# Monster Studies [Wikipedia Link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_theory) ( 1990s – present ) ## Description Monster theory, gothic horror, and the queer/trans politics of monstrosity — reading the monster as a figure of resistance and reclamation as much as of abjection and fear, as in [[Jack Halberstam]]'s account of gothic monstrosity and [[Susan Stryker]]'s reclamation of Frankenstein's monster as a figure of trans resistance. ## Key Tags #monster-studies #gothic-horror #queer-theory ## Essential Works - Halberstam, Jack. *Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters* - foundational text on gothic monstrosity and technologies of embodiment - Stryker, Susan. "My Words to Victor Frankenstein above the Village of Chamounix" - foundational trans-theoretical essay reclaiming the figure of the monster - Bloom, Clive, ed. *Gothic Horror: A Guide for Students and Readers* - reference guide to the gothic horror tradition ## Details ### Key Theorists - [[Jack Halberstam]] - theorized gothic monstrosity and the "technology of monsters" in *Skin Shows* - [[Susan Stryker]] - reclaimed Frankenstein's monster as a figure of trans resistance - [[Sonny Nordmarken]] - theorized "becoming ever more monstrous" in relation to trans experience - [[Phillip Bernhardt-House]] - theorized the werewolf as a queer figure ### Exemplary Practitioners %% none yet %% ### Related Concepts - [[Forbidden Media]] - shares a theoretical frame of defilement and abjection - [[Feminist Media]] - overlapping concern with gender theory ### Creative and Technical Practices %% none yet %% ### Associated Movements or Institutions - [Montréal Monstrum Society / Société Monstrum de Montréal](https://www.monstrum-society.ca/) - scholarly society publishing the journal *Monstrum*, dedicated to monster studies ## References ### Primary Sources Bibliography %% none yet %% ### Secondary Sources Bibliography Angelon, Rafaela, and Frederick Van Amstel. “Monster Aesthetics as an Expression of Decolonizing the Design Body.” _Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education_ 20, no. 1 (2021): 83–102. [https://doi.org/10.1386/adch_00031_1](https://doi.org/10.1386/adch_00031_1). Bernhardt-House, Phillip A. _The Werewolf as Queer, the Queer as Werewolf, and Queer Werewolves_. n.d. Bloom, Clive, ed. _Gothic Horror: A Guide for Students and Readers_. Macmillan Education UK, 2007. [https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-07123-1](https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-07123-1). Christian, Sara. “The Cryptid Tourist Gaze: Cryptid Tourism and the Performance of Monster-Hunting.” Doctor of Philosophy, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, 2021. [https://doi.org/10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.5566](https://doi.org/10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.5566). Halberstam, Jack, and Judith Halberstam. _Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters_. Duke University Press, 1995. [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=q10CzrWdwfEC&oi=fnd&pg=PP11&dq=Halberstam,+Jack+-+Skin+Shows&ots=8FKvpymSiV&sig=jRDmZ4MxUbL7afClCGmMUq5HFXg](https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=q10CzrWdwfEC&oi=fnd&pg=PP11&dq=Halberstam,+Jack+-+Skin+Shows&ots=8FKvpymSiV&sig=jRDmZ4MxUbL7afClCGmMUq5HFXg). “Haraway, Donna - Promises of Monsters.” n.d. “Horror,_the_Film_Reader_----_(Pg_172--177) (1).” n.d. Jolene Zigarovich. “The Trans Legacy of Frankenstein.” _Science Fiction Studies_ 45, no. 2 (2018): 260. [https://doi.org/10.5621/sciefictstud.45.2.0260](https://doi.org/10.5621/sciefictstud.45.2.0260). Miéville, China. “On Monsters: Or, Nine or More (Monstrous) Not Cannies.” _Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts_ 23, no. 3 (2012): 377–92. Miller, Sam J. “11. Assimilation and the Queer Monster.” In _Horror after 9/11_, edited by Aviva Briefel and Sam J. Miller. University of Texas Press, 2011. [https://doi.org/10.7560/726628-013](https://doi.org/10.7560/726628-013). MONTRÉAL MONSTRUM SOCIETY / SOCIÉTÉ MONSTRUM DE MONTRÉAL. “MONSTRUM v7 N2 (December 2024).” April 28, 2025. [https://www.monstrum-society.ca/monstrum-v7-n2-december-2024.html](https://www.monstrum-society.ca/monstrum-v7-n2-december-2024.html). Nirta, Caterina. “Monstrosity as Resistance: Rethinking Trans Embodiment beyond the Rhetoric of the Wrong Body.” _Culture, Theory and Critique_ 62, no. 4 (2021): 339–52. [https://doi.org/10.1080/14735784.2022.2084130](https://doi.org/10.1080/14735784.2022.2084130). Nordmarken, Sonny. “Becoming Ever More Monstrous.” In _Privilege_, 4th ed., by Michael S. Kimmel, edited by Michael S. Kimmel and Abby L. Ferber. Routledge, 2018. [https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429494802-14](https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429494802-14). “Schwartzberg, Ira - Mooncalves and Indigested Lumps.” n.d. Stryker, Susan. _My Words to Victor Frankenstein above the Village of Chamounix_. n.d. Taylor, Nik, and Stuart Nolan. “Performing Fabulous Monsters: Re-Inventing the Gothic Personae in Bizarre Magick.” In _Monstrous Media/Spectral Subjects_, edited by Fred Botting and Catherine Spooner. Manchester University Press, 2015. [https://doi.org/10.7765/9780719098130.00018](https://doi.org/10.7765/9780719098130.00018). Tharp, Julie. “The Transvestite as MonsterGender Horror in _The Silence of the Lambs_ and _Psycho_.” _Journal of Popular Film and Television_ 19, no. 3 (1991): 106–13. [https://doi.org/10.1080/01956051.1991.9944116](https://doi.org/10.1080/01956051.1991.9944116). _Theses on Monsters_. n.d. Wickham, Gary. “Foucault’s Monsters and the Challenge of Law by Andrew N. Sharpe (Review).” _Journal of Law and Society_ 37, no. 4 (2010): 691–96. [https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6478.2010.00529.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6478.2010.00529.x).