Medusa is often depicted as scary due to her ability to turn people to stone with a single glance. In Greek mythology, she was cursed with this ability as a punishment for her actions. Her appearance, with snakes for hair and a frightening gaze, also adds to her terrifying nature in many stories and depictions.

In this popular version the Medusa is a monster with hair of a thousand snakes. She is under a curse which causes everything she looks at to turn to stone. Cixous explains that this monstrous image of the Medusa exists only because it has been directly determined by the male gaze.