By: August Mashburn
There is something about the horror genre that tends to draw in queer audiences. However, there are also some tropes found within the genre and media that are harmful to queer communities. There is of course the trope of “bury your gays” but another very common trope is that of the trans serial killer or the cross-dressing serial killer. There are many examples of these characters and while they often are not transgender the relation to the trans community and the implications that those representations can have cannot be ignored. Buffalo Bill in Silence of The Lambs according to the characters within the film and its creator is not transgender. Hannibal even says as much “Billy hates his own identity, you see, and he thinks that makes him a transsexual, but his pathology is a thousand times more savage and more terrifying.” So according to this he is not trans, but he does want to be, and that is what makes him dangerous. Buffalo Bill is also a violent murderer who attacks and skins women to turn them into a suit. The issue here is that just saying, “Well the character isn’t trans,” does not remove the implications that that portrayal has and what it could mean to a viewer. I love Silence of The Lambs, I think it is an incredible horror movie and is very effective in the way that it scares you and causes discomfort, I also think that it is the poster child for problematic portrayals of trans people. Silence of The Lambs is one of a very small subsection of horror movies that was able to secure an academy award and in fact won several, but it also portrays a very harmful stereotype of the sneaky violent trans person, despite what the movie wants you to think.
There are also movies that fall into more of a grey area with a far murkier portrayal and far less clear characters. A primary example of this is the movie Sleepaway Camp, in this film the killer Angela is, at least in the first movie, also ostensibly not transgender. Angela has been forced to live as her “dead” brother Peter, even though Angela is in fact Peter, in the context of the story. Again, in the first movie Angela is not trans, and it makes no mention of her being trans, however, the movie ends with the reveal of Angela completely naked holding a severed head and has a character shout “My god, she’s a man!” This is a far murkier portrayal than that in Silence of The Lambs however, it is still not exactly good. Angela has been forced to live as a gender that is incongruent with her true self and that in conjunction with relentless bullying and abuse has caused her to lash out in violent ways. In some ways this could be seen as an allegory for the trans experience. Feeling trapped presenting in a way that is incongruent with yourself and that only causes you further damage. While this argument does work, it carries with it implications all its own. The idea that the damage caused by being forced to live as the wrong gender by your family and society making someone violent and dangerous is still a somewhat damaging idea to present. Many queer people love Sleepaway Camp, and it is not problematic to like it, however, I do feel it is important to examine it with a critical eye, and to think about the shadows that even the positive aspects hold.
These 2 movies are also not the only examples of this trope, they are simply some of the most infamous. This is also an ongoing trope that continues to be used in movies and murder mysteries, if with less frequency. It is important to look at these movies and what they had to say, because in some ways they are both good movies, but they both have problematic forms of social commentary. As a final note on this topic, it is important to realize the reality of violence in relation to trans people. Trans people are far more often the victims of violence than the perpetrators of it. In fact, trans people are 4 times more likely to be victims of sexual violence or other forms of violence than cis people. Additionally, the life expectancy for transwomen of color is 35 years old. It is important to consider these facts and this context when thinking about the portrayal of trans people in media and the damage that these horror movies can cause. For a more in-depth discussion of trans issues in horror movies I recommend the Deadmeat podcast linked here: https://youtu.be/YgpvW9TxWds.
Works Cited
Demme, Jonathan. The Silence of the Lambs. Orion Pictures, 1991.
Hiltzik, Robert. Sleepaway Camp. Columbia Pictures, 1983.
Loyal, thisisloyal.com. “Transgender People Over Four Times More Likely Than Cisgender People to Be Victims of Violent Crime.” Williams Institute, 31 Mar. 2021, williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/ncvs-trans-press-release.
The Course of Horror 
Wow, this was so interesting and just not talked about enough. You are right, there are plenty of examples, my first thought was the Bride in Black from Insidious, and while I have never seen Sleepaway Camp, it seems to be fairly similar. It does seem to be kind of like a double edged sword like you said, it could be an allegory for how forcing someone into a gender they don’t align with is harmful, but it also seems to imply that if you are questioning your gender identity you might become a murderer. There are ways to include people who are transgender or queer in the horror industry, but it seems suspicious that I can name several transgender or crossdressing killers or villains but not in another role in horror.
This is such an interesting topic and super important! I think it melds really well with a lot of the political conversation around trans people today and the fear-mongering and stereotyping perpetuated by many political leaders. There is a pervasive fear that the queer community is “forcing” children to become trans against their will, and that fear I think is played on in these movies, much to the detriment of the trans community. By making this aspect of one’s identity a fear point in a horror movie, producers are pandering to these politically induced prejudices and fears without consideration to what you very clearly elaborated as the consequences of transphobia.
Thank you for writing this. This vilification of trans people is not unique to horror but is exceptionally dangerous given how extreme horror is by nature. I also appreciate the overall message of loving a piece of media while still critiquing it. Scrutiny is important for the lifespan of any franchise.