The Gray Area with Sean Illing Carmen Maria Machado's haunted feminine
Jun 2, 2022
Carmen Maria Machado, author of the National Book Award finalist 'Her Body and Other Parties', joins Vox's Constance Grady for a captivating conversation. They explore the haunting themes of femininity and the horrors of living in an embodied woman's body. Machado reflects on genre-bending storytelling, particularly through her chilling narratives like 'The Husband's Stitch.' The discussion also touches on cultural reflections in 'Law & Order: SVU' and the psychological impacts of media on identity. It's an insightful dive into horror, gender, and personal experiences.
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Title Origins
- Carmen Maria Machado's title, Her Body and Other Parties, arose from combining story titles.
- It was inspired by Ted Chiang's Stories of Your Life and Others, playing on multiple meanings.
Cohesive Collections
- Machado prioritizes thematic cohesion in her story collections.
- She ensures the stories converse with each other, advancing a central argument.
Husband's Stitch Origins
- The story "The Husband's Stitch" is titled after a disturbing practice.
- Machado keeps lists of intriguing phrases, using "The Husband's Stitch" from such a list.
