Gender Stereotypes in "Psycho"

In order to keep cross-dressing in a socially unacceptable category the film industry has made it either comical or horrifying. Talking with one of my roommates the other day, I revisited the movie Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock to refresh my memory of it. In this movie I realized that there is a reveal scene with Norman Bates in which he takes off his disguise and trys to kill Lila Crane. By connecting the reveal scene with a horrific moment in the film, the film seems to demonize cross-dressing. In addition, it also is stereotyping women as vengeful creatures since Norman only kills people when dressed as his mother.

His disguise gives him the confidence to don an entirely different persona, however it also states some malicious characteristics of women. Norman's mother is portrayed as controlling and judgmental and is never really portrayed as a loving maternal type. In addition, the movie also seems to suggest that as a man Norman has no ability to murder, however when dressed as a female he is able to commit heinous crimes with little to no thought on the matter. This lack of emotional response does go against the emotional stereotype of women, but it adds to a woman who strives for power. As a powerful and controlling woman in the story line, Mrs.Bates must be portrayed as a harm to society, rather than a type of woman that society would benefit from. This way both cross-dressing and women are subtley viewed as dangers to society's morals and overall well-being. Also, in this scene even Norman submits to the power of a male when he trys to kill Lila. When dressed as him mother he must still give in to the authority of men in order to make things right in the story. There is also very little struggle between the male savior and Norman which demonstrates a willingness to conform in order to receive justice in society.

Here is the link with the Psycho scene:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWHYmNrAFlI