The Scariest Thing About ‘It’ Is The Misogyny
The narrative arc of Beverly Marsh surfaces tired, and troubling, Hollywood tropes.
B efore I begin, I should get this out of the way: I’m not a horror fan. Sure, I enjoy vampire films and the occasional zombie story, and a good serial killer mystery is right up my alley. But the modern horror movie, packed with jump scares and gore, has never been my thing.
So I’m not quite sure how my friend got me to go see Andy Muschietti’s new adaptation of Stephen King’s It this past weekend. Overall, I’m glad she did, but among many aspects of the film that bothered me, one in particular has lingered: how Muschietti and the movie’s writers treat one of their finest characters, Beverly Marsh. As depicted in the film, Bev is beset on every side with misogynistic abuse — even when the filmmakers want to frame such treatment as love.
Bev is the only girl in the “Losers’ Club,” a group of children (of indeterminate age, but seemingly in middle school; in King’s novel, the kids are 11) who find camaraderie in how each of them are bullied at school. While the boys are attacked by a cruel gang for various “defects” (Ben’s obesity, Bill’s stutter, etc.), Bev is targeted by a Mean Girls-esque clique because she’s vaguely insinuated to be a slut. As Bev is quick to assure others…
