The Metamorphosis of Baubo: Myths of Woman's Sexual Energy

by Winifred Lubell, Marija Gimbutas (Foreword by)

From primitive European and African carvings and cave drawings to the classical poetry, pottery, and sculpture of Attic Greece, from mysterious and disturbing female shapes on the facades of certain gothic Christian churches to startling and instructive examples of contemporary myths in the making, Winifred Milius Lubell tracks a vast resource of visual and textual evidence in this first book-length study of Baubo. Lubell's artistic and literary sources support the argument that from the earliest moments of civilization, humans have respected and revered female sexual energy, graphically symbolized in the vulva, as an indispensable force in the balance of nature. Over the ages, the images of Baubo and her sisters assumed deviant and disturbing forms, but the basic lines of her legend and its visual manifestations were not completely obscured. Nor, as this book will show, has Baubo's essential power been destroyed even in our own age.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, Anthropology, Sexuality, History, Art, Folklore

232 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1994

About the author

Winifred Milius Lubell (June 14, 1914 – January 3, 2012) was an American illustrator artist and writer. In her early adult years, Milius was active in the Communist Party of the United States and an advocate for social justice. She began her artistic career creating pen and ink portraits of victims of the Great Depression, before proceeding to examine the struggles of the working poor in the towns of the Eastern United States through woodcuts, as well as producing drawings from the sit down strikes in Chicago. An artist and an illustrator, Milius' most notable publications include the illustrations for Dorothy Sterling's Cape Cod natural history book The Outer Lands. In her eighties she wrote and illustrated the women's studies exploration of feminism, sexuality and mythology: The Metamorphosis of Baubo, Myths of Woman's Sexual Energy.

Reviews

[Adrienne Kiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book! My only previous encounter with the figure of Baubo was quite a few years back ago when I first read "Women Who Run With the Wolves", in which Baubo is briefly mentioned. In that book, Baubo is referenced as the "belly goddess" who deals in laughter and embodies the idea of embracing our sexual nature with joy and good humor. Unfortunately, I learned from the same book that very little is known about Baubo.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered Lubell's well-written and informative book! The stories and artwork surrounding Baubo, as well as the explanations of how her figure has been oft maligned by the patriarchal society of years past, are presented in an incredibly accessible manner. I was engaged in the information throughout.

It is not uncommon for books on the mythology of women to fall into the unfortunate trap of man-bashing. Yes, much of our recorded history takes place in patriarchal societies that relegated women to a lower class. Yes, as a result there has been a downplay in the importance of female mythological figures throughout time. Is that the fault of men we encounter in society today? Absolutely not. There are legitimate concerns with how women are treated in modern times, but the guy in line next to you at the grocery store is hardly responsible for the repression of art by an archaeologist in the 1700s.

Fortunately, Lubell's book skillfully avoids doing this - the faults of the past are treated with an objective eye and without judgment. She keeps the focus on Baubo herself and her book is all the better for it. This is an absolutely fascinating read for anyone interested in the history of women in religious mythology.

[didi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aideomai means to be ashamed, but it also means to stand in awe or to fear or to regard with reverence. Aidoios, derived from the same root, was an adjective frequently used for women that meant deserving of respect. The neuter noun, aidoion, however, was used mostly in the plural for the genitals and particularly the pudenda, taaidoia. Here is fear, awe, shame, reverence, and the pudenda all combined in one word: aideomai.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating work— it looks at the goddess Baubo, both in terms of historical record as well as the themes she embodies. The first few chapters are a well-researched look at her myth with Demeter and her imagery. The book also explores what Baubo represents: a combination of fertility, yonic imagery and the power of female laughter. The other chapters examine similar figures in other cultures. All of it is well documented & footnoted.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never heard of Baubo, and this was an interesting deep dive into the importance of Baubo (in her various guises throughout different cultures), with her ability to restore balance by injecting humor, joy, and a female sexual energy into a situation (often through the baring of her genitals) . The book is filled with really interesting art (some of it illustrations by the author, many illustrations made from museum pieces, along with some photos) I've seen many of the "venus" statues and art, but I hadn't seen a lot of these before.

One negative- it seems this edition I have (red cover, 1st edition paperback, Vanderbilt University Press) has a few missing sections- page 114-115 seems to skip some text, as well as page 130-131.

[Fishface · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look into how a single mythological tale has changed over time, both in form and content and in our understanding of that content.

[emmalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

succinct read using myth and illustration to construct the history and downfall of the vulva as the protector, the jester, and the mother.

[Giselle Odessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

تتناول الكاتبة شخصية ميثولوجية هي باوبو و هي امرأة يرد ذكرها بشكل مختصر و مبهم نوعا ما في اسطورة اغتصاب هاديس لبرسيفوني ابنة ديمتر, و قد قامت بإضحاك ديمتر و التخفيف عن حزنها من خلال القاء النكت و الكشف عن فرجها.
تحاول الكاتبة إثبات ان اصول باوبو ترجع للازمان القديمة جدا قبل سيطرة الاديان و الآلهة الذكورية على المعابد و التقديس, و تلقي الضوء على كيفية تغيّرها و تحوّلها من شخصية داعمة و مساعدة و راعية إلى شخصية شريرة و مرعبة مع الزمن و تغيّر الاديان, كما تعرض التشابه المدهش و المثير للاهتمام بين اسطورة ديمتر و اساطير اخرى في الثقافات المختلفة منها اليابانية, مع تغير بسيط في التفاصيل و الاسماء.
من المهم الإنتباه إلى أن الربط بين مختلف الاساطير و اصولها و معانيها بين مختلف الثقافات تبقى اراء و اجتهادات شخصية مبنية على اكتشافات و مخطوطات و كتابات تحتمل الكثير من التأويل مع صعوبة كبيرة للتوصل لإجابات كاملة و صحيحة تماما.