The Chosen Ones: Feminism and Gender Studies in BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER by Watercooler Journal

The Chosen Ones Feminism and Gender Studies in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Chloé Campbell University of Sunderland (2014) Contributor of the Month

The question of whether or not Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a feminist television show is one that has sparked much debate from both academics and Whedon fans alike. However, there is no denying that Buffy presents the twenty-first century with some of the strongest female role models to ever appear on television screens. For those unfamiliar with the series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer depicts the life of teenager Buffy Summers, who appears to be the average Californian high schooler but is actually “the Chosen One” and the latest in a line of female vampire slayers. The show is set in the fictional Sunnydale, a town conveniently located on top of a Hellmouth (a hub of mystical activity). Along with her Watcher (a wise English man who Watercooler Journal

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serves as an educator and guardian) Rupert Giles, and her school friends (nicknamed the Scooby Gang, because of their panache for mystery solving), Buffy and Co. set out to make sure the monsters of Sunnydale stay dead and buried. “She Destroys Him” Essentially, Buffy the Vampire Slayer can be classified as a feminist endeavour because it advocates for the equality of women. The female characters in the series are shown to be just as strong and capable as the male characters, if not more so. Primarily, the show is about strong women and is full of men who appreciate and respect these strong females. The notion of being a slayer is one that relies on female strength and empowerment as the slayer line is matriarchal in nature; a slayer is always female. When the active slayer dies, the slayer power passes to another female: “Social and mystical powers (on the side of good) are matrilineal in the series: only females can be vampire slayers, only females can have supernatural powers, and only females can discern who the predators are (the sole exception is the "Watcher," Giles, a decidedly feminized male)” (Owen 1999).

“…it is none-the-less inspirational; if Buffy can avert an apocalypse, go on a few dates every now and again, manage to get into a good college, and still have time to kick back at The Bronze, then why can’t we?” The show’s creator Joss Whedon stated that he wanted the series to focus on “a serious look at violence and women’s empowerment” and “the joy of female power: having it, using it, sharing it” (quoted in Jowett 2005). Buffy is a blonde, overtly feminine cheerleader with supernatural strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and rapid healing abilities. Playing on the legend of women’s intuition, our slayer also experiences enhanced intuition and prophetic dreams. Whedon wanted to take the stereotypical female victim of the horror genre, and turn her into the hero: It was pretty much the blond girl in the alley in the horror movie who keeps getting killed… I felt bad for her, but she was always more interesting to me than the other women. She was fun, she had sex, she was vivacious. But then Watercooler Journal

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she would get punished for it. Literally, I just had that image, that scene, in my mind, like the trailer for a movie—what if the girl goes into the dark alley. And the monster follows her. And she destroys him. (Whedon quoted in Spicer 2004) Vivian Chin asserts that Whedon took “an antifeminist model, the helpless blonde, to represent an alternative feminist possibility” and Jowett agrees that “from the outset, then, Buffy plays with role reversal: the female is a vampire slayer, not a victim.” It is clear to see how Buffy (both the show and the character) “inverts the male power embodied in the traditional vampire and its slayer.” Previously, the only notable vampire slayer in popular culture was the male Abraham Van Helsing, so Buffy modifies the culturally accepted perception of vampire slaying, and provides a new type of hero: In “Warrior Heroes: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Beowulf,” David Fritts offers a fine redaction of scholarly criticism that has situated Buffy in the heroic tradition, citing in particular the work of Laurel Bowman, Rhonda Wilcox, and Nancy Holder in placing Buffy within Joseph Campbell’s paradigm of the hero’s journey. The placement of a woman in this role inverts the image of the patriarchal hero without substantially challenging the legitimacy of this paradigm of heroism per se. These two modes of feminist discourse—one which deconstructs patriarchal hierarchy, one which retains but inverts it—need not be fully reconcilable or mutually exclusive to do valuable feminist work. (Spicer 2004) Buffy herself can be described as revolutionary, as previously “in television, we have not seen the adolescent female body in this way-signifying toughness, resilience, strength, and confidence” (Owen 1999). Buffy is in no way passive. She talks back. She fights back. She even comes back to life. Buffy absolutely refuses to conform to passive, submissive, traditionally feminine gender roles. Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Feminine Spectrum Female power in Buffy the Vampire Slayer is represented as a spectrum, and not just as a binary. The show’s female ethos is not contained solely to female slayers, as “the mythology of the show features the following: witches; lesbians; a female hell-god; [and] a demon who avenges wronged women” (Mukherjea 2007). Buffy’s female characters (and there are many) Watercooler Journal

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embody many different types of female power, from physical to emotional. Buffy herself represents physical strength, as she doesn’t only wield weapons with incredible skill and force, but often uses her own body as a powerful weapon, as witnessed in her proficient use of martial arts. Willow Rosenberg, Buffy’s best friend, embodies mystical and mental power. Willow is not only extremely talented with regard to witchcraft, but she is also the show’s resident technology and science whiz. Throughout history, literature, film, and television, the role of “witch” is almost always considered to be a feminine one, whilst an affinity for technology and science is usually a trait assigned to male characters. The show turns these assumed gender roles on their head by assigning both to Willow. Willow’s intelligence and skill is certainly a force to be reckoned with, as witnessed in season six of the series. Jowett professes that “the show challenged gender constructions by reversing generic (and gendered) roles by allocating characteristics regardless of gender,” and we can see this not only in the characterisation of Willow, but also Giles, who is also extremely gifted with using magic. Giles is assigned the role of occultist, a trait which is conventionally associated with female characters in popular culture (Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Crucible, Bewitched, The Craft, Charmed, Practical Magic, American Horror Story: Coven). This is an example of Buffy the Vampire Slayer readdressing cultural gender roles.

“The inclusion of female characters who represent nonphysical strength is important because it reiterates to the audience that corporeal durability is not the only way that females can be powerful.” However, it is not only Buffy and Willow who harbour remarkably evident strength and power. Cordelia, the “It Girl” of the show, represents financial power and the incredibly influential power of status that women can harness: “Cordelia's embodied social power is an important contrast to [...] Buffy's re-gendered power” (Owen 1999), and “even Cordelia, the archetypal high-school cheerleader ‘bitch’ has a strength of character which males in the series cannot match” (Thompson 2003). Cordelia’s confidence is almost ferocious, yet similarly admirable, and represents the strength that femininity can assert in a patriarchal society. “Cordelia is utterly confident in the power of conventional femininity” (Owen 1999). The inclusions of former demon Anya and evil “Hell God” Glory show that women can be monstrous in the same ways that males can be and that women do not have to be represented as overly sexual femme Watercooler Journal

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fatale types in order to be dangerous and deadly. Additionally, the character of Anya is interesting because she is perfectly at ease with discussing her sexuality, something which isn't considered to be a traditionally feminine trait; we can see here that Buffy and Willow are not the only female characters in the show that defy traditional gender roles. The character of Tara represents the emotional strength that women embody, and the character of Dawn Summers represents the power that ordinary, non-magical, non-slayer females can exhibit. The inclusion of female characters who represent non-physical strength is important because it reiterates to the audience that corporeal durability is not the only way that females can be powerful.

Having It All (and a Wooden Stake, Too) But why is it so important to acknowledge the feminist elements