Queer Villains/Queering the Villain

Lesbian vampires, creepy housekeepers, Bond villainesses, monstrous queer children, murderous dandies, bisexual femme fatales, cannibalistic trans aliens, and very dangerous dykes populated 20th century cinema.

Even in heavily censored phases of the medium’s history – such as the guidelines of Hollywood’s Hays code – queer representations have always found their way to the screen, not seldomly as villains. Some of these villains became beloved cult figures in queer communities – at least for a time. Today, many of them are at best considered ‘problematic favs’. Yet others are viewed as bad representations, unredeemable even for ironic celebration.

Tracing the histories of queer villains, we will watch pre-stonewall Hollywood films of the Hays code era, exploitation films, 60s Japanese art films, Gothic Horror, Disney, ………… and talk about censorship, the allure of queer villains, and representational justice.