Natalie Le Clue – författare

For every hero, there is a villain, and for every villain there is a story. But how much do we really know about the villain? Filling a gap in the field of gender representation and character evolution, the chapters in this edited collection focus on female villains in the fairy tale narratives of 21st Century media.

Within the realm of fairy tale study, the characters of princess, prince, hero, and damsel in distress have been researched extensively, however the female villain has rarely been the central focus of academic study. Gender and Female Villains in 21st Century Fairy Tale Narratives: From Evil Queens to Wicked Witches features chapters from different academic disciplines such as television and film studies, fan studies, character analysis, gender studies, feminist studies and audience analysis. Through the primary lens of gender studies, the collection delves into issues such as vanity, body dysmorphia, femslash fandom, the lesbian gaze, the queering of the villain-hero dichotomy, and morality and femininity.

Concluding by looking into physical disability, maternal subversion, and social exclusion, as well as the construct of beauty ''ideals'' as applied to female villains, this collection breaks fresh ground by putting the female villain at the centre of academic study.

For every hero, there is a villain, and for every villain there is a story. But how much do we really know about the villain? Filling a gap in the field of gender representation and character evolution, the chapters in this edited collection focus on female villains in the fairy tale narratives of 21st Century media.

Within the realm of fairy tale study, the characters of princess, prince, hero, and damsel in distress have been researched extensively, however the female villain has rarely been the central focus of academic study. Gender and Female Villains in 21st Century Fairy Tale Narratives: From Evil Queens to Wicked Witches features chapters from different academic disciplines such as television and film studies, fan studies, character analysis, gender studies, feminist studies and audience analysis. Through the primary lens of gender studies, the collection delves into issues such as vanity, body dysmorphia, femslash fandom, the lesbian gaze, the queering of the villain-hero dichotomy, and morality and femininity.

Concluding by looking into physical disability, maternal subversion, and social exclusion, as well as the construct of beauty ''ideals'' as applied to female villains, this collection breaks fresh ground by putting the female villain at the centre of academic study.

From the shady and complicated Rumpelstiltskin to the born-again hero of Captain Hook in Once Upon a Time, as well as films which magnify the male character such as The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Tangled, Frozen, and Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, the male fairy tale character has received increased attention in fictional narratives over the past decade. For the first time, Gender and the Male Character in 21st Century Fairy Tale Narratives extends this attention into the realm of academic study.

Featuring differing perspectives and disciplines, including gender, queer, fan, and television and film studies, chapters take an interdisciplinary approach to analyse male characters through lenses such as race, disability, class, religion, and sexuality. Contributors unveil alternative conceptualisations of ‘traditional’ male fairy tale characters, weaving a rich story of the interaction between popular culture, gender representation, power, and society.

Putting Prince Charming in the academic spotlight, this collection examines the evolution of male fairy tale characters across modern series and films to bridge a gap that afflicts multiple disciplines.