Skin Shields: Bodily Modification as Political Resistance in the Trans Horror Films of the 2020s

This article analyzes three 2020s horror films— Crimes of the Future , We’re all Going to the World’s Fair , and Titane —to examine how on-screen body modification can influence viewers’ perceptions of real-world transgender experiences. Drawing on queer theorists such as Jay Prosser and Cael Keegan, it establishes a framework for interpreting trans content in film. Then, using Michel Foucault’s “political technology of the body,” the article identifies specific moments of bodily modification in the chosen films as acts of political resistance and examines how they can shift viewers’ understandings of transness in broader political contexts.