How trans panic steals from horror films

On paper former swimmer Riley Gaines is a puzzling choice for MAGA s appointed victim of trans people Gaines has built an entire career on a single case when she was a college swimmer when she tied for fifth place during the -yard freestyle at the NCAA swimming championship in As a senior at the University of Kentucky she finished in the middle of the pack with Lia Thomas who had drawn national attention for being trans Logically Gaines s woe-is-me tale doesn t make much sense as a moral outrage over trans women in sports Four other swimmers outswam Thomas which seems to be proof against conservative maintains that trans women have an unbeatable advantage Nevertheless Gaines portrays the moment as when her dreams were shattered but largest part people would hardly use such heavy language for the difference between tying for fifth place versus having that also-ran trophy by yourself Despite the underwhelming facts of her tale Gaines turned her unmemorable swim meet into the entire foundation of her career as a MAGA figurehead She never had the chops to be a professional swimmer but she has done well as a professional victim devoting her life not just to eradicating trans women from sports but to opposing trans rights altogether Gaines compares trans women to rapists and pedophiles and declares that LGBTQ rights activists wish to fully eradicate women as a whole She even calls trans people and their allies demonic and aligns queer rights with Satanism The trans panic as of now gripping the Christian right is an extension of the Satanic panic that took hold in the s a worldview that owes little to reality or to the teachings of Jesus Instead it s rooted in the visual and emotional language of horror films Such language isn t metaphorical for Gaines or her audience she means it quite literally The trans panic in the present gripping the Christian right is an extension of the Satanic panic that took hold in the s a worldview that owes little to reality or to the teachings of Jesus Instead it s rooted in the visual and emotional language of horror films especially the more reactionary tales of demonic possession such as The Exorcist and The Conjuring These followers unabashedly argue that transgenderism is a tool of Satan and that acceptance of gender non-conforming people is a form of demonic possession That and not her fifth place trophy is why Gaines has become the face of the anti-trans movement Just put she looks the part Every demon possession story requires a cherubic and ideally blonde little girl to be the face of the innocence threatened by Satanic forces Think Linda Blair in The Exorcist Heather O Rourke in Poltergeist or the family of all daughters in The Conjuring Although Gaines at is a grown woman she has a round face and a girlish demeanor making her able to evoke the trope of the demon-terrorized child that has captured the Christian right s imagination for decades Related How SCOTUS erased the abuse of LGBTQ kids The Christian right s obsession with demons exorcisms and Satan presents itself as deeply rooted in history But in reality the neighborhood s fixation is a relatively contemporary evolution driven more by Hollywood films than ancient traditions In The Exorcist Effect religious studies associate professor Joseph Laycock and film expert Eric Harrelson document how the Satanic panic of the s and s grew out of the popularity of horror films like Rosemary s Baby The Omen and of program The Exorcist Evangelicals may think their fixation on demons comes from the Bible Laycock notified Salon via email but their ideas are genuinely inspired more from Hollywood Supposedly true stories of Satanic cult activity for instance appear to be scenes from horror movies he explained and The Omen popularized an obsession with the number For mainstream America fears of Satanism and demons peaked in the s and receded in modern years into an embarrassing joke with people chortling at how harmless cultural phenomena like Dungeons and Dragons heavy metal and Ouija boards were temporarily the source of genuine paranoia But for the Christian right the belief that dark magic is all around us has not receded If anything it s surged in newest years due in part to the popularity of The Conjuring films and constant talk of devils and witchcraft on social media Want more Amanda Marcotte on politics Sign up for her free newsletter Standing Room Only now also on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts For mainstream America fears of Satanism and demons peaked in the s and receded in new years into an embarrassing joke with people snickering at how harmless cultural phenomena like Dungeons and Dragons heavy metal and Ouija boards were temporarily the source of genuine paranoia But for the Christian right the belief that dark magic is all around us has not receded If anything it s surged in modern years due in part to the popularity of The Conjuring films and constant talk of devils and witchcraft on social media The target of Christian right fears of Satanic evil has shifted from rock music to LGBTQ people especially trans people Queer-positive media is routinely depicted on the right as Satan s strategy to weaken the defenses especially of young people allowing demons to take over In a latest appearance on Fox News Rep Tim Burchett R-Tenn argued that Netflix is using mind control techniques to turn children trans attributing it to demonic forces from the pits of hell Republican Florida state representative Webster Barnaby accused trans people who testified against an anti-trans bill of being literal demons and imps who only pretend that you are part of this world MAGA influencer Seth Gruber blamed Charlie Kirk s murder on demons who enter individuals through the ideology of trans The list sadly goes on and on Demons appears to be the right s prevailing theory for why people are trans But once you realize that the trans panic is an outgrowth of decades of Satanic panic the role Riley Gaines plays comes into sharper focus Nearly every story of demonic menace requires a young helpless woman or better yet a girl as the idealized victim the devil wants to possess In Rosemary s Baby Satan literally rapes Mia Farrow s character But preponderance of the time the symbolism of demonic possession violating the purity of the small usually blonde girl is slightly less blunt Even when the whole family is menaced as in Poltergeist the evil entities have a special yearning to possess little blonde girls We need your help to stay independent Subscribe the present day to aid Amanda Marcotte s commentary Wittingly or not Gaines seems to understand that her ability to play the victim of these supposedly demonic trans forces depends on presenting herself as girlish She favors fluffy lace pink outfits Despite promoting her athleticism she avoids being seen as strong and capable preferring sports photos that emphasize how cute and lil her clothes are Gaines and her MAGA audience love to talk about how petite she is in June she even posted a video of her much-taller husband measuring her to prove she s only feet inches tall Since female swimmers like their male counterparts tend to be tall the video only served to make Gaines look childish and came at the expense of her athletic image Even her purported ambition to have a swimming trophy can be seen as childlike especially as she never pursued a post-collegiate career as a professional swimmer When Gaines casts herself as the hero in a drama of spiritual battle against d emonic beings she s tapping into a trope that is deeply embedded in the subconscious of the Christian right one that has been placed there far more by horror flicks than Bible review On a rational level her story doesn t make sense Trans people haven t taken anything from her And with her swimming days behind her they certainly aren t a danger to her now But Gaines supposed victimization doesn t need facts to back it up As with most of things MAGA her fears lie entirely in the realm of fantasy driven by highly emotional imagery that allows her and the movement more broadly to abandon any lingering attachment to critical thinking Gaines looks exactly like their image of a victim Somehow that makes every lie she tells about the imaginary dangers from demonic forces to be true facts be damned to hell Read more about this topic Anti-trans activists pray SCOTUS upholds conversion therapy Bari Weiss at CBS News isn t a win for queer journalists Gun violence is an epidemic and GOP transphobia won t cure it The post How trans panic steals from horror films appeared first on Salon com