Final Perimenopausal Divorced Girl: Who Really Identifies with the Final Girl

What happens when the girls who grew up watching Final Girls… become ...women?In this episode of Spooky Scholars, we look at one of horror’s most iconic tropes through a very specific lens: perimenopause, divorce, and Gen X finally being fucking done.Drawing on Carol J. Clover’s influential work on the Final Girl, I look at Laurie Strode, Nancy Thompson, Alice, Jess, and the women who survived the horror movies of our youth and asks why they hit differently when you’re in your 40s than they did when we were teensBecause maybe Nancy wasn’t a prude; maybe she was exhausted. And maybe a generation of women who grew up watching Final Girls fight monsters, get ignored, stop asking permission, and get the f*** out are finally living their own Final Girl stories.Betrayal. Gaslighting. Divorce. Perimenopause. Man-babies. Emotional labour. Existential dread.The Final Girl has been there for us this whole time and we're finally her. *This episode contains spoliers for A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)Ready or Not (2019)Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (2026)You're Next (2011)Black Christmas (1974)Friday the 13th (1980)💀💀Follow us on Instagram @spooky.scholars💀Join the ongoing conversation and LIVE salon each month at spookyscholars.com🖤Full show notes at patreon.com/spookyscholars