Bad Witches: Gender and the Downfall of Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos and Disney’s Maleficent

Lauren Dundes, Madeline Streiff Buitelaar and Zachary Streiff
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Lauren Dundes: Department of Sociology, McDaniel College, Westminster, MD 21157, USA
Madeline Streiff Buitelaar: Hastings College of the Law, University of California, 200 McAllister St, San Francisco, CA 94102, USA
Zachary Streiff: Member of the State Bar of California, Monterey, CA 93940, USA

Social Sciences, 2019, vol. 8, issue 6, 1-17

Abstract: Female villains, both fictional and real, are subject to unconscious gender bias when part of their iniquity involves the disruption of male authority. Disney’s most popular animated villain, Maleficent, from Sleeping Beauty (1959) and Elizabeth Holmes of the now-disgraced blood testing startup, Theranos, reveled in their power, deviating from idealized feminine propriety. An analysis of scenes featuring Maleficent, the “mistress of all evil”, and coverage of Elizabeth Holmes, once the first self-made female billionaire, illustrate how powerful women with hubris are censured beyond their misdeeds. Elizabeth Holmes’ adoption of a deep voice and other masculine characteristics parallels Maleficent’s demeanor and appearance that signal female usurpation of traditional male power. Both antagonists also engage in finger pricking that penetrates the skin and draws blood, acts associated with symbolic male potency. The purported ability to bewitch, in conjunction with the adoption of patterns associated with male dominance, suggest that Maleficent and Elizabeth Holmes wield power over men and wield the power of men. Discomfort with the way in which magical powers were allegedly employed by these women echo historical fears of witches accused of appropriating male power. Furthermore, powerful women who encroach on male authority but ultimately fail to upend the gender hierarchy trigger schadenfreude beyond that expected from their wrongdoings. In the end, the stories of Maleficent and Elizabeth Holmes celebrate the downfall of women who brazenly embrace power, without showing women how to challenge the gender hierarchy.

Keywords: Theranos; Elizabeth Holmes; STEM; Disney; Sleeping Beauty; Maleficent; Aurora; princess; finger prick; Carreyrou; Bad Blood; magic; sorcery; animal symbolism; gender; schadenfreude; stereotypes; witch; spinsters; hubris; male hegemony; villain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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