The Virginal Archetype: Female Representation in the Slasher Film

The representation of women in slasher films from the late 1970\u27s and early 1980\u27s is worth exploring due to its depiction of the virginal female archetype and her level of empowerment. Scholars identify the slasher film as a sub-genre of horror that has a serial killer who stalks and kills a community of teenagers. The virginal female archetype they discuss is the last remaining female who ultimately defeats the killer. Scholars argue that in films like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the remaining female survivor, or the Final Girl, is in fact empowered, and represents certain traditional cultural values of that time. This paper explores the arguments made by feminist film critics regarding the empowerment of women in slasher films. Such scholars discuss these women as the subject of the male gaze, the women as sexual objects to the killer, as well as the empowerment of the Final Girl. The significance of this research will bring light to the representation of women in horror genres. The slasher films from the late 1970\u27s and early 1980\u27s are especially important because of the cultural values they represent, and because they paved the way for images of women in horror film today