Women In Horror Films

No Man Should Have All That Power What are the main roles that female actresses typically portray in horror films? Maggie Freleng, an editor of VitaminW, a website that contributes toward the female empowerment movement, expresses her belief that women are cast in “poor and stereotypical representation of women in the horror genre.” Some roles that many women portray that are seen as stereotypical is the sexually promiscuous women and the saved virgin, evil demon seductress, the overly liberated woman, and the most common role the damsel in distress. The possible reason that women are cast with these roles is because of the belief that women are seen as too dimwitted, overemotional, uncoordinated, weak, and incompetent to survive in a situation much like those in horror films. Anne T. Donahue, an author of Women in Horror: The Revenge an article in The Guardian verifies the belief of the females portrayed as the damsel in distress stereotype with the statement, “We see them [women] waiting for a man to save them, we see them running, bloodied and terrified, we see them tied and cut up,

I feel that the factor or beauty should not be an issue because with the use of Chloë Grace Moretz, this film is showing that there are very beautiful young women out there that are very pretty, but they grow up believing they are ugly because of the way they are being treated. Seitz states, “…It does not matter whether Carrie is conventionally ‘pretty or not pretty.’ Because Carrie is an abused child, she feels ugly; because she feels ugly, she radiates worthlessness.” I feel that this statement made by Seitz helps give a better viewpoint as to why it shouldn’t matter if the character is portrayed like the