McKnight 1

Aubrey McKnight
Professor Nathan Cole
English 2010-075
12 April 2016
Position Paper Final Draft
Women in Horror Movies
The relationship between women and horror movies is a long and complicated one. For
decades, gender studies theorists and film historians have looked at female roles in the horror
genre because female roles are crucial to horror films (Shearer). The way that women are
portrayed in horror movies continues to be a controversial topic because it is generally accepted
that women in horror movies are objectified and shown as stereotypes. Horror films made within
the last few decades have begun to turn some of these assumptions upside-down by introducing
stronger female characters that defy previous horror genre stereotypes. Even though women in
horror have come a long way, the portrayal of women in horror movies continues to reinforce
male dominance through the use of negative female stereotypes and by highly sexualizing the
female protagonists.
When horror emerged as a distinct genre of film, women were primarily portrayed as
victims or damsels in distress (Blakeley). They were weak, helpless, and placed in precarious
situations to be rescued by the male hero. Early horror movies such as King Kong and The
Creature from the Black Lagoon are good examples of this stereotype (Freleng). With the rise of
feminism in the 1970s, female protagonists began to fight back. No longer were they going to be

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the helpless victims. Women who were perceived as having power then came to be portrayed as
monstrous (Scream Queens).
In the horror movie genre there exists several stereotypes that show women as monsters:
the vengeful woman, the domineering mother, the demon seductress, and the vessel, a female
who is either possessed or gives birth to a demon child (Freleng). Many horror films utilize more
than one of these stereotypes in their narratives. The vengeful woman stereotype is one that
depicts a young woman who has been wronged or harmed in some way. This young victim then
turns the tables on her attackers by seeking revenge on them, usually in horrific ways. This
stereotype can be found in films such as I Spit on Your Grave and Carrie. The film I Spit on
Your Grave, released in 1978, features a female character that is raped and tortured by a group of
men. Instead of letting this ordeal break her, she plans and executes all manner of gruesome
revenge against each of them in turn (H., Brett). In the 1976 movie Carrie, the main character is
teased and tormented by classmates who end up humiliating her by drenching her in pigs blood
after awarding her the title of prom queen at the senior prom. This humiliation leads Carrie to
develop telekinetic powers that she uses to exact revenge against those who have wronged her
(Scream Queens).
Carrie also features another of the common female stereotypes found in horror films: the
domineering mother. Carries mother is an ultra-religious fanatic whose domineering attitude and
punishments add to Carries ultimate decline into angry revenge (Sacks). In horror movies, the
domineering mother can also be depicted as driving her male child to become a killer. In Alfred
Hitchcocks Psycho, Norman Bates is brow-beaten by his mother from beyond the grave. Their
sick relationship is shown to be the root of his psychopathic tendencies (Harris). This particular
stereotype is quite popular. There is a long list of horror movies that use this trope.

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The demon seductress stereotype portrays women as a predatory monster. This female
character uses her sexuality as a tool to deceive men and then uses violence against them
(Freleng). The recent horror film Jennifers Body is an excellent example of this overused clich.
In the film, the main character has been turned into a succubus, which is a demon in female
form. She uses her sexuality to lure young men into her trap because she needs their blood to
survive (Standley). Anita Sarkeesian, who is a media critic and blogger, made this statement in
one of her Tropes vs. Women videos: When an evil demon seductress is on screen, men get to
objectify her while having these sexist, preconceived notions reaffirmed that women are indeed
manipulative and deceitful (Sarkeesian).
The female horror movie stereotype that shows women as a vessel is probably the most
popular and overused of them all. In these films, the women host evil in the form of demonic
possession or by giving birth to an evil child. There is a long list of well-known films that have
used this stereotype, such as Rosemarys Baby, where Mia Farrows character gives birth to the
child of Satan, The Exorcist, which shows a young girl being possessed, and The Exorcism of
Emily Rose, a film supposedly based on true events that features a priest facing murder charges
after an exorcism of a teenaged girl turned deadly (Freleng). This particular stereotype may be
the most damaging to women because the female body itself is presented as being a source of
guilt, shame, and evil. This is evident in the way the young girl in The Exorcist attempts to stab
herself in the vagina with a crucifix while being demonically possessed.
One of the biggest complaints about horror movies is the way they objectify women. The
1970s and 1980s gave rise to the slasher film, a subgenre of horror film that is defined by
graphic violence and sexual titillation (Jung). Slasher films highly sexualize the female victims.
The films themselves are usually a metaphor for punishing teenage sexual behavior. Pre-marital

