Link: Death Witches: Women Reformers in the Death Industry
Witch. The very word conjures images of green skinned old hags stirring cauldrons of nastiness as they prepare to hex cows, wreak havoc on townspeople, and steal Dorothy’s ruby red slippers. While witch used to be a slur used against a person, usually a woman, who was thought to consort with the devil and gain evil favor through sexual acts, feminists are reclaiming the word witch as a proud title signifying that they are radical revolutionaries who are bucking the patriarchy. In this paper, I will examine the history of the world witch, discuss how women are reclaiming witch as a term of female empowerment, and discuss whether women reformers in the death industry can be legitimately compared with other women fighting back against oppression and societal control.
The linked paper is one I wrote as part of my thanantology work at Marian University as a comparison between women in the death industry and witches.