How are women portrayed in the horror genre of film?
Gender roles in horror films throughout time have been extremely stereotyped. Most villains in horror films are men, and prior to the 1970s, women were simply characters to be victims. Almost always in these films, women were shown to be domesticated and sexual, with no intelligence. Scenes of these seemingly weak, dumb women often consisted of them suffering a brutal death or hiding from the killer in an obvious place. This supports the traditional representation of women in the media some decades ago; male dominance was clear in politics, family dynamics and opportunities; women were simply mothers and wives. An example of female stereotype if the opening of ‘Scream’; Drew Barrymore opens the film as a ‘ditzy’ blonde, who stabbed to death in the shower by the killer. This is a very conventional death for the ‘dumb victim’ stereotype of women: the naked woman represents vulnerability and also sexuality, which is often punished by murder in these horror films.
However, the 1970’s saw the rise of the feminist movement, which has important implications for the representation of women in horror films. The role of ‘the final girl’ emerged. This is the main character in a horror film who manages to outwit the killer and evade death, surviving at the end of the film despite the deaths of most people close to her. There are typical characteristics of this role; the girl refrains from sexual activity, does not include herself in the illicit behaviors of those around her and has an essence of intelligence and strong morals. An early depiction of this role, and a perfect example, is Jamie Leigh Curtis’ character in ‘Halloween’.
Her androgynous look and lack of sexuality is noted as a key feature in her survival. This could be a suggestion that women who partake in sexual activity are ‘immoral’, supported by the fact that women who have sex in horror movies are often the first victims. An example of this is in the modern film ‘The Nightmare On Elm Street’. This could be seen as a male fear of feminine sexual power.
Another key element in horror films linked to sex if the form of death that the women victims suffer. Women are often killed by a sexually repressed male with a knife, axe or other penetrable object, and very brutally. This has said to be an act of ‘sexualized terror’ – representing the act of sex or sexual power being taking from a woman. The ‘Slasher’ movies are the most common films that feature this.
Another role of women in horror films is the stereotype of the ‘possessed female’. In films such as ‘The Exorcist’ and ‘The Exorcism of Emily rose’, the main character is female. She is usually religious, innocent and seemingly harmless, then slowly becomes possessed by the devil or demons; which are always represented as men. These women take on the victim and villain role, although the audience pities the character when she is in her own personality. This stereotype could be a suggestion that women are weak and easily dominated by men, or by evil. This is the only role that has not been changed or developed throughout the development of the film industry, perhaps due to the consistency of interest in religious topics such as possession.
Very recently in the film industry, the role of the Female villain has emerged. As women become more and more equalized to men, the power they have seems to increase even as characters in the film industry. A good example of this is ‘Jennifer’s body’, where Megan Fox is a female killer and the victims are innocent high school males.
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