Each week Joe Lipsett will highlight a key scene or interaction in S02 of Don Mancini’s “Chucky” series to consider how the show is engaging with and contributing to queer horror.
“The Sinners Are Much More Fun” continues to lay the foundation for the season to come as Jake (Zackary Arthur), Devon (Björgvin Arnarson) and Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind) settle into the School of Immaculate Lord. Carrying over from last week’s editorial, Jake worries about being “out” with Devon because Catholics aren’t supportive of gays, but that’s barely a kernel of what’s to come, so we’ll unpack that issue in a later installment.
Let’s turn our attention instead to the pink Barbie domestic life that Tiffany (in Jennifer Tilly’s body) is trying to force upon Nica (Fiona Dourif). Let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room: it would be a stretch to suggest that their relationship is healthy or consensual, especially in light of Tiffany’s unexpectedly violent decision to amputate all of Nica’s arms and legs in last year’s finale.
Still, the two are undeniably “playing house” – at least in Tiffany’s mind. She’s kept her lover imprisoned in her LA house for the entirety of the time jump between seasons. While Nica may be plotting with Chucky (Brad Dourif) inside her head, from Tiffany’s perspective this is a healthy (or perhaps it’s just healthier?) relationship than the one she had with Chucky, who emotionally abused her when he was in both human and doll form.
Tiffany’s sexual orientation has never been clarified by the series, so whether she prefers Nica’s company or merely likes to be in control after years of being dominated by Charles Lee Ray is unclear. If, however, we believe Tiffany considers her relationship with Nica as queer, there’s some interesting stuff going on.
Much like the stats around LGBTQIA experiences within the foster system that was explored in last week’s editorial, the research around Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) within the queer community comes with some significant caveats. Namely, the sample sizes are small, in part because not all queer women are open about their sexuality or are willing to publicly self-identify due to social stigma.
There is also significant underreporting of IPV due to social factors (homophobia, discrimination and heterosexism) and, as Carolyn M. West explains in the Journal of Lesbian Studies, there’s a pervasive belief within the police and social service agencies that domestic violence is “between [a] male perpetrator and [a] female victim.” Finally, existing legal systems are “less likely” to prosecute cases of domestic violence in lesbian relationships.
According to the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, there is “a lifetime prevalence of intimate partner violence among LGBT people that is as high or higher than the general population.” While IPV presents itself in the same form in queer relationships as heterosexual relationships (physical, emotional and sexual), bisexual women are 2.6 times more likely to have experienced IPV than heterosexual women.
One key distinguishing is the cause of IPV in F/F relationships. In their (admittedly dated) 1993 book Lesbian couples : creating healthy relationships for the ’90s, Clunis and Green explain that “many lesbians who are either battered or batter have had experience with domestic violence and sexual assault.” One need only reflect on Bride of Chucky to see the correlation between that sentiment and Chucky’s treatment of Tiffany: first, he electrocuted her in the bath, then transfers her soul into the body of a doll and eventually stabs her in the heart in a New Jersey cemetery. The sad reality is that Tiffany is repeating a pattern of behaviour with Nica that she experienced with Chucky in the past.
Then there is the issue of dependency, which Tiffany clearly demonstrates in her need to keep Nica socially isolated and close by. The amputation of Nica’s limbs in the vein of Boxing Helena and her forcible imprisonment means that Tiffany cannot risk having Nica interact with the outside world, but Tiffany also clearly enjoys having Nica exclusively to herself (the repeat viewings of Liar, Liar are just the cherry on top).
This need to control Nica’s actions, to make her rely on Tiffany, is indicative of the latter’s personality trait; she rates on the higher end of the dependency scale. And the violence perpetuated upon Nica’s body is clearly “a tactic for achieving interpersonal power or control” as Miller et al. explain in their Women & Therapy article “Domestic violence in lesbian relationships.”
Obviously, this is all hypothetical given that Tiffany’s interest in Nica is complicated by her unusual relationship with Chucky, to say nothing of her general homicidal urges (on display in this very episode. RIP Detective Gavin).
At its core, though, the sexual relationship between Tiffany and Nica is a slightly heightened, but ultimately truthful depiction of same-sex intimate partner violence. While Tiffany (and Tilly’s performance) are traditionally played for laughs, if we view these interactions through Nica’s eyes, what we’re seeing is a very real example of a toxic, dependent relationship with an abusive partner.
In this way, the Tiffany/Nica storyline proves just how varied the LGBTQIA stories are that Don Mancini and co. are showcasing on the series.
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