Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Women in Horror

Before I get into today's post, I just want to point out the clickable link above that says "Giveaways". Currently, I'm running a giveaway on Goodreads.com to get rid of five signed copies of my book Class 5. It runs all month before winners are chosen to click the link and check out the giveaway to enter. Also, feel free to check out the "Biography" link too.

February is Women in Horror month. So, if you hop around the blogosphere, you're likely to see posts about women in horror as authors, as protagonists, and as villains. Now, I would be remiss to let the month go by without taking at least one post to acknowledge women in the Horror genre, so here we go.

I also may or may not be being threatened. (send help!)

One thing I've seen people lament leading up to this month, is that there aren't that many well-known women Horror authors, and that there seems to be a stigma against women that do write in the genre. Personally, I've never been one to care about the author I'm reading until after I've read their work. If I'm particularly impressed, I'll look them up to see what else they can offer. If I'm feeling insulted, I'll look them up to make sure not to make that mistake again. If it was just okay, I'm probably not going to note who the author was. But that's just me. Male, female, I don't care when I pick up a book. 

To say there aren't that many female authors in Horror isn't exactly true either in my opinion. A short list includes Anne Rice (Interview with the Vampire, The Witching Hour), Mary Shelley (Frankenstein), and Shirley Jackson (The Haunting of Hill House). That's some pretty esteemed colleagues if you ask me. (No, Stephanie Meyer is NOT a Horror author. Claim otherwise and I'm sending Annie to your house.). 

I'm here to kick ass and put on mascara. And I'm all out of mascara.

We really don't have a lack of strong female leads either. Even if they don't exactly seem that when when you read them. Wendy Torrence in The Shining is written as a strong character (as opposed to the movie). There's the mother, Chris, in William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist. You also have Clarice Starling, from Silence of the Lambs. And how about Coraline from the book of the same name. That's just using examples I think most people will be familiar with. 

I also want it to be said that I think female protagonists in Horror generally come off as even stronger than their male counterparts in other stories. It's stereotyping to a degree, but you expect between men and women, the women will have the stronger bonds with those around them, so when people start dropping like flies, it's generally that much harder for them to maintain their composure, face down the villains, and come out in one piece (usually with a few other people in tow). 

Nurse Ratched, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Last of all, are the villains. Women as villains are every bit as terrifying as monsters and their male counterparts. This is due, in part, because people expect women to be nurturing and protective. When you have a character like the one in the picture above, it feels wrong on a much deeper level, it feels more like a betrayal. Even in the old fairy tales, they knew the power a female villain could wield. How many of them feature an evil queen or enchantress? 

Of course, there's Nurse Ratched and Annie Wilkes to start. You've got the witches that curse people like in Stephen King's Thinner. And, of course, you've got the classic evil queen in Snow White. (Let's not kid ourselves here. The original fairy tales were NOTHING but horror stories designed to scare children into obedience.) 

I'm sure there are tons more in every category that I'm not familiar with or remembering at the moment. Or, maybe I'm wrong and there aren't. At the very least, my examples show that women can excel in every one of these aspects. Women can be popular and respected authors of Horror. Women can be strong, intelligent protagonists. Women can be diabolic and overpowering villains. 

So, in Horror, as in life, a woman can be anything she wants to be. And that's the way it should be. 

~ Shaun 

8 comments:

  1. Tento blog je velmi užitečné pro ženy. Mám jeden internetový obchod. A věřil jsem, že naše společnost Bye Bra změnit

    svůj život. Tento internetový obchod nabízí vysoce kvalitní instantní prsu výtahy a další příslušenství. My se distancujeme

    od "Vyrobeno v Číně" prsa výtahy, ale vyrábět naše výrobky ve spolupráci s 3M. Podívejte se na video, abyste zjistili,

    jak šikovný prsní vleky jsou! Naše produkty: oboustranná páska, s hlubokým výstřihem podprsenky bez ramínek

    podprsenky, prsa výtahy, prsou, Zvětšení prsou chirurgie, tělo pásek, podprsenka popruhy, módní pásky, prsou

    podprsenka atd.
    Neviditelná podprsenka
    Neviditelných podprsenek
    Podprsenka bez raminek

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And I have a comment, in Czech, about bras. Must be one of those days.

      Delete
    2. Bras can be a horror story all their own. I'm surprised no one has written about it yet.

      You're making me want to reread all those books mentioned. Nice post! And thanks for the belly laugh about Ms. Meyer.

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    3. You're welcome. I know that first comment is just spam, brought on by the mere mention of women, but I thought it interesting enough for being in Czech.

      And yes, anyone who claims Stephanie Meyer is a horror author should be strapped to a bed and have their ankles broken by a crazy lady with a sledgehammer and a block of wood.

      Delete
  2. As an avid follower of the horror genre I must say it has escaped my notice on matters relating to female authors. I think it is most likely due to the fact that I focus exclusively on content. I don't know much about horror writing but in horror films it is often the case of a lone female protagonist surviving into the end.

    I have to say I find female villains very appealing. Perhaps I've grown too accustomed to male and/or non gendered antagonists. Either way I like how they've been portrayed as of late (in film).

    - Sen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is harder for readers to notice and I think more of them than not are like you, where you focus on the content before the author. But there does seem to be some discrepancies inside the publishing industry. Women are more expected to write romance and literary works as opposed to genre, so it can be harder for them to break in under the banner of Horror.

      Female villains actually have a boost over their male counterparts. The view of their main role being the nurturer and the caretaker makes it that much more of a betrayal when they turn and inflict pain and suffering. We don't want to believe they are capable of things like that.

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  3. Fantastic post, highlighting some of the best female horror writers and characters. Annie Wilkes is a legend!

    ReplyDelete