Her Campus writer says American Horror Story mirrors gender power
That academic inquiry intersected with a re-watch of the anthology horror drama series American Horror Story, Her Campus reported.
The Recurrence of Sexual Violence in Horror Media
The student writer observed that while younger memories recalled sexual violence across the first three seasons of the Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk series, the motif actually recurs throughout the entire run. This creative choice mirrors a broader pattern in the horror genre. That media reflection coincides with real-world events. She characterized the incident as part of a culture of rape and labeled rape a form of torture.
Institutional Authority Drives Horror in American Horror Story
In gothic stories and media depictions, the core horror frequently stems from systemic power imbalances between men and women. Within American Horror Story, this dynamic manifests through institutional authority, physical strength, and psychological manipulation. In Season 2, court-appointed psychiatrist Oliver Thredson—secretly the serial killer Bloody Face—exploits the vulnerability of Lana Winters, a closeted lesbian journalist trapped in Briarcliff Manor during the 1960s. Thredson subjects Winters to captivity, trauma, and sexual assault while leveraging his professional status, gender, and wealth. The narrative positions Winters’ survival not through institutional rescue, but through her connection to the child born from the assault.
Across the series, male perpetrators utilize preexisting power structures and the targeted mental states of vulnerable victims to execute violent acts. These storylines raise ongoing questions regarding the representation of trauma, the distinction between terror and horror, and the experiences of both female and male survivors within dramatic media.
Additional Dynamics of Abuse
Before his true identity is exposed, Oliver Thredson establishes false trust with Lana Winters. Viewers learn that his actions stem from his mother’s abandonment, causing him to find a mother in Lana, which makes the sexual assault appear incestuous. Her life’s value became attached to being the mother of his child, which held Oliver back from killing her, while Oliver relied on his charisma, gender, job, and wealth.
Across the series, the power imbalance exhibits itself through abuse of power, physical strength, opposite genders, and supernatural abilities, with the mental state of multiple victims manipulated through desperation and vulnerability. All male perpetrators commit violent acts prior to the present timeline, and actual or attempted sexual violence is never their first crime. By committing sexual assault, these male perpetrators feed their hunger for power and tear apart the lives of women.
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