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We are fully capable of being evil all on our own (a motivational statement I never thought I’d make). Womxn have always been strong and we are more than potential victims of sexual abuse. This narrative claims that they are only able to fight back, find motivation for evil, or be worthy of sympathy because of this experience. These films spin the narrative that womxn can only gain strength through violent and graphic sexual abuse. This continuous use of sexual abuse of women tires out womxn horror lovers, myself included.
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It feels as if the genre has settled on this answer, declaring it enough of an effort for positive representation. According to the site, there are 150+ Revenge Horror films. The problem lies in the repetitive nature of these films in the horror genre. How can we not feel empowered by women fighting back against their abusers?
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This new spin can feel like a step in the right direction. We now see women not just simply surviving until the end, but actively fighting back and doling out punishment. Women no longer need to be avenged by a male character but instead, can find the power to avenge themselves. In recent years, the sub-genre of horror has taken a turn towards a more feminist-friendly trend. In films like Last House on the Left, women are brutalized on screen, their pain put on display so that the audience can sympathize with them and root for their avengers. Historically, when a woman is raped in a horror film, a loved one seeks revenge on her behalf. The Rape-Revenge trope is a classic narrative used in horror cinema. How can a genre that seeks to reveal, confront and conquer our shared fears continuously let down women and fail to produce original, empowering content? Films like American Mary, the appropriately named Revenge, I Spit on Your Grave and numerous others replicate the same traumatic and glorified violence that minimizes their protagonists to victims instead of the badass women they’ve always been. These women fighting for their lives to make it to the end of the film unfortunately exist to be harmed, tormented and tortured for viewer’s pleasure. This presence of women at the forefront of our fears is a double-edged sword. The horror genre is one that has, far more than others, featured women in leading roles. As the home of the blonde victim trope, a character that could never pass the sexy lamp test, let alone the Bechdel test and the Final Girl trope, the horror genre allows viewers to feel both seen and misrepresented in the same film. Horror is a genre that has had a duplicitous relationship with most marginalized groups, including womxn.