« For women, the boundaries of acceptability are strict, and they are many. They must be seductive but pure, quiet but not aloof, fragile but industrious, and always, always small. They must not be too successful, too aspiring, too self-reliant, too self-centered-and when they can’t manage all the contradictory restrictions, they are turned into grotesques. Women have been monsters, and monsters have been women, in centuries’ worth of stories, as stories are a way to encode these expectations and pass them on. »
Jess Zimmerman, Women and Other Monsters: Building a New Mythology Boston, Beacon Press, 2021
On both sides of the Atlantic, gender studies have been causing a frank hostility among reactionaries for some time. Less, undoubtedly, by the analyzes of the relationships between social constructions of sex and constructions of identities proposed by the proponents of the Gender Studies than because the latter deconstruct the usual frameworks of thought, standards, legal categories, collective accounts, including those which were traditionally designed as “founders” (see, among others, Isabelle Alfandary, Anne Emmanuel Berger and Jacob Rogozinski [éd.], who is afraid of deconstruction? Paris, PUF, 2023 & Francis Dupuis-Derér, Panic at university Montreal, Lux, 2022). What the contemptors of the Gender Studies question is precisely this critical function, and the aversion they arouse in them is much less epistemological than political: preserving the sexual order as immutable amounts to defending a Worldview all the more retrograde as it is presented as natural. Though, if we go beyond the sterile arguments of this backlash we quickly understand how gender studies have to bring to the current analyzes of literature, cinema, new media, philosophy and social sciences-and how much, as far as we are concerned, they allow to renew the study of fictional figures of monsters and monstresses (Loup-Garou, Vampire, Banshee, Oni, Djinn and jinniyya, Zombie, Specter, Wendigo, Slender Man, Troll A terrible cosmic entity, goblin, orc, xenomorphic, mutant, android, kaijū, liche, illithid, etc.).
First of all as said monster and monsters appear as major figures of otherness, metaphors of the other, that which escapes dominant norms in matters of sex, gender, race, class or generation. This question of otherness can, of course, be asked in lacanian terms (the concept of otherness having become central in the theoretical and culturalist study of fiction[cfSusanYiSencindiverMariaBeville&MarieLauritzen[cfSusanYiSencindiverMariaBeville&MarieLauritzenOtherness. A Multilateral Perspective, Lausanne, Peter Lang, 2011]) and we will look at the way in which the monsters challenge symbolic order, language and law. We will also envisage the way in which they perceive themselves, especially in specular passages, when they contemplate, like SUE in The Substance (2024), their picture in photo or in a mirror-images of themselves perceived as so many reflections of a foreigner. This fragmentation of identity will lead to question themes such as those of symbolic dependence, even alienation, with regard to the other, the decentral of the subject, the disturbance of stereotypes attached to the cultural representations of desire, rivalry, anxiety, the deconstruction of the very idea. we will thus engage in the tracks opened by Judith Butler (Gender Trouble London & New York, Routledge, 1990) to explore what the concept of performance of gender can teach us of these monsters. Because, basically, these invariably represent what comes out of the normative script, including in teratological matters; And, from this point of view, they are monsters with a literally queer body, that is to say a boring body, transgress, and above all, can never really be catego
The Modern Monster: Women, Power, and Pop Culture
Contemporary pop culture is filled with monstrous women. But these aren’t the monsters of old. They represent somthing far more complex – anxieties about female power, sexuality, and the changing roles of women in society.We’re seeing a surge in depictions of women who embody both terror and captivation, and understanding why is crucial.
Consider the recent trend of female villains and anti-heroes.Agustina Bazterrica’s Tender is the Flesh (2017) presents a chilling dystopian world, while films like The Beauty (2018) explore disturbing themes of female agency and societal expectations. These narratives aren’t simply about shock value; they’re about confronting uncomfortable truths.
Mutants like Raven Darkhölme (Mystique from Marvel Comics) are prime examples. Her ability to shapeshift isn’t just a superpower; it’s a rejection of rigid human standards.This fluidity is often perceived as threatening, highlighting a fear of the “other” and the disruption of established norms.
The Silent Hill franchise (1999-2024) offers another layer. Characters like Alessa Gillespie,Lisa Garland,and Maria represent fragmented and traumatized female figures. These mutilated women, zombified nurses, and monstrous mothers embody anxieties surrounding the female body – anxieties related to medicine, sexuality, frustration, and guilt in our modern world.
Modern witches also deserve attention. Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch) from the Marvel Universe is a powerful mother figure struggling with uncontrollable abilities. Similarly, the protagonist of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-2020) embodies emancipation while battling patriarchal institutions. These characters aren’t simply magical; they represent women fighting for control in a world that often seeks to suppress them.
DC Comics provides a fascinating array of “fatal women” – Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn. Each embodies a unique blend of seduction, madness, and anarchy. Their relationships with sexuality are frequently enough fraught with danger, distress, or, conversely, liberation. They challenge conventional notions of femininity and power.
Beyond comics, Ava from Ex Machina (2014) is a compelling exmaple of artificial intelligence escaping control. Comparing her to Samantha from Her (2013) reveals how we project human qualities – and fears – onto machines. We often find artificial intelligence more human than humans themselves.
Characters like Eleven (Stranger Things [2016-…]), Alma (F.E.A.R. [2005-2014]), Chloe (Run [2020]), and M3GAN (M3GAN [2022]) represent corrupted innocence and a disturbing fascination with destruction, often starting in childhood. They are allegories for the darker aspects of human nature.
figures like She-Hulk, Lilith (from Devil IV [2023]), and Jennifer Check (Jennifer’s Body [2009]) offer more explicitly feminist interpretations. She-Hulk’s strength challenges customary beauty standards, Lilith embodies rebellious defiance, and Jennifer Check subverts the typical horror trope of the helpless victim. These characters are powerful, complex, and often unapologetic.
These monstrous women aren’t simply villains. They’re reflections of our societal anxieties, our evolving understanding of power, and our ongoing struggle to define what it means to be female in the 21st century.