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sex is a death sentence for teens in these movies. For example, Halloween shows characters
being murdered after the obligatory nude scene, the only character to survive is the virginal
Laurie (Scream Queens). The 1996 movie Scream famously spoofed this clich. At a party where
the killer is systematically killing teens, one of the characters lists the rules that need to be
followed in order to survive a horror movie. The first rule on the list: never have sex because sex
equals death in a horror film. Sidney, the main character, loses her virginity during the film but
ends up surviving the killer(s) in the end (Scream).
There are some exceptions, of course. Not all horror movies objectify women or portray
them as stereotypes. Some of the most memorable horror movies of the last few decades feature
strong female characters that did not resort to taking off their clothing. Films like The Silence of
the Lambs, Scream, and The Descent feature flawed but strong female characters that are
terrorized but are still able to use their own intelligence and skill to come out on top. The female
protagonist in The Silence of the Lambs, Clarice Starling, defied previous horror genre
stereotypes. The character, a female FBI agent, was intelligent and driven. She goes on to
succeed on her own terms, without relying on a male to rescue her (Leab).
The most revolutionary archetype to come out of the horror film genre is the final girl.
Carol J. Clover, a feminist and author, argues in her book Men, Women, and Chainsaws, that
horror movie viewers identify with the female victims in horror movies and they experience a
moment of female power through the actions of the last girl standing, the only survivor at the end
of a horror flick, the final girl. She alone looks death in the face, but she alone finds the strength
either to stay the killer long enough to be rescued (ending A) or to kill him herself (ending B)
(Clover). Even though the final girl represents some positive change in how women have been
portrayed in horror, Clover goes on to say: The willingness and even eagerness of the male

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viewer to throw in his emotional lot, if only temporarily, with not only a woman but a woman in
fear and pain, at least in the first instance, would seem to suggest that he has a vicarious stake in
that fear and pain (Clover). Clover is suggesting that some men watch these movies in order to
revel in the fear and pain of the women being terrorized on screen.
Unfortunately, there has also been some recent backsliding. Many recent horror movie
releases have been remakes, like Friday the 13th, Halloween, and Nightmare on Elm Street.
Hollywood has not updated the female characters in these films to be strong and resourceful. The
films are throwbacks to their predecessors, women are shown as being weak, nave, and in need
of rescuing (Blakeley). The remake of Friday the 13th received more word-of-mouth for the
nudity in the film than for any other reason (Klenther). In an article published by Forbes
Magazine, Carlos Segura, an editor on the film site Cinespect had this to say: I would argue that
since Scream, we havent seen any major developments so far as the role of women are
concerned in the American horror film. Horror isnt in right now, so theres not much room for
risk taking (Blakeley).
The way that women have been portrayed in horror films has evolved over the years,
from the nave damsel in distress to the more empowering final girl. While there has been
some positive change, like stronger female characters that defy stereotypes and do not take off
their clothing, most horror movies stick to the same tropes that have existed in the genre for
decades. The female stereotypes that are presented in horror films reinforce the idea that
womens bodies are there just for the enjoyment of men and that women are monstrous and
deceitful. One of the main purposes of the horror story and the horror movie is to make the
audience know the monster. Using that argument, it appears that Hollywood has spoken and that
monster is woman.

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Works Cited
Blakeley, Kiri. "Women In Horror Films." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 26 Aug. 2010. Web. 11 Apr.
2016.
Clover, Carol J. Men, Women and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film. New Jersey:
Princeton UP, 1992. 35. Print.
Freleng, Maggie. "Pretty Bloody: Women and Stereotypes in Horror Movies." VitaminW.
VitaminW, 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
H., Brett. "Horror Reviews - I Spit on Your Grave (1978)." Oh, the Horror! N.p., 13 Mar. 2008.
Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Harris, Mark H. "Crazy Muthas: Scary Horror Movie Mothers." About.com Entertainment. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Jung, Jia. "Women In Fear The [Non?] Evolution of the Female Role in Horror Movies."
Gender Across Borders RSS. Gender Across Borders, 30 Oct. 2009. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Klenther, Herner. "Do Horror Movies Objectify Women?" Horror-Movies.ca. N.p., 16 Feb. 2014.
Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Leab, Amber. "Horror Week 2011: The Silence of the Lambs." Bitch Flicks. N.p., 24 Oct. 2011.
Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Sacks, Ethan. "For 'Carrie' Mom Julianne Moore, the Screaming Started When She Saw Brian
De Palma's Original Film as a Teenager." Daily News. N.p., 13 Oct. 2013. Web. 11 Apr.
2016.

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Sarkeesian, Anita. "#4 The Evil Demon Seductress (Tropes vs. Women)." YouTube. YouTube, 19
May 2011. Web. 05 May 2016.
Scream. Dir. Wes Craven. Perf. Neve Campbell and Skeet Ulrich. Buena Vista Pictures
Distribution, 1996. DVD.
"Scream Queens and Final Girls: The Portrayal of Women in Postmodern Horror Films." Cardiff
Student Media. N.p., 31 Oct. 2015. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Shearer, Laura. "Victims and Monsters: The Role of Female Characters Within Horror
Narratives." Next Projection. N.p., 23 Oct. 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Standley, Laura. "Horror Film Reverses Gender Roles." The Temple News. The Temple News, 23
Sept. 2009. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.