The next two slides deal with depictions of sexual assault.

There are many moments in “Edward Scissorhands” that cringe, but Joyce’s predatory behavior towards the men in the film is downright disturbing. If you go into the frightening depths of the internet you’ll find plenty of comments about her appeal for her age, but anyone who idealizes Joyce’s demeanor has to watch the movie again. In particular, it only attacks men who are vulnerable or in imbalance of power. There’s the handyman in his house, who has to be nice to Joyce to keep his job. Then we have Edward, who has the mentality and socialization of a child, which makes Joyce’s aggressive pursuit of him even more sinister.

Usually, Joyce’s advances cause slight discomfort, but she crosses the line from harassment to aggression when she pulls Edward into the back room of the living room, forcing a confused Edward to open his robe. Edward doesn’t quite understand what’s going on, making Joyce’s attempts at predatory advances the equivalent of sexual assault. Worse yet, she faces no consequences after Edward fled the scene.

Getting bored with your suburban life doesn’t give you the right to pick any man you want, and fans would likely view her much more harshly if the gender roles were swapped. But a sexual assault is a sexual assault, and nothing else is relevant. Sadly, the rejection of sexual assault on men is still common today, and society really needs to work on it. The first step? Stop romanticizing predatory women by taking advantage of the younger men in the movie.