ABSTRACT The Women of Supernatural: More than Stereotypes Miranda B. Leddy, M.A. Mentor: Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D. This critical discourse analysis of the American horror television show, Supernatural, uses a gender perspective to assess the stereotypes and female characters in the popular series. As part of this study 34 episodes of Supernatural and 19 female characters were analyzed. Findings indicate that while the target audience for Supernatural is women, the show tends to portray them in traditional, feminine, and horror genre stereotypes. The purpose of this thesis is twofold: 1) to provide a description of the types of female characters prevalent in the early seasons of Supernatural including mother-figures, victims, and monsters, and 2) to describe the changes that take place in the later seasons when the female characters no longer fit into feminine or horror stereotypes. Findings indicate that female characters of Supernatural have evolved throughout the seasons of the show and are more than just background characters in need of rescue. These findings are important because they illustrate that representations of women in television are not always based on stereotypes, and that the horror genre is evolving and beginning to depict strong female characters that are brave, intellectual leaders instead of victims being rescued by men. The female audience will be exposed to a more accurate portrayal of women to which they can relate and be inspired. Copyright © 2014 by Miranda B. Leddy All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS Tables ............................................................................................................................................... v Figures ............................................................................................................................................. vi Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... vii Dedication .................................................................................................................................... viii Chapter One: Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter Two: Literature Review ...................................................................................................... 4 Chapter Three: Methods ................................................................................................................. 11 Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 11 Chapter Four: Supernatural Synopsis ............................................................................................ 13 Season 1 ............................................................................................................................. 13 Season 2 ............................................................................................................................. 13 Season 3 ............................................................................................................................. 14 Season 4 ............................................................................................................................. 14 Season 5 ............................................................................................................................. 14 Season 6 ............................................................................................................................. 15 Season 7 ............................................................................................................................. 15 Season 8 ............................................................................................................................. 15 Season 9 ............................................................................................................................. 16 Chapter Five: Representations of Female Characters in the Early Seasons of Supernatural ......... 18 Women as Monsters .......................................................................................................... 18 Single Mother, Damsel in Distress .................................................................................... 20 Women as Betrayers .......................................................................................................... 23 Women Granted Mercy ..................................................................................................... 24 Verbal Power ..................................................................................................................... 26 Chapter Six: Changes in Female Characters since the Kripke Era ................................................. 29 Becky Rosen ...................................................................................................................... 29 Demon Meg ....................................................................................................................... 31 Jody Mills .......................................................................................................................... 35 Charlie Bradbury ............................................................................................................... 37 Krissy Chambers ............................................................................................................... 38 Chapter Seven: Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 39 Limitations and Future Research ....................................................................................... 39 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................... 44 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Basic List of Feminine and Masculine Traits ......................................................10 Table 2: Supernatural Synopsis .........................................................................................17 Table 3: Sample of Stereotypes Present in the Early Seasons ...........................................24 Table 4: Sample of Episodes with Examples of Verbal Power .........................................26 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Woman in White seducing unsuspecting male driver ........................................19 Figure 2: Single mother Andrea, dressed very feminine, and son Lucas ..........................21 Figure 3: Stereotypical blond, beautiful Ruby ...................................................................23 Figure 4: Kitsune mother explaining her situation to Sam ................................................25 Figure 5: Jo Harvelle, with a shotgun, holding her own ....................................................27 Figure 6: Becky being a typical fan girl and touching Sam ...............................................30 Figure 7: Meg begins as a stereotypical blond with a cute pixie cut .................................32 Figure 8: Sheriff Jody Mills is not amused by Bobby Singer’s request for help ...............36 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my thesis advisor, Dr. Mia Moody-Ramirez, for her support and motivation throughout my writing process. I would also like to thank Dr. Marlene Neill for serving on my committee and giving me excellent advice on how to improve my thesis paper. Finally, I would like to thank the final member of my committee, Dr. Andrea Turpin, for providing a much-needed fresh perspective on my thesis topic. vii To my grandparents, Mary, Phil, Evelyn, and Jim viii CHAPTER ONE Introduction Supernatural, a television show that airs on the CW network, defies the norm of the horror genre by targeting an audience of 18- to 34-year-old women (Beeler, 2011). Audiences of the horror genre have long been ignored, but young men usually make up the largest part of the audience (Clover, 1992). Supernatural premiered in the fall of 2005 and was recently renewed for its 10th season. It is labeled as a horror show because it follows a monster-of-the-week pattern (Abbott, 2011). Supernatural also challenges the horror genre grain by having two male leads, brothers Sam and Dean Winchester, instead of a female victim-hero who survives as the Final Girl. Beeler (2011) asserts that due to its female audience, the writers of Supernatural value character development over cheap horror thrills of violence and gore. Because of this characteristic, Supernatural is able to have well-developed female characters in a male-dominated show that challenges well-known horror gender stereotypes. Scholars have described Supernatural as a female-friendly experience with Dean fulfilling the bad boy role and Sam serving as the romantic partner all women desire (Beeler, 2011). The show is also female friendly because it has many female characters with which women can identify and who find their own strength without always being a “Final Girl.” Women who had a powerful influence in their lives inspire the brothers to hunt. For instance, Sam and Dean entered into the hunting life because of the death of their mother. The desire for revenge for the death of his wife caused their father John Winchester to join the hunting lifestyle. Similarly, the death of his mother motivates 1 Dean to follow his father into the hunting profession. Sam becomes a hunter after the