ABSTRACT
The vagina dentata points to the duplicitous nature of woman, who promises paradise in order to ensnare her victims. The notion of the devouring female genitals continues to exist in the modern world; it is apparent in popular derogatory terms for women such as ‘man-eater’ and ‘castrating bitch’. While all images of menacing, the toothed mouths – regardless of the gender of the character – suggest the vagina dentata, some films link this image specifically to the woman. Growling ‘jaws suggested the vagina dentata which turn-of-the-century men feared they might find hidden beneath’ woman's gown. An advertising poster for the film Jaws, which deals specifically with castration anxieties, uses this convention by showing an underwater view of a woman swimming with a great shark hovering immediately below her, its open mouth and the teeth glistening in the dark waters.
