ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Friday, the Bay College Pride Club hosted an event exploring pop culture monsters through a queer lens.
“Monsters have been used to represent ‘the other,’ someone outside a cultural norm,” explained Dr. David Hansen, Adjunct Instructor at Bay College and Illinois State University (ISU) Instructional Assistant Professor. “I am discussing why people have been labeled monsters—for good, for ill—and why those representations are so engrained in our popular culture that we don’t always recognize it, but it’s an important part of understanding our culture in society.”
Two ISU PhD students and graduate instructors presented their research on how gay communities have interacted with specific monsters, like the lesbian vampire.
“The idea of taking her from a character that is demonized by normative society and seeing how various lesbians and other sapphic people have reclaimed her as kind of an empowering figure,” said presenter Cassandra Karn. “I’ve noticed the way that a lot of gay people have been celebrating monsters recently, especially particular gay scholars and activists who have actively chosen to identify with monsters. I wanted to see how that has impacted popular culture.”
Presenter Manuel Reza discussed how werewolves in media challenge preconceived ideas about masculinity.
“We have classic stuff like American Werewolf in London to more contemporary stuff like Werewolf by Night from Marvel,” said Reza. “Thinking about how these films are presenting werewolves in a way which is not just the monster but in terms of developing positive relationships between men.”
They say it’s an exploration into ways the characters have furthered or changed ideas over time.
“Take a step back and think about ways we’ve been taught about identity and society and how we can maybe challenge them or view them through a critical lens,” Reza said.
“We can use fiction to question, is this system harming us and how can we change it for the better?” said Karn.
Dr. Hansen says it is important to highlight queer pop culture portrayals for the LGBTQ community at Bay College and across the U.P.
“We have a very diverse background here,” said Hansen. “We want to celebrate different identities and to let them know that they are represented in their media. It’s not just something hidden. We want students to see themselves reflected in the content that they consume.”
Click here for information on the Pride Club and other clubs at Bay College.
