Looking for Gaia, Tellus, Mother Earth, etc.

October 20, 2013 9:59 AM

I need recommendations for gendered representations of nature (e.g.: Gaia, Tellus, Terra, Mother Earth/Nature, etc.) in literature, media, art, children's books, or anything else.

I'm working on a writing project and need some help finding gendered representations of nature. Specifically, I'd love to find things that have characters based on or named after gendered mythical figures. I know lots of these exist, but I'm having some trouble tracking them down. Children's books are especially helpful here, but any other media works just as well.

What books, movies, stories, comics, games, academic text or other art/media do you know of that present gendered versions of nature or a feminine "earth spirit" type of deal? I'm also happy to look at male gendered representations of nature, if that opens things up a bit.

posted by still bill to Media & Arts (13 answers total)

The maori creation myth of Papatuanuku and Ranginui would possibly fit. I used to have a children's book about the story, although it was along time ago so I don't remember the exact book, but I'm sure there is more than one around.
posted by shelleycat at 10:13 AM on October 20, 2013

Mother Nature appeared in the Smurfs cartoons.
posted by corey flood at 10:21 AM on October 20, 2013

Wikipedia can be a good place for brainstorming this kind of thing too. Eg Earth Mother, Mother Nature, and see these lists of Earth goddesses, Nature goddesses, Mother goddesses, etc.

Tolkien's Tom Bombadil and his wife Goldberry came to mind, too.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:38 AM on October 20, 2013

Gaia was a character in the eco-cartoon Captain Planet.
posted by vegartanipla at 10:40 AM on October 20, 2013

In Greek and Roman mythology, certain kinds of natural features consistently had either male or female spirits. For example, rivers were always male (look up depictions of personifications of the Nile or other rivers around the Mediterranean), trees were always female. Look at the various kinds of nymphs and what kinds of things in nature they were associated with. Mountains had gendered spirits too but I can't remember what (they may have had both male and female representing different aspects).
posted by rustcellar at 10:47 AM on October 20, 2013

The Penobscot myth of the Corn Mother is a nice counterpart to the Demeter/Gaia of Greek myth.

Depending on the interpretation, Tolkein's Tom Bombadil might work as a male example.
posted by bibliowench at 11:05 AM on October 20, 2013

Oh, and Miyazaki's Spirited Away has two male characters who are actually rivers.
posted by bibliowench at 11:12 AM on October 20, 2013

In Shakespeare's The Tempest Prospero summons the spririts Iris, Ceres & Juno to do a masque celebrating marriage and bountiful nature.
posted by brookeb at 11:53 AM on October 20, 2013

D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths has some great stuff, especially this illustration of the feminine Gaia gazing upon the masculine Uranus ("sky" or "heavens").
posted by telegraph at 12:10 PM on October 20, 2013

In Kit Williams' treasure-hunt book Masquerade [previously on Metafilter], the moon is depicted as a woman:

Painting #2: Moon dancing with the sun
Painting #7: Eclipse

The book's out of print, unfortunately, but you can access images online. I was obsessed with this book as a child! The images are so rich and weirdly wonderful.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 2:24 PM on October 20, 2013

F. Paul Wilson's series of Repairman Jack books features female characters whom the reader comes to understand are one entity who represents Earth and nature.
posted by nicwolff at 5:56 PM on October 20, 2013

Diana Wynne Jones's Dalemark Quartet has a mythology that stretches from the prehistoric to the modern that involves archetypal figures being 'bound' to a set of household idols. Among them is a personified landscape and river. There is a spirit of evil - or perhaps technology - called Kankredin. In Drowned Ammet, there are two supernatural beings represented by harvest offerings, Libby Beer and Poor Old Ammet. Libby Beer is like a fertility goddess and Poor Old Ammet kind of like an earthquake god, like Poseidon. Both of these have secret, powerful names.
posted by glasseyes at 6:37 PM on October 20, 2013

Maybe the Green Man?
posted by various at 9:30 PM on October 20, 2013