‘Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps?)’: Critiquing representations of women throughout the 1980s in Fangoria magazine

Abstract

Critiquing representations of women, their bodies and their sexuality is an established tradition in horror studies. Indeed, the 1980s is a particularly important era for analysing the (mis)representation of women in horror. Such critiques are primarily based on analyses of the woman-on-screen as seen through the gaze of characters, creators and imagined audiences. This article takes an altogether different perspective, focusing instead on discursive representations of women, their bodies and sexuality in the words of actors, creators, critics, fans and journalists in Fangoria magazine throughout the 1980s. This retrospective insight highlights the legacy of women’s place in horror and its implications for the relationship between popular culture(s) and contemporary political economies of gender in/equality.