Now, my favourite characters were always women, whether it be Drusilla, Willow or Faith, and it wasn't until I was older that I realised why I loved them so much. With the exception of Willow starting out (and eventually ending) as a heroic character, all of these women are the 'baddies' and, most importantly, are hella queer.
When I was in college, I watched The Celluloid Closet (1995), a documentary that explores queer-coding and the negative portrayals of homosexuality in cinema. It was during this film that I realised why I loved those Buffy characters so much: I was a queer person, and I didn't just subconsciously fancy these hot, sadistic girls, I related to them.
The 'Sissy' Villain
 |
| Basil, The Great Mouse Detective (1986) |
So, what is a queer-coded villain? Also known as the 'sissy' trope, this is a stylisation of an antagonist, known for their blatant flamboyance, boldness and implied femininity.
Pick any of your favourite Disney films and look at the villain: what traits do they have? Hades from Hercules (1997), the towering epitome of sass, seen with a cocktail in hand and a penchant for reading (insulting people, for those of you not up to date with your gay lingo). Ratigan from Basil, The Great Mouse Detective (1986), adorned in feminine jewelry, a complete fucking drama queen and utterly loquacious. Ursula from The Little Mermaid (1989) is literally modelled on Divine, an infamous drag queen from John Waters' filmography, known for being explicitly sexual, filthy and glamorous.
These characters exude either extroverted campness or sexual ambiguity (a good example of this might be HIM from The Powerpuff Girls, a seemingly transvestite-esque demon), they love performing soliloquies for dramatic effect, they're often feminine in appearance or cadence and they're not the heroes, despite how likeable they might come across.
Why do we like them?
 |
| TRON: Legacy (2010) |
If they're meant to be these evil oppositions to our heroes, then why do we favour them so much more? Well, queer-coded villains are liberating, not just for young, gay kids but for everyone: queer antagonists are empowered because, despite the fact that they're fighting against what the hero (and us as an audience) consider to be morally right, they go about their journey with such an undeniable strength and confidence. They have a goal and they're going to reach it in style.
I think, at least for me, one of the biggest factors is character design. The queer-coded villain is often feminised, incidentally meaning that their costumes are far more detailed, make use of bold colours and play off the idea of sensuality (within reason): this appeals to baby gays and lesbians with a desire to be seen and can live their lives through these characters, which reflect the kind of openly queerness that they perhaps are unable to explore themselves. As The Celluloid Closet suggests, "visibility at any costs: I'd rather have negative than nothing".
Is this a bad archetype?
 |
| The Lion King (1994) |
So, are these fabulous yet demonised characters a problem? I think there may be arguments for and against.
On one hand, yes, the sissy villain trope is incredibly problematic. They may be empowering characters but they do reinforce (at least by association) the idea of homosexuality and the concept of immorality as being synonymous.
For children growing up in both a more liberal yet increasingly problematic world, influence is everything, and no child should grow up seeing themselves demonised on screen for something innately unchangeable: for me, I grew up watching Willow on BtVS and I saw myself, a red-headed woman who discovers that she's a lesbian, and spends time exploring her sexuality in a way that isn't eroticised but completely normalised and validated by other characters.
Dark Willow was a cool character but it was motivated by another problematic trope, "bury your gays", in which Willow's female love interest is murdered and serves as Willow's change into Dark Willow, a descent into evil and insanity. I felt somewhat let down by the writing, even as a young child: I didn't understand why her character specifically had to be evil.
 |
| Skyfall (2012) |
And yet, if queer heroes were as equally visible as their evil counterparts, then perhaps it wouldn't be such an issue. It's when sexuality is confined to the opposing role and seen as a perversion in comparison to the clean-cut, hetero protagonist that most people take issue with, or that sexuality is the only thing that defines said character, making them one-dimensional and motivated only by who they want to bone.
I like queer-coded villains. I like all villains in general, that's just my preference: that's why I like horror films, I root for the bad guy and, in retrospect, plenty of iconic horror villains are queer-coded. If you look at Dracula or Hannibal Lecter, they both exude a dramatic flair, a subtle sensuality and poignancy to how they present themselves: even Freddy Krueger, in some respects, is queer-coded in how flamboyantly violent and camp he is.
What's great about contemporary queer-coding, though, is that although it's problematic (in that it still happens), the reception of such is very different. The LGBTQ+ community is renowned for its reclamation of previously derogatory terms and labels, giving new life to stereotypes and hurtful language in a way that empowers the individual and doesn't degrade them: when a queer-coded villain is presented on screen nowadays, it falls under scrutiny but is inevitably adopted into queer culture. Even the Babadook, an antagonist that is not queer-coded in any sense of the word, is now an iconic horror villain to the gays because of an amusing meme wherein The Babadook (2014) is categorised under LGBT films on Netflix.
Sashay or Shantay?
 |
| Mandy (2018) |
The answer as to whether or not queer villains should still be created, I believe, is yes: as long as they are compelling, layered characters. Weaponised homosexuality only makes sense if homosexuality as a whole is considered normalised/established within that film's fictional world, flamboyant bad guys only make sense if the hero is equally flamboyant or at least indifferent to the bad guy's style.
In essence, queer-coding doesn't have to be a negative thing. It can be a reclamation, a celebration, if you will, of what makes the LGBTQ+ community so strong and fabulous...just maybe leave writing gay characters down to the allies/gays, though, and not ham-headed, straight men who just see homosexual villains as the torch bearers for their own, personal prejudice.
- K
No comments:
Post a Comment