[page 177] David Lynch’s depiction of women has long been the subject of heated debate with scholars and viewers expressing positions across a wide spectrum that ranges from accusations of sexual exploitation to endorsements that praise the shattering of taboos related to gender-based violence. While the two ends of that spectrum are not mutually exclusive, and the question of gender representation is a complex one, the subject of sexuality has curiously taken longer to infiltrate Twin Peaks scholarship. When audiences returned to the series for a third season in 2017, however, the topic could no longer be ignored. Scenes of sexual intimacy (between Cooper/Dougie and Janey-E) and “sex magick” (Cooper/Diane or Richard/Linda, as discussed in Jeremiah Beaver’s essay in the “Magic and Mythology” section of this issue) are prominently featured in The Return and are central to its narrative arc and themes. Yet, sexual identity and sexualized violence have always been prevalent in the series and prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), shaping events that come to pass, particularly for the women featured in The Return.
In this section, the intersections of gender and sexuality are interwoven in two essays authored by Courtenay Stallings and Bernhard Winkler. In the former, “Mothers and Daughters in Liminality: Sarah Palmer in Twin Peaks: The Return,” Stallings examines the ways in which liminality has affected the Palmer home, a normally safe space turned site of violent sexual transgression as depicted in the first seasons of the series and the film, and a place so essential to the world of Twin Peaks that the finale or homecoming conclusion of The Return unfolds there. Stallings focuses on the characters of Sarah and Laura Palmer to explore how The Return transforms both mother and daughter, enabling them to transcend the trauma that binds them. Framing her research through the lens of Lynch’s spiritual beliefs and how they dialogue with the theory of liminality, Stallings draws on the concept of “threshold [page 178] experience” and instability to hone in on the Palmer women’s release from trauma and how audiences may participate actively in the process of transformation at work during The Return.
For Bernhard Winkler, the themes of love and evil are intertwined in numerous ways within the third season of Twin Peaks. In his paper “Evil Erotic: Sexual Negativity in Twin Peaks: The Return,” the author explores the ambiguity of erotic evil that may captivate as much as it horrifies viewers. This too references a form of instability, as Stallings’ essay does, exploring the resulting plurality of possibilities and interpretations in The Return. Winkler first establishes an aesthetics of evil, grounded in dark desires and erotic negativity, that impact the plot and structure of the third season, particularly women like Sarah Palmer. The author draws on Lynch’s filmography and philosophers as diverse as Slavoj Žižek, Georges Bataille, Roland Barthes and Plato to explore parallels between love, sexual awakening, and the violence encapsulated within the series, a form of evil akin to cosmic horror’s forbidden knowledge and the risks of scientific discovery depicted in Part 8.
Together, these papers demonstrate two possible approaches to diving into the rich tapestry of sexuality and gender represented in Twin Peaks: The Return, topics that could no doubt fill volumes, thanks in part, to the ambiguity and instability of the season evoked in Stallings and Winkler’s writing. In contrast to straightforward storytelling and aesthetics, the multiplicity of Frost and Lynch’s making inspires an ongoing spiral of reflection and research, one that cannot ignore the prominence of complex gender dynamics and depictions of sexuality.
MLA citation (print):
Hayes, Marisa C. "Gender and Sexuality." Supernatural Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Art, Media, and Culture, vol. 11, no. 2, 2026, pp. 177-178.