[Editorial] What are little girls made of?

This week I have found myself having repetitive conversations with other women in the world of horror, and it’s been somewhat distressing but re-affirming as to why we need to continue ensuring the right people have their voices heard, especially on topics that only affect them. It was within these two particular conversations that I found myself thinking about the initial reasons behind why Ghouls Magazine was originally set up, and it felt like good timing considering this month marks a full year since we first started the site. 

For me, it’s always been a somewhat odd topic talking about gender and opinions on various topics - many of my formative years were spent in a male dominated environment, and therefore I would say I have become quite accustomed to men and their way of thinking. As a teenager I preferred the company of boys, this was due to my adventurous nature and finding it difficult to connect with girls when all I wanted to talk about was things that typically felt frowned upon by my girl friends. There was a nursery rhyme that always stuck with me:

What are little boys made of?

What are little boys made of?

Frogs and snails,

And puppy dogs’ tails;

That’s what little boys are made of. 

What are little girls made of?

What are little girls made of?

Sugar and spice,

And all that’s nice;

That’s what little girls are made of. 

There was something in this English nursery rhyme that made me feel uncomfortable and confused. I never felt like I resonated with the ‘What little girls are made of’ and instead felt myself leaning more towards ‘What little boys are made of’, and at such a young age I couldn’t fathom what that meant for me. All that was clear was the knowledge that hanging out with males and doing activities that were stereotyped as boys’ antics, was where I found the most enjoyment and fun in life. 

After my mum passed away, a few days after my 18th birthday, that was when I really became completely consumed by male presence - living with just my dad and my brother. This scenario never felt difficult for me until years later, but by that time I was already considering moving out and starting my own life. 

This week three subsequent experiences happened that really got me thinking about attitudes, relationships and why it is so important that we have more voices in horror talking about varying topics. These three incidents happened alongside the week marking 11 years since my mum passed away, and it all just really got in my head and reminded me why diversity in horror is so important.

I was having a catch-up conversation with a friend and we began discussing our combined love for extreme horror, a somewhat niche subject for any horror fan to enjoy, especially if you’re female. She described to me a few podcasts run by men that discussed extreme films and in particular, rape revenge. In this particular episode that had been recorded they had mentioned how rape scenes, in theory, should be easy to film because the sets are closed and it’s just simulated. This ignorance is completely shocking; to make such a presumption is horrific and really not a particularly progressive way of looking at anything. The entire episode makes presumptions about why women might enjoy watching extreme horror, and I have to say, it’s pretty disturbing that these three individuals would try to understand something so complex without even handing the microphone over to the people that actually could begin to explain this. 

The second scenario came around when a dear friend wrote a wonderful article about a strong female lead in a female directed horror film. The article itself is insightful, in-depth and one of the most creative and unique pieces of writing I have read in some time. The thought behind unpackaging the character’s fight in such a way really struck me. The film in question also happens to deal with the topic of rape revenge, although the article fovuses more on the character than the abhorrent acts depicted. But a man on his high horse decided to belittle and berate the writer within the comments, so far as to explain what the patriarchy is to the writer. Once again, ignorance rearing an ugly head and actually going as far to upset the writer behind this article. A completely unnecessary piece of feedback that read as ‘I have a small dick and need to make it feel bigger’. 

The final incident that happened was involving a friend who found themselves basically told that someone who had no experience on the topic at hand, could take a more objective point-of-view because they had not been through it. I can’t detail this incident much further than this due to confidentiality, however, it follows the aforementioned themes and was highly upsetting in the way they had phrased their comments. Again resulting in an incredibly ignorant point of view that really made my friend feel very distressed and upset. This person was not a male, they were a female who had this view so it’s not even completely about genders here. 

All three of these incidents really struck a chord with me, and reminded me again why setting up Ghouls Magazine was something I felt so passionately and strongly about. These scenarios show that we must have diversity when it comes to voices speaking on horror and speaking about different aspects, and it doesn’t always necessarily come down to gender and what is the stereotype at all. But having different viewpoints on a genre such as horror, is so important to begin to understand the cultural impact. I knew from a young age that I liked boyish things and talking about subjects, including horror, that had always been categorised by gender. But I always felt that there was a place for me to give my opinion and bring something different to the conversation, even if historically said conversation had been led by a particular group of people. 

I’m not saying that I would want to eradicate certain voices whatsoever, but after these events I do not want to see the voices of anyone stifled again because someone else believes their voice on the topic should be louder. Especially when that voice really doesn’t have much authority on the topic whatsoever. 

Which is exactly why Ghouls Magazine exists - to continue giving the horror landscape more diverse voices to provide a more even, colourful landscape when it comes to the genre. 

Z x

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