Rowan & Pine: A Spooky Folklore & Mythology Podcast
Jul 15, 2026 · 1 hr 13 min · 9 segments
*CW - Mention of suicide* PLEASE LIKE/COMMENT/SUBSCRIBE or we'll make you wanna poke your other eye out. This month we have a TWO PARTER and Niamh has called in some white knights, Kelsey and Abbie…
So mythology is arguably the most powerful source of influencing and shaping society's gender identities and beliefs, providing an accurate reflection of gender roles, general attitudes, fears and preoccupations.
As we grow up with stories, they help us learn how to negotiate complex world of possibilities as well as manage gender expectations through observing gods, heroes and other notable characters found in myths and folklore.
The damsel in distress archetype is a recurring motif in literature, folklore and mythology, which has extended to visual media.
It depicts a female character who is placed in a perilous situation and requires rescue or protection, typically from a male hero or protagonist.
The character is typically young, female, beautiful, in danger, helpless, has an antagonist and is saved by a man.
Boo.
bingo so that little list there on fairy tale fix you obviously encounter different versions of the same sort of story structure in different cultures have you noticed there are any cultures that favor this sort of story over any others like do you find it's more of a european thing or are there i
Yeah.
too.
Yeah.
Have a lot of strong women in them.
An older woman, which I love.
Yes.
But yeah, I think like the German, the Brothers Grimm tales kind of have that damsel in distress.
I would agree.
I would agree with that.
Like, I mean, other stories still have, like, stories about men rescuing women a lot.
Like, that's still a common motif.
But a lot of times in, like, other stories you've read from other other nations the girls tend to be really crafty in some way or have something going for them that's a little bit more that comes from within a little bit more than sort of like your classic you know she's sitting in a tower waiting for someone else to figure it out But I've also noticed that, like, in other cultures that we've read, I've also noticed a trend where the women characters do tend to be more outright villainous as well.
Like, you get a lot more, like, outright, like...
Evil witches or dangerous women.
Pert hussies.
So mythology is arguably the most powerful source of influencing and shaping society's gender identities and beliefs, providing an accurate reflection of gender roles, general attitudes, fears and preoccupations.
As we grow up with stories, they help us learn how to negotiate complex world of possibilities as well as manage gender expectations through observing gods, heroes and other notable characters found in myths and folklore.
The damsel in distress archetype is a recurring motif in literature, folklore and mythology, which has extended to visual media.
It depicts a female character who is placed in a perilous situation and requires rescue or protection, typically from a male hero or protagonist.
The character is typically young, female, beautiful, in danger, helpless, has an antagonist and is saved by a man.
Boo.
bingo so that little list there on fairy tale fix you obviously encounter different versions of the same sort of story structure in different cultures have you noticed there are any cultures that favor this sort of story over any others like do you find it's more of a european thing or are there i
Yeah.
too.
Yeah.
Have a lot of strong women in them.
An older woman, which I love.
Yes.
But yeah, I think like the German, the Brothers Grimm tales kind of have that damsel in distress.
I would agree.
I would agree with that.
Like, I mean, other stories still have, like, stories about men rescuing women a lot.
Like, that's still a common motif.
But a lot of times in, like, other stories you've read from other other nations the girls tend to be really crafty in some way or have something going for them that's a little bit more that comes from within a little bit more than sort of like your classic you know she's sitting in a tower waiting for someone else to figure it out But I've also noticed that, like, in other cultures that we've read, I've also noticed a trend where the women characters do tend to be more outright villainous as well.
Like, you get a lot more, like, outright, like...
Evil witches or dangerous women.
Pert hussies.
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