Rhode Island College Digital Commons @ RIC Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview Research and Major Papers 2013 Terrors of Girlhood Julie Casali Rhode Island College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.ric.edu/etd Part of the Film and Media Studies Commons, and the Gender and Sexuality Commons Recommended Citation Casali, Julie, "Terrors of Girlhood" (2013). Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview. 86. https://digitalcommons.ric.edu/etd/86 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers at Digital Commons @ RIC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ RIC. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. TERRORS OF GIRLHOOD: IDEOLOGICAL REPRESENTATIONS OF THE ADOLESCENT FEMALE IN JENNIFER’S BODY by Julie Casali A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master of Arts in Art with Concentration in Media Studies Department of Art The School of Arts and Sciences Rhode Island College 2013 Casali i ABSTRACT Since 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.