Witches, Sluts & Bitches: A History of the "Dangerous Woman"

What makes a woman monstrous?For centuries, women who refused to behave the way society expected them to have been labeled either a witch, or a slut, or even a bitch, and get roped into being monsters. And horror has been particularly fascinated with turning those anxieties into something literal.In this episode, I’m joined by Eleanor Johnson, whose new book Monstrous Bitch, examines the long, complicated history of the “dangerous woman," from the monstrous women of mythology and folklore to the witches and vampires we so often see on screen. We also talk about what happens when women actually embrace the monster and whether being called a “monstrous woman” might sometimes be the most interesting place to be.