Women in

Horror:
Negative
portrayals vs.
Positive
portrayals
Thesis: Negative Portrayals
Negative portrayals of women in the horror genre of film take pleasure in
victimizing women & are harmful because they encourage the characterization and
objectification of women, reinstating the belief that women are inferior to men,
especially towards the intended audience of young males.
Where ideals like these originate
● In all genres, there is a trend found throughout the history of cinema depicting
women as weak and evil.
“The big lie perpetrated on Western society is the idea of women’s inferiority, a lie to deeply ingrained
in our social behavior that merely to recognize it is to risk unraveling the entire fabric of civilization.”
(Haskell, 1973)
● Horror films in the 1930s used archetypal females characters such as the
“damsel in distress”, someone who is defenseless and vulnerable.
● Thus continuing the narrative in film that women are disposable objects at the
hands of men.
How it is translated
● Many of the directors/producers/screenwriters in Hollywood
are men, therefore the dialogue that will be written is going to
be for men.
“Overall, women accounted for 16% of all directors, writers, executive producers,
producers, editors, and cinematographers. Women comprised 8% percent of
directors. Women accounted for 10% of writers.”(Women and Hollywood, 2017)
● In slasher films, there is gendered specific violence towards
women.
"The bodies of women figured on the screen have functioned traditionally as the
primary embodiments of pleasure, fear, and pain." (Williams, 1991)
● The issue arises that women are misrepresented when casted
for these stereotypical roles repeatedly.
How it is translated pt.2
● Desensitization is found commonly in the horror genre because
of the combination of both sex and violence.
● Studies have found desensitization has "carry-over attitude
effects" towards victims of violence.
● These studies have also shown, that after viewing slasher films,
college male students have less sympathy for rape victims, see
them as less injured, and are more likely to believe the myth
that women enjoy rape.
“Exposure to scenes of explicit violence combined with sexual images is believed
to affect males’ emotional reactions to film violence. It has also shown to lead
males to be less disturbed by scenes of extreme violence and degradation
directed at women.” (Gender in Horror Films, 2019)
Why this is a problem
● Horror movies like these with non-feminist themes contribute to the
misogynistic perception of women.
● They ultimately reaffirm dehumanizing stereotypes.
● Exposure to acts of violence solely directed towards women
“Watching horror films is said to offer viewers a socially sanctioned opportunity to perform behaviors
consistent with traditional gender stereotypes. Early work on this topic found that males exposed to a
sexually violent slasher film increased their acceptance of beliefs that some violence against women is
justified and that it may have positive consequences.” (Weaver and Zillman, 1996)
Thesis: Positive Portrayals in Horror Films
The way women are currently portrayed on screen has subtly shifted into a more
progressive direction; females are now more likely to be illustrated in leading
positions of power. Nevertheless, there still is a genuine desire to move with the
modern times and women are still critically diminished in Hollywood's top-grossing
films, but the horror film genre has moved from taking pleasure in victimizing
woman into centralizing them as survivors and protagonists.
Why most central characters are women in
horror:
Most women have strong leads in horror films.
More than any genre, horror has had the longest
running trend of female roles.

Women have played a vital role in horror films

since King Kong in 1933, the monster-movie
classic. Besides the typical role of the victimized
helpless women waiting to be rescued by her
male co-star, horror has also been a advocate of
the invincible female who defeats and
demolishes all at the end.

“The representation of women in horror interacts

with and reflects whatever is going on in culture
at the time” (How Women in Horror Movies
Keep Us Coming Back For More; Younger, 2018)
How this Empowers Women
● “Positive and supreme roles for
women in movies “motivate
women to be more ambitious”
professionally and personally.”
(Women in horror: Victims no
more, 2017)
● Studies show in a survey of
43,000 women in nine countries
say that, “positive female role
models have given them the
courage to leave an abusive
relationship.” ( J. Walter
Thompson)
Horror Renaissance
● There is a general appeal of the leading
female character.
● Traditionally, women and girls have been
victims of crazed killers, particularly
because of their high pitched screams.
● Times have progressed, and the horror
renaissance has taken over for the past
decade.
● We overall engage emotionally with
women as we follow along through their
fearful journey to destruction, redemption,
or overpowerment.
● The female protagonist usually learns more
about their antagonist and how to defeat it.
She learns about herself; and so does the
audience.
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQzu5aFs0G4
Conclusion:
More often than any other film genre, horror deals directly with questions of
sexuality, gender and body. Women remain today to be a vital part of horror movie
audiences and major roles.

“Horror movies are a world where money can’t save you, privilege can’t save you, strength
can’t save you,” Wu says. “In some ways, it’s a world with real equality.” (Brianna Wu,
2016)
Sources
● “https://seejane.org/wp-content/uploads/female-characters-in-film-and-tv-motivate-women-to-be-more-ambitious-
more-successful-and-have-even-given-them-the-courage-to-break-out-of-abusive-relationships.pdf (J. Walter
Thompson Company)”
● https://curve.carleton.ca/system/files/etd/8bcdc079-0a56-44e8-91be-
19ae1def3ca5/etd_pdf/bd4daa51465d414874bf63aad7eb7c95/freitag-unleashingthefuriousfemininetheviolenceof.pdf
● Younger, Beth. “Women in Horror: Victims No More.” The Conversation, 19 Sept. 2018, theconversation.com/women-in-
horror-victims-no-more-78711.
● Linda Williams, "Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess," in Film Quarterly, Vol.44, No. 4 (Summer, 1991),
● Navarro, Meagan. “10 Strongest Female Leads in Horror...So Far!” Bloody Disgusting!, 1 May 2018, bloody-
disgusting.com/editorials/3496129/10-strongest-female-leads-horror/.
● Zillmann, D.; Weaver, J. (1996). Gender-socialization theory of reactions to horrow. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates. pp. 85–88.