How do horror films of the 2010s represent the feelings of dysphoria and other aspects of transgender culture, through the metaphors of possession and transformation and lead in creating the new monstrous trans reading?

This thesis explores the expression of transgender identity and experience as described in horror films of the 2010s, Specifically, We’re All Going To The Worlds Fair (which shall be referred to as WAGTTWF going forward in this essay), Hereditary and Titane. The concept of monstrosity, a key subject within horror films since the early twentieth century, mirrors the prejudice faced by transgender people who have been presented historically as monsters. Additionally, the introspection and dysphoria experienced by transgender individuals are too often described as monstrous. I aim to challenge negative preconceptions of monstrosity and to present the monstrous as an identity which signifies empowerment. To support my analysis of this reading, I have included philosophical, psychoanalytical and queer theories, which either explicitly express specific views on transgenderism within society and film or represent themes such as feminism and abjection which coincide with both the transgender lens and my chosen case studies. The theories Susan Stryker and Barbara Creed proposed are key to my analysis since they describe a transgender perspective on identifying with the monster. This thesis also aims to demonstrate a new perspective of gender within the horror genre that fits with a contemporary approach to transgender identities. Within this viewpoint, there is also a further political outcry for transgender voices to be represented within film to continue the discussion and fight for transgender rights globally. By identifying the traits of possession and transformation within my case studies films of possession, this thesis has explored ideologies that highlight the transgender perspective and experience, connecting them to specific scenes and their cinematic elements. The concept of monstrosity within horror and its
ties to transgender experience and identity should be recognised as empowerment and a chance to uplift one’s voice within society – which I express throughout this thesis.