Why are women scarier?

[GlitterUnicornsAndAllThatJazz]

I'm playing a game on the PS atm and it's basically a horror story in a game.

One of the most terrifying parts is called "the lady's quarters" and its this creepy shadowy boudoir with mannequins and a terrifying woman as the enemy.

It got me thinking about how growing up in all the fairytales I read, the scariest "enemies" were women. I was scared of malificent (sp?) from sleeping beauty, many of the witches in Russian folklore, the witch in the original little mermaid.

Even in modern horror stories often the female baddies are just so much creepier than the male ones.

Does anyone agree? But why is this?

Because the female is more deadly than the male i suppose...

I used to be scared of the witch from The Wizard of Oz!

Hmm I think I'm balance there are more male villains than women in books/films etc. I'm sure there's something behind the theory that they're scarier though, I vaguely remember doing a paper on it in school, something to do with our expectations of women as soft and caring. Similar to why tales of women abusing children etc are more shocking.

Hmmmmm I don’t know if I agree... I was most scared of Freddie Krueger and It when I was younger.

Hmmmmm I don’t know if I agree... I was most scared of Freddie Krueger and It when I was younger

Oh god yes Freddie! And also IT! Maybe OP so referring to more kids villains?

*is

@PasstheStarmix
But dont you think its interesting how in both your examples (freddie and it) the men have disguised faces - rendering them almost non human.
Whereas female baddies are often left in their natural state. They're scary without disguise. Its almost as if the lack of "maternal instinct" is enough to render them "non human"...

I’ve always imagined it to be linked to the idea that women are ‘supposed’ to be caring and nurturing, so the idea of a woman being violent/murderous is scarier than with male characters, because it’s essentially expected that men have an element of aggression (because we as a society set them up as strong protector types). Basically it’s more socially acceptable for men to be aggressive than women, so when women are shown as being aggressive it’s a greater ‘difference’, as it were.

It's a trope known as the monstrous feminine, and Penggwn is right, it's basically portraying women who don't fit the maternal, nurturing stereotype as unnatural, frightening and other. If you're in the mood for long academic reads, Julia Kristeva and Barbara Creed have written a lot about it.

You should ask Sigmund Freud about that

There is a school of thought that says: men fear women's sexuality. They seek to control it, they get turned on by the idea of controlling it (see 99.99% of porn). Sexy women terrify them. Unsexy women who nonetheless insist on being sexual beings also terrify them.

Most of the stories we hear in Western culture, particularly anything older than 50 years, were told in a strongly patriarchal society. Those stories reflect male values, and male fears. Hence, scary women.

I also find it interesting that quite often these female villains are shown as quite attractive - or is it just that ugly women can’t be shown?

But of course, the scariest females, however monstrous, are those protecting their offspring. So the lack of maternal/nurturing force doesn't always hold true.

Because mothers are in charge of little boys. Grown men remember the horror of being told what to do by a woman, of depending on her, of caring about a woman's opinion. The mother is the most terrifying of women, because men remember being under her control.

"Everything is about sex. Unless it's actually about sex, then it's about power."

But dont you think its interesting how in both your examples (freddie and it) the men have disguised faces - rendering them almost non human.
Whereas female baddies are often left in their natural state. They're scary without disguise. Its almost as if the lack of "maternal instinct" is enough to render them "non human".

Some may say that about me first thing in the morning when I have PMT! I agree it’s almost as if maternal instinct defines women and without it there’s room for malevolent forces to cause havoc.

It’s quite sexist really, I don’t recall one male villain without a disguise so that’s a very good point.

As a child, the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was scary but nothing compared to the Daleks which pales into insignificance against the Triffids!

None of them are women!

And, given that the devil is usually depicted as a man, I don't think women are portrayed as scarier. After all, it's the Bogeyman that's often touted to add fear.

I disagree, the vast majority of scary characters in games and movies are male so maybe it just stands out more when it's a woman? I don't think women are scarier or portrayed to be so. If anything I reckon men are scarier as they generally have the advantage of physical strength.

Misogyny. The female villain/monster is always a character who will not obey men and is not afraid of men, and it is this lack of man-worship that makes her so terrible - 'good' women are always portrayed as loving and caring for men. It's propaganda to the effect that a woman who does not 'know her place' is monstrous and must be destroyed by a man.

ReanimatedSGB Exactly...a woman that doesn’t pander to a man has to be an evil villain

It always tickled me that the witch archetype takes a symbol of female oppression (the broomstick) and turns it into a vehicle for super human power (flying). The psychology of that is so interesting.

LaurieMarlow it is really sexual. The witch is litterally riding a dick....

I agree with Educated in thinking that it’s at least partly due to gender constructs which prescribe women to be less aggressive, weaker, softer, carers and nurturers; so when they “turn” they are more monstrous. It also applies to children , think Chuckie, The Omen and The Exorcist, in which children are agents of horror. Don’t Look Back also counts here, as until the very end, we are assuming it is the figure of a child that is associated with the murders.

I heard that the broomstick thing was based on inserting LSD-style drugs to be better assimilated through the vagina. Then flying = tripping.