The afterlife as a non-binary rapport.

Exploring non-binary identities in Hellraiser (1987) and The Sandman (2022–2025)

Abstract

This article examines how the representation of romantic relationships functions as a symptom of broader political and sociocultural dynamics shaping contemporary television and digital media, particularly in relation to the configurations and tensions surrounding sexual and gender identities. These representations are embedded within an evolving media ecosystem that profoundly influences both the modalities and meanings of narrated relationships. By focusing on two intermedial case studies, the article traces the evolution of representational strategies concerning non-normative subjectivities within fantasy and horror narratives, where such identities are alternately rendered visible or subjected to processes of othering, often through their framing as marginal or “underground” subcultural formations such as goth and punk. Drawing on Margot Weiss’s concept of normalisation, the article reads representations of romantic and sexual relations as part of a broader incorporation of non-normative sexuality into mainstream consumption.

Keywords: Hellraiser, non-binary, Sandman, sexuality, gender.