Author’s Note: If the thing that scares you most is disagreement among feminists, you might not want to read this post—fellow feminist film buff Natalie Wilson gave this movie a glowing review on the Ms. Blog last week. Surely a well-cast hex or two will bring Ms. Wilson over to my side… I am the first […]
Tag: Halloween
A Feminist Guide to Horror Movies, Part 7: New Beginnings
Just when you thought it was safe to go back on the Internet around Halloween without being confronted with those pesky feminist analyses of every goth girl, riot grrrl and geek girl’s favorite genre—horror—SHE’S BACK with that darn Feminist Guide to Horror Movies. And this time, she’s got an international agenda to promote. Have you […]
The 10 Scariest Pictures You’ll See This Halloween
Reprinted with permission from the American Association of University Women Halloween is the perfect time to tell ghost stories. But there’s nothing scarier than the true story of gender inequality in the United States. Forget ghouls, goblins, and graveyards—these 10 statistics on women’s equality reflect a reality far scarier than whatever comes out to haunt […]
How to Dress Your Kid (or Yourself) as a Rad American Woman for Halloween
Reprinted with permission from Medium Ah, Halloween season is upon us—and so are the mercurial whims of our children (“I want to be a princess! No I’m gonna be Cinderella? I changed my mind, I want to be a fairy! Elsa! Alice in Wonderland!…”) as well as the grossly gendered commercial costume options. Cue the collective […]
Cultural Appropriation Suits Up for Halloween
Tis’ the month that culminates with witches, mystical creatures, fictional characters, and, well, a little bit of cultural appropriation. Turn on your television, and you’ll hear Michael Jackson’s Thriller courtesy of Party City. Head to YouTube and the beauty community competes to upload the most popular Halloween looks. Run over to your local Walgreens and […]
Top 4 Scariest Things That Could Happen if Women Don’t Vote on Tuesday
Happy Feminist Halloween, folks! It’s a time for carving jill-o-lanterns, crafting Notorious R.B.G costumes and re-watching Hocus Pocus. While you’re taking part in the Halloween festivities this weekend, remember that Tuesday is Election Day, and similar to “sluts” in slasher films, women’s rights are in some serious danger. Ballot initiatives in several key states are giving […]
Victory! Thrift Store Pulls Sexy Halloween Costumes for Girls
If you’re a Halloween enthusiast, you may know that one of the best places to pick up inexpensive pre-fab costumes is the local thrift store. What you probably wouldn’t expect to see are skimpy, sexed-up outfits for little girls—but that’s exactly what one Canadian thrift store had on offer recently. Mom and writer Raina Delisle penned a […]
A Feminist Guide to Horror Movies, Part Six: The Final Chapter
Already missing Halloween? Me too. Much to my dismay, this October featured only one horror movie release with Carrie. The next installment of Paranormal Activity (we’ve had one every October for the last three years) was moved to 2014, but moviegoers were able to catch a preview before screenings of Carrie, and it looks like […]
A Feminist Guide to Horror Movies, Part 5: The Blood of “Carrie”
Carrie is largely about how women find their own channels of power, but also what men fear about women and women’s sexuality. Writing the book in 1973 and only three years out of college, I was fully aware of what Women’s Liberation implied for me and others of my sex. Carrie is woman feeling her […]
A Feminist Guide to Horror Movies, Part 4
When the film industry finds an idea that works, they tend to use it again and again. And again. In the realm of horror, once a franchise has spawned seven or so sequels, filmmakers capitalize on name recognition by simply going back to the beginning and starting over. This Halloween season’s Carrie represents the fifth […]