Queer and Evil: The Representation of Lesbian Identities in Western Horror Film

Abstract

[eng] Horror film can be regarded as a pioneering genre in terms of the depiction of deviant identities, particularly queer. However, the genre generally portrayed those identities in a negative way, as they were perceived as monsters and defined as the wicked other in opposition to individuals who complied with the norms imposed by heteropatriarchal discourses. Often ignored by mainstream representation and the academia, lesbian identities were conceived as “something ghostly” (Castle 1993, 28) with no real agency as carriers of meaning. When they began to be represented, their role was established in the basis of being objectified as women by what Laura Mulvey described as “male gaze” (1999), and at the same time of being queer individuals symbolically equated to monsters (Benshoff 1997). Thus, the horror genre, due to its earlier representation of queer identities, has arguably provided a realistic representation of the evolution of lesbian identities and its interpretation within the Western world, moving from negative depictions as fetishized and predatory towards more positive 21st century portrayals. This dissertation will peer at the portraits of lesbian identities in The Vampire Lovers (1970), Daughters of Darkness (1971), Jennifer’s Body (2009) and The Fear Street Trilogy (2021).