The "acceptable interests for women" pipeline is so exhausting and I need to talk about it
So apparently there's still people out there who think women should stick to Barbie, crafts, rom coms, and if they're allowed to be spooky — Monster High. That's it. That's your horror ration for the month 💀
And here's the thing that kills me — Monster High (made by a man, Garrett Sander), Coraline (written by Neil Gaiman, directed by Henry Selick — both men), Wednesday (originally Charles Addams, Netflix version Alfred Gough and Miles Millar — men), Nightmare Before Christmas (Tim Burton and Henry Selick — men), Corpse Bride (Tim Burton — man) are all considered "acceptable horror for women"
And they were largely made by men 💀
But a woman like Crystal Gonzalez makes In The Dark Comics — dark as fuck, unfiltered, no pink bow attached — and suddenly it doesn't fit neatly into what women are "supposed" to enjoy
When a man makes horror he's creative and visionary. When a woman makes horror people go "...are you sure?" or they recategorize it as a thriller so it sounds softer and more palatable 😭 female horror writers have literally talked about this — their work gets relabeled, their intentions get questioned, their biographical details get treated as excuses rather than context
And Barbie?? "She can be a pilot!" Okay but she's piloting in heels and a pink jumpsuit with perfect hair and a smile 💀 the message isn't "you can be anything" it's "you can be anything AS LONG AS you remain feminine and pretty and put together while doing it." The femininity dial genuinely never moves
There's this whole tiered system of what women are allowed to be into (according to sexist people) and it goes:
Fully acceptable — pink things, crafts, rom coms, cooking, fashion, boy bands, Barbie
Acceptable spooky — Monster High (horror filtered through fashion and high school drama), Coraline (beautiful stop motion with feelings), Wednesday (gothic but make it couture), Nightmare Before Christmas (dark but whimsical and romantic)
Apparently unacceptable — actual horror. Gore. Demons. Things that are dark and ugly and not aesthetically packaged. Things without a pink bow on them
And I like Coraline!! I like Wednesday!! I like Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride!! Those are genuinely good and I enjoy them!!
That doesn't mean they're my LIMIT 💀 humans are allowed to like multiple things across a range without one interest canceling out another
Also this is coming from someone who is bigender (both woman and man), AFAB, catgender and cistrans — so i'm speaking from literally both sides of this and the double standard is so visible it's almost funny. Almost.
Mary Shelley invented the entire science fiction horror genre at EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD. June Tarpé Mills was making horror comics in the 1930s and had to DROP HER FIRST NAME so people wouldn't know she was a woman and dismiss her work. Crystal Gonzalez is out here making unfiltered dark horror RIGHT NOW and getting her work displayed in actual galleries and museums
Women have always been in horror. They helped BUILD horror. The idea that dark, unfiltered, genuinely scary content is somehow not for them is historically illiterate and also just. Really boring 💀
You don't have to hate men or think all men are the enemy to notice this pattern exists — plenty of men are completely fine with women making whatever horror they want and honestly good for them 💀 Garrett Sander literally made Monster High specifically FOR girls because he wanted them to have something cool and edgy and different from Barbie — that's a man actively trying to give girls better options!! And the ITD fan community probably has men in it who love Crystal's work!! The ITD fandom isn't exclusively for men or exclusively for women — it's just for people who like unhinged demon comics and that's beautiful 😭✨
It's just a weird cultural assumption that keeps getting recycled and it's worth pointing out. Anyway. Support women in horror. Support Crystal Gonzalez. Read In The Dark Comics 💀✨
