WRITTEN BY CHLOE BRYANT ILLUSTRATED BY SOPHIE BARLOW DESIGNER AUTUMN SOUCY
Historically, witches and witchcraft have had notoriously negative connotations as a source of evil or malevolence. Women, in particular, have been persecuted for the practice or alleged practice of witchcraft or sorcery which includes — but is not limited to — spellcasting, necromancy and demonology. As is true for many socio-political and cultural events throughout history, witch hunts emboldened and rationalized perverse violence against women. Most know of the Salem Witch Trials, but the expulsion of women accused of practicing witchcraft was intercultural. Similar witch hunts occurred across cultures in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. A majority of these witch hunts occurred in tandem with the social shifts of power between the ruling and ruled individuals within society. Witch hunts served dual purposes: mediating social tensions and preventing changes in the balance of power. Both served to maintain the ruling hegemony. Although witch hunts — in the historical sense — are much less prevalent in 2021, the phrase ‘witch hunt’ has been propagating in American politics. Most recently, the term has been used by men in politics as a response to criticism. You’ll see the term ‘witch hunt’ used in most modern contexts by politicians or other individuals in hegemonic positions who have been identified in a scandal, resulting in some degree of damage to their public image. Damage to public image can be dangerous: positive public relations are critical if they wish to maintain legitimate authority. If it is truly a democratic society that Americans exist within,
