Queering Gender and the Body in the American Possessed Slasher
Thorpe, Eleanor May (2025) Queering Gender and the Body in the American Possessed Slasher. PhD thesis, University for the Creative Arts.
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In my research, I outline the Possessed Slasher and approach possessed characters as Inhabited Vessels. I argue that Inhabited Vessels display experiences of euphoria and dysphoria as they confront differences in their new physical body, changes in societal perceptions of their gender, and understanding of their sexuality. Gendered shifts in possessed characters become amplified as they interact with themes of violence, penetration and threat within the Slasher. To make this argument I utilize existing franchises such as, Child’s Play (1988-2024), Evil Dead (1981-2018), and Night of the Demons (1988-2009), and contemporary Neoslashers such as, Freaky (2020), and You Might Be the Killer (2018), with a particular focus Possessed Neoslashers. I analyse Inhabited Vessels as they portray differences in gender, bodies and sexuality. Predominant analyses of gender in possession and Slasher media often highlight an importance of genitals and sexualising penetration, transgression of gender norms for characters read from a cisnormative perspective, and assignation of gendered power. Existing analyses are influenced by binary cisnormativity that dictates how gendered bodies, particularly genitals, appear, and how these Inhabited Vessels ought to behave based on the presumption of cisgendered heterosexuality. I challenge existing tropes as found in possession narratives and Slashers by emphasising ideas of agency, power, and transformation. Queer and trans horror theory predominantly extrapolates on theories of monstrosity and Othering, focusing on the ostracisation of characters with queer and trans readings, who fail to align with societal norms. This creates a dependence on the Other and their perceived threat, something that becomes more nuanced as Inhabited Vessels often outwardly seem to align with the normative, wearing the skin of vessels that are often noted for their harmlessness. I present Inhabited Vessels as representative of trans and queer feelings of euphoria and dysphoria when reflecting on disconnected bodies, newly queered relationships, and external gendering.
Thesis submitted in partial requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University for the Creative Arts, Farnham.
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