Analysis of the 'Lethal Lesbian' Trope in Film and Television from 1938 to Present

The concept of the 'lethal lesbian,' a term coined by scholar B. Ruby Rich, emerged as a notable trend in the 1990s, portraying queer women as aggressive characters. This portrayal spans from Daphne du Maurier's 1938 work 'Rebecca' to the 2018 series 'Killing Eve,' which features the assassin Villanelle. Historical instances include films like 'Basic Instinct' (1992), 'Heavenly Creatures' (1994), 'Bound' (1996), and 'Monster' (2003), with 'Heavenly Creatures' inspired by the 1954 Parker-Hulme murder case. Michael Winterbottom's 1995 film 'Butterfly Kiss' also showcases a bisexual serial killer. Rich connects this trope to themes of US militarism and gender expectations, referencing 'Thelma & Louise' (1991). More recent works, such as 'A Simple Favor' (2018) and Netflix's 'Dead to Me' (2019-2020), depict violence as stylish while delving into the desire to escape domestic life.