Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2021, Popular Culture

This thesis investigates the relationship between the body of the witch in popular culture and attitudes and assumptions about the female body. This study was conducted through textual analysis of several popular films and television shows about witches. This analysis is structured around three core archetypes of femininity: the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone, examining how each of the three archetypes preserve stereotypes about women and how witches can subvert or reinforce those stereotypes. Using the theory of abjection as a foundation, this thesis argues that witches have a strong relationship to abject femininity and can therefore expose the anxieties and fears about female bodies in a patriarchal culture. This is not a comprehensive study of witches in popular culture, and further research into the intersections of gender and race, sexuality, and ability is needed to form any definite conclusions. This study is merely an exploration of female archetypes and how the female body is conceived through the witch's body in popular culture.

Committee: Jeffrey Brown Dr. (Advisor); Angela Nelson Dr. (Committee Member); Esther Clinton Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Film Studies; Gender; Gender Studies; Mass Media; Religion; Womens Studies