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Thesis
“There Is Still Time”: The Value of Trans and Gender Nonconforming Representations in Horror Media
University of West Florida Libraries
Bachelor of Arts (BA), University of West Florida
2026
Abstract
In the last decade, there has been a significant increase in the number of novels and other works showcasing transgender characters and identities. Though there are examples of transgender representation earlier than the 20th century, much of this representation depicts harmful stereotypes about the trans and gender nonconforming communities, making these depictions outdated. When looking at these recent examples of queer and trans representation in works of fiction, such as novels or films, many of these works anticipate that their audience will be a cisgender reader attempting to understand the “transgender experience,” though there is not one experience of identity that applies to all trans individuals. In addition, many of these works focus on the experiences of adult trans and gender nonconforming people, which would make sense given that many trans people do not get the opportunity to explore their gender identity freely until adulthood. However, though many depictions of trans characters in print and visual media both cater to a cisgender audience and showcase adult trans characters, depictions of teenage and adolescent trans and gender nonconforming characters’ stories are needed to provide representation for young queer and trans people. Because there are so many stereotypes about the trans community, along with poor representations of trans people in the media and the politicization of trans bodies, trans youth now more than ever need to see themselves represented in the stories they read. Within the last few years, namely since the pandemic began, there has been an influx of works that depict the lives of transgender characters in both YA and adult fiction. These works showcase the many facets of trans identity, with many of them highlighting trans joy in the form of gender euphoria post-transition, for example, to show trans people that there is a way for them to feel genuine happiness in their own identities. But there are also many works that focus on the unfortunate realities for many trans people, including transphobia, homophobia, and gender dysphoria. The horror genre has provided a few strong examples of works that demonstrate these harsh realities that many transgender people experience, such as I Saw the TV Glow, directed by Jane Schoenbrun, Cuckoo, written by Gretchen Felker-Martin, and Hell Followed With Us, written by Andrew Joseph White. These works, some of which belong to the YA genre, and others marketed to adult audiences, focus on teenage and adolescent characters dealing with issues regarding their trans identities, emphasized by these works’ implementation of body horror to mirror trans experiences. Through their use of the horror genre and its elements, such as body horror, works like Cuckoo, I Saw the TV Glow, and Hell Followed With Us showcase the realities of the trans experience, especially for younger people, and through this mirroring of horror and trans realities, the horror genre acts as an ideal method to explore trans issues of identity. Because these texts focus on young protagonists, the young, queer people viewing these works can see themselves in the worlds of these texts, creating a space for young people to explore their identities and understand their own experiences.
Details
- Title
- “There Is Still Time”
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Contributors
- Kevin Scott (Committee Chair)Regina Sakalarios-Rogers (Committee Member)David Baulch (Committee Member)
- Publisher
- University of West Florida Libraries
- Format
- pdf
- Number of pages
- 33
- Copyright
- © 2026 Ash J. Pugh
- Identifiers
- 99381761652206600
- Academic Unit
- College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities; English
- Language
- English
- Awarding Institution
- University of West Florida; Bachelor of Arts (BA)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Bachelor of Arts (BA), University of West Florida