Delivered at Progressive Connexions: Evil and Sexuality, 7th – 8th May 2022, Prague, Czech Republic.
Cannibalism and homosexuality formed the true self/other divide within 19th Century society, with both practices disavowed as sins against the flesh. The idea of such monstrous appetites informed European prejudices against colonial subjects, as well as leading to strict laws regarding sodomy in the Royal Navy, which harshly punished those who partook in such ‘deviant’ sexual practices. In spite of these views, however, several remarkable trials throughout the 19th Century changed both laws pertaining to and wider public views of cannibalism, which was deemed acceptable in times of ‘necessity’ such as being stranded at sea.
As technology improved and incidents of survival cannibalism became ever-rarer, slasher films of the 1970s re-enshrined the link between consumption and brutality, with Cannibal Holocaust and its ilk perpetuating outdated negative stereotypes about ‘primitive’ tribes and rituals. The ‘based on a true story’ disclaimer assigned to films such as Tenderness of the Wolves, however, linked on-screen violent acts of cannibalism to an already ‘othered’ community of gay men. Between these films and reports of cases such as Jeffrey Dahmer and Armin Miewes focusing on their sexuality, the media created a link between homosexual desire and cannibalism which was harshly criticised by activists.
The figure of the cannibal in 21st century media reflects an interesting midpoint in terms of these pre-existing views. In the cases of The Terror’s Cornelius Hickey and NBC’s Hannibal Lecter, their desire for other men is normalised, with genuine affection being displayed towards their loved ones. This desire, however, is never portrayed physically, sanitised to the point neither couple is ever shown to kiss on-screen. Their crimes, conversely, are shown in explicit and gruesome detail, in a departure from the implicit or aestheticized deaths both shows display. Their desires, therefore, are normalised, even as their cannibalistic actions are deemed unforgivable