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This thesis argues that tropes of femininity and sexuality shape how severely these characters suffer, while women’s fears beyond bodily threats are rarely addressed. It also examines how recent horror introduced young female antagonists and anti-heroes, focusing on Jennifer’s Body (2009).",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/terrors-of-girlhood-ideological-representations-of-the-adolescent-female-in-jennifers-body/153109/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/terrors-of-girlhood-ideological-representations-of-the-adolescent-female-in-jennifers-body/153109.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Quinn","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-17","2026-08-27",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",11,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"How does American horror film tradition typically represent female characters?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"It often frames women as prey and as objects of sexual desire, especially adolescent women who function as both victim and visual appeal for viewers.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"What change does this thesis identify in contemporary popular American horror?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"It points to a newer set of young female characters who challenge classic tropes by taking on roles of antagonist and anti-hero rather than only damsel in distress.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"Which film is analyzed, and what central questions guide the analysis?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"The thesis analyzes Jennifer’s Body (2009) and examines whether its re-imagined female characters are a progressive reconstruction of gender, while also identifying enduring ideological conventions that denigrate femininity and female sexuality.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},153109,1787871074,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":140,"language":141,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":142,"faqs":143,"seo_title":144,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":130,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962075114765,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd","TERRORS OF GIRLHOOD: IDEOLOGICAL REPRESENTATIONS OF THE ADOLESCENT FEMALE IN JENNIFER’S BODY  \nby Julie Casali  \nA Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment  \nof the Requirements for the Master of Arts  \nin Art with Concentration in Media Studies  \nDepartment of Art  \nThe School of Arts and Sciences  \nRhode Island College  \n2013  \nCasali i  \nABSTRACT  \nSince the birth of the genre, American horror filmmakers have posed female characters as prey and objects of sexual desire. Adolescent women in particular act as both the victim and as eye candy for viewers. From the damsel in distress to the rape victim seeking revenge, women in horror films exist to be antagonized, and so often, their exhibition of femininity and sexuality determines the severity of their suffering. Moreover, though the popular horror film narrative tends to explore the fringes of human nature, few horror films openly deal with the fears and concerns of women outside of threats to their physical being.  \nIn the past decade, the horror genre has produced a new crop of young female characters who challenge the tropes of traditional horror films by trading in their role of damsel in distress for the role of the antagonist and anti-­‐hero. What’s more, these films deal with themes relevant to young women, such as body image issues, tumultuous relationships, and sexual repression. In this thesis, I analyze the popular American horror film Jennifer’s Body (2009), which features two violent female protagonists and explores the horrors of adolescent female friendships. In my analysis, I examine whether or not the re-­‐imagined female characters in this film are a progressive reconstruction of gender, and identify ideological conventions ofthe horror genre that continue to denigrate femininity and female sexuality.  \nCasali ii  \nACKNOWLEDGMENTS  \nThank you, firstly, to my advisor Dr. Bonnie MacDonald, whose experience, understanding, and instruction were invaluable to this thesis project, and whose insightfulness kept me motivated and inspired throughout the writing process. I would like to thank Dr. Russell Potter, Nancy Bockbrader, and Dr. Joan Dagle for the assistance they provided at all levels of this research project. A very special thanks goes out to Dr. Vincent Bohlinger, for it was in his classroom that I developed my love and aptitude for film theory and film criticism.  \nI would like to thank my friends and family for the extra support they have given me since I began this project so many months ago. I owe a debt of gratitude to my friend Amanda Casiano. Our philosophical discussions and exchanges of ideas helped elevate this project to a level of perceptiveness I could not have achieved on my own. I also could not have completed this project without the encouragement and weekly pep talks provided by my friend and colleague, Lelia Leite. Finally, I must thank my partner, Thomas DiGrazia, whose love and patience were repeatedly tested during this process, and whose capacity for such is seemingly endless.  \nCasali iii  \nTABLE OF CONTENTS  \nIntroduction. Girl Meets Gore: A Volatile Love Story 1  \nChapter 1. The Nature of the Beast: Reading Gender in the Horror Genre 8  \nChapter 2. From Scared to Scary: The Evolution of the Leading Lady in Contemporary Popular American Horror Films 12  \nChapter 3. Eating Boys and Terrorizing Girls: Analysis of Jennifer’s Body 25  \nChapter 4. Conclusions: The Reaping 54  \nBibliography 58  \nFilmography 62  \nCasali 1  \nINTRODUCTION  \nGirl Meets Gore: A Volatile Love Story  \nDancing through the minefield of the contemporary horror film, with its bloody display of the all-­‐too-­‐often female body in bits and pieces, is fraught with danger for women. But pleasure shares the field with danger.  \n-­‐ Isabel Cristina Pinedo, Recreational Terror, p.69  \nUnlike many critics and theorists who write about horror film, my first few horror movie experiences did not incite an enduring love of all things scary and spooky. In fact, my initial expo","cbCairZGO4bDDEWp","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCairZGO4bDDEWp","pdf",379661,69,"English","# Introduction. Girl Meets Gore: A Volatile Love Story\n## Chapter 1. The Nature of the Beast: Reading Gender in the Horror Genre\n## Chapter 2. From Scared to Scary: The Evolution of the Leading Lady in Contemporary Popular American Horror Films\n## Chapter 3. Eating Boys and Terrorizing Girls: Analysis of Jennifer’s Body\n## Chapter 4. Conclusions: The Reaping\n## Bibliography\n## Filmography","[{\"question\":\"How does American horror film tradition typically represent female characters?\",\"answer\":\"It often frames women as prey and as objects of sexual desire, especially adolescent women who function as both victim and visual appeal for viewers.\"},{\"question\":\"What change does this thesis identify in contemporary popular American horror?\",\"answer\":\"It points to a newer set of young female characters who challenge classic tropes by taking on roles of antagonist and anti-hero rather than only damsel in distress.\"},{\"question\":\"Which film is analyzed, and what central questions guide the analysis?\",\"answer\":\"The thesis analyzes Jennifer’s Body (2009) and examines whether its re-imagined female characters are a progressive reconstruction of gender, while also identifying enduring ideological conventions that denigrate femininity and female sexuality.\"}]","Terrors of Girlhood - Ideological Representations of the Adolescent Female in Jennifer’s Body | PDF",174]