Unbecoming Female Monsters

Cristina Santos takes an uncompromising and, at times, deeply poignant view of the sacrifices women are forced to make on a daily basis in order to conform to the constricting and largely male-dominated narratives which shape the society in which they live. With tremendous care and fascinating insight she dissects the cultural language and imagery of the female monster to reveal and recover the means by which this process can be broken down, the chains shaken off and women can un-become the monsters they have been made. -- Rob Fisher, Inter-Disciplinary.Net
Cristina Santos's Unbecoming Female Monsters offers an incisive examination of female embodiment and the “monstrous woman.” Organized in chapters that address various stages of the female life cycle, Santos reads the commodification of female sexuality and reproduction in relation to three key tropes: witch, vampire, and virgin. Drawing on fairy tales, mythology, literature, film, and television, Santos considers how women’s designation as monster has deleterious effects on females’ ability to form productive relationships with self and other. Arguing that a “positive reappropriation” of female-ness can dismantle such constructions, Santos makes a compelling case for “unbecoming the monster.” -- Natalie Wilson, California State University, San Marcos