Toil_AndTrouble OP t1_itw4hhy wrote on October 26, 2022 at 7:06 PM

Reply to comment by Anon-fickleflake in We’re the authors of TOIL AND TROUBLE and MONSTER, SHE WROTE, and we love writing about horror history and the occult, especially through a feminist lens. AMA! by Toil_AndTrouble

You are right that things are improving. But there still are a lot of issues. For one, women and people of color are often the victims, and sometimes the violence against them can feel like a disturbing fantasy, which I do not like to see on screen. Also, there are some real issues (for me anyway) with "strong female characters." I like to see women and nonbinary and queer characters as the hero, but I don't love that we still define "strong" as "like a straight white man." But things are changing. It helps to seek out movies by women and creators who aren't white. The Babadook showed a great example of female strength. And Nia DaCosta's Candyman is breaking that stigma too. -LK

Anon-fickleflake t1_itw6jg0 wrote on October 26, 2022 at 7:19 PM

That's a really interesting point. I often hear my students enjoying novels or shows because of the strong female characters, but I will have to dig a little deeper and ask them about what traits they are using to define "strong". I am actually surprised that is still very prevalent in all genres and not just horror, I'll have to pay more attention.

Thanks for the recommendations!

Toil_AndTrouble OP t1_itw6u6m wrote on October 26, 2022 at 7:21 PM

I'd love to see how they define strong! Nothing wrong with a strong woman--I just want to see strength shown in many different ways (not just physically). -LK