at how to approach research for this subject, possibly through other iconic symbols like Barbie. I feel I have a much better grounding and understanding of my subject now in order to continue forwards with my work.
- Mermaids and Sirens, Symbols of Seduction and Transformation - Northstar Gallery, March 03, 2018. Retrieved from: http://northstargallery.com/mermaids/mermaidhistory2.htm
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