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The vaginal serpent theme frequently occurs in American folklore and urban legends. In this motif, reptiles or amphibians such as snakes, lizards, or waterdogs forcefully penetrate women and thereby enter their vaginas. The vaginal serpent theme falls under the category of women’s folklore. As opposed to men’s folklore, which tends to be recounted publicly, women’s folklore consists of stories that women tell one another in the private sphere and in the context of informal conversation. Many stories containing the vaginal serpent theme are told as personal accounts or accounts of actual events in the life of someone known to the narrator. Although the vaginal serpent theme is commonly considered in the context of women’s folklore, some tales or songs, such as “Charlotte the Harlot,” are narrated by a male and intended for a male audience. These types of raucous tales often denigrate female sexuality.
Academic research into the vaginal serpent theme is scant. Although the vaginal serpent theme is found in folklore from a variety of cultures, most existing research focuses primarily on the vaginal serpent in Mexican American folklore. The vaginal serpent theme is particularly prevalent in oral stories told among Mexican American women living in West Texas. These stories often feature a serpent, which is referred to as chirrionera, or an axolotl, which is a type of salamander. The chirrionera is sometimes described as whistling at women or physically pursuing them. In some stories, the chirrionera prefers to chase menstruating women and attempts to crawl into their vaginas. In some tales, the reptile or amphibian enters the vagina and the woman is unable to remove it. In related tales, a snake suffocates the baby of a pregnant woman either within the womb or shortly after birth. In other versions, however, a reptile or amphibian lays eggs inside a woman who subsequently gives birth to a litter. These types of Mexican American tales are similar to African American and Ozark tales in which a woman swallows some type of lizard that then grows inside her. In tales of impregnation, the woman is usually a young virgin who is shamed upon showing signs of pregnancy. Shame and humiliation result from the presumption that the woman engaged in premarital sex. In these stories, family members who shame the women often feel guilt upon learning of the victimization by the reptile or amphibian. Death often results for the victims in these stories when they are either strangled or eaten by the animal.
The vaginal serpent theme is the first of two types of snake-related themes in women’s folklore; the second type of tale, which is referred to as milk-stealing lore, consists of tales in which snakes enter the homes of nursing mothers. The milk-stealing snake typically enters the home in the middle of the night and feeds at the mother’s breast while simultaneously placing its tail in the baby’s mouth to simulate nursing for the baby and keep the baby quiet. In these types of tales, the baby typically becomes ill from the lack of nourishment. In one version of the tale, the snake strangles the infant.
Tales containing the vaginal serpent theme emphasize the vulnerability of women, particularly women whose bodies indicate signs of sexuality such as pregnancy or menstruation. Scholars point out that the tales are thought to reflect anxiety regarding issues such as female sexuality, pregnancy, childbirth, or sexual assault. This anxiety may be due, in part, to cultural emphasis on the notion that the primary function of a woman is to bear children. Scholars also point out that the vaginal serpent theme illustrates the male desire to regulate female sexuality. The stories may transmit the notion that it is dangerous for women to enjoy sex and that they should therefore repress their sexuality. The tales typically provide warnings for women. Women are warned to avoid being out in public alone. They are also warned against activities such as bathing or swimming in water that may be inhabited by reptiles or amphibians.
Christine M. DeCleene
See also La Llorona or Weeping Woman; Women in Folklore
Further Reading
Cardozo-Freeman, Inez. 1978. “Serpent Fears and Religious Motifs among Mexican Women.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women’s Studies 3 (3): 10–13.
Castro, Rafaela G. 2001. Chicano Folklore: A Guide to the Folktales, Traditions, Rituals, and Religious Practices of Mexican Americans. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Griffith, James. S. 1990. “Quetzalcoatl on the Border? Mestizo Water Serpent Beliefs of the Pimeria Alta.” Western Folklore 49: 391–400.
Jordan, Rosan A. 1985. “The Vaginal Serpent and Other Themes from Mexican-American Women’s Lore.” In Women’s Folklore, Women’s Culture, edited by Rosan A. Jordan and Susan J. Kalcik. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.