
What’s This? A Queer Reading of ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’
Posted on Thursday, October 31st, 2019 by Ariel Fisher
(Welcome to Queering the Scene, a series that explores LGBTQ themes and content in films of all kinds…especially where you least expect it.)
The Nightmare Before Christmas has been the source of great debate and contention for decades. In the 26 years since its release, it’s ruined friendships, torn families asunder, and stoked the flames of sibling rivalries across the globe over this one conundrum: is it a Christmas or Halloween film?
I know. I’m sure you remember the very first fight you had about this exact issue. Both sides battling one over the other. Eventually, the wars would subside, both sides lamentably agreeing that it could be both, I guess. And so, on this auspicious occasion, as we celebrate one of the two holidays this film is decidedly about, I thought I’d throw a wrench into the whole machine and postulate the following:
The Nightmare Before Christmas is a perfect allegory for the struggle bisexual, pansexual, and queer people feel while straddling two worlds, or several, depending on how you interact with the gender pantheon.
Yup, that’s right folks. In this edition of Queering The Scene, Jack Skellington is queer AF, and his journey is more than just an experiment with different holidays – it’s an experiment in sexuality and expanding his consciousness beyond the exnominated factor of heteronormativity.