GG Dascal

Self-Fashioning Styles of Flesh: Liminal Gender Performance in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Introduction

Self-fashioning styles of flesh: liminal gender performance in the texas chain saw massacre. Uncover Leatherface's subversive, liminal gender performance in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre from a queer perspective. An intersectional analysis of his fluid masked identities.

Abstract

Ever since its release in 1974, Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has occupied a unique place in cinematic horror. While the film was initially shunned by critics, it has since gained academic supporters such as Robin Wood and Janet Staiger, who praise its insightful social commentary, clever use of dark humor and overall technical artistry. However, nothing has been written about the film’s antagonist from a queer perspective, despite the film showcasing a subversive example of gender performance. An intersectional reading of one of the most iconic characters of the genre is both timely and necessary. Instead of hiding his true identity behind a mask like most slasher killers, Leatherface literally and metaphorically embodies the identities represented by his masks. There is no one “true” identity; his real face is the leather that he wears. Each of his three masks comes with a unique personality, expressed through wigs, clothes, voice and body language. While his “killing mask” most closely resembles a human male, his “old lady mask” and his “pretty lady mask” carry with them stereotypically female gendered signifiers. However, what is truly radical about Leatherface’s gender performance is that the identities he crafts are fluid themselves; his identity is liminal. He is man, woman, both and neither. Thus, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre follows Simone de Beauvoir’s statement that gender norms are nothing but styles of flesh.

Review

This paper proposes a compelling and overdue queer analysis of Leatherface's gender performance in Tobe Hooper’s *The Texas Chain Saw Massacre*. Building on existing critical acclaim for the film's social commentary and technical artistry, the abstract effectively highlights a significant gap in scholarship by asserting that "nothing has been written about the film’s antagonist from a queer perspective." The central argument posits that Leatherface's various masks do not conceal a "true" identity but rather embody fluid, liminal gendered selves – man, woman, both, and neither – a concept powerfully encapsulated by the reference to Simone de Beauvoir's "styles of flesh." A major strength lies in the abstract's explicit commitment to an intersectional and queer theoretical lens, promising a fresh interpretive framework for a character often examined through more conventional psychoanalytic or sociological approaches. The detailed outline of how each of Leatherface's three masks – "killing," "old lady," and "pretty lady" – will be meticulously analyzed for their unique gendered signifiers (wigs, clothes, voice, body language) suggests a nuanced deconstruction of identity construction. By asserting that "his real face is the leather that he wears," the author sets up a radical challenge to essentialist notions of identity, potentially making a significant contribution to both horror studies and queer theory. While the abstract powerfully articulates the core thesis, the full paper would benefit from further elaboration on several fronts. A deeper engagement with how this liminal gender performance interacts with Leatherface's role as an antagonist and perpetrator of extreme violence would be particularly insightful. Does the "subversive example" of his gender performance undercut or intensify the horror, or offer a critique of gendered violence itself within the film's narrative? Additionally, exploring the broader narrative context of the Sawyer family dynamics through this queer lens could enrich the argument. Finally, a discussion of how this specific queer reading either converges with or diverges from the "insightful social commentary" praised by earlier critics like Robin Wood would strengthen the paper's situating within existing scholarship and underscore its unique contribution.

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