Response 5: Frustration with the Gender Stereotypes in Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Texas Chainsaw Massacre introduced me to the “slasher” genre.  From what we talked about in class, it makes sense that the “slasher” film specifically targeted teenage boys.  Gender stereotypes were immensely present in the film, with a fatalistic and sexual view of women, and strong and supreme authority amongst men. 

When we are first introduced to the characters in the film, the two girls’ wardrobes are difficult to ignore.  Pam wears VERY short-shorts and a backless top.  Sally, arguably the more modest girl, still wears tight white pants and a tank top that clearly puts her nipples on display.  As viewers, we are automatically drawn to the women, which intentionally defines them as objects of the camera and objects of our eye.

This is further emphasized in the shot of the girls at the gas station.  The camera is placed behind them, shooting upward, putting special focus on their backsides.  We again view the girls simply as sexual devices.   

When we are introduced to the cannibal house and Kirk enters, he is quickly killed with a sledgehammer by Leatherface.  The method that Leatherface used to murder Kirk didn’t cause him to scream or even think of the current occurrence.  Of course, the lack of scream and horror caused Pam to go in after him, yet Leatherface chose to force Pam to suffer, by watching the sawing of Kirk while placed alive on a hook.  We later find out that she is even still alive in the freezer, suffering from panic and devastation. 

            Jerry is the next victim, as we follow him into the house next.  Jerry, like Kirk, also had a quick death with a sledgehammer.  With both males dying without suffering, their murders resonate more with unfortunate circumstances, rather than a lack of power that we see within the females and Franklin. 

The entire family of killers also consists of males, reinforcing the power had over the female gender.  There were also scenes that highlighted the power of the penis.  First of all, Franklin’s fetishism of his knife represented his masculine power that was absent because of his paraplegic state.  When he (or Sally) misplaced his knife, he quickly became obsessed with having to find it.

Another notable occurrence displaying masculine power was the way in which Franklin was killed.  Leatherface forced the chainsaw into Franklin in a manner that represented sexual intercourse, as if the chainsaw was his penis.  Because of this, Franklin is directly placed on the same level of Pam and Sally.  Would this occurrence have happened if Franklin did find his knife and was carrying it with him at this time?  Without Franklin’s representation of masculine power, there’s no wonder why he couldn’t have survived the ultimate masculine power of the chainsaw.

After Sally somehow escapes the meticulous running around in circles in the woods, she believes that she’s safe in the shed with Jim.  We quickly learn that the man isn’t an innocent owner of the gas station and instead he’s the father of Leatherface and Hitchhiker.  After Jim shoves her in a sack and forces her into his truck, he begins to stab her.  The stabbing clearly gives him sexual pleasure, as he penetrates her with excitement, as if he’s masturbating or forcing sexual intercourse.  This scene further displays masculine power and feminine weakness.

Within the film, there are many scenes that define masculinity and its representations as all powerful, while drastically debilitating women.  As a woman, I can’t help but to be frustrated by this film because it would place me in the same negative category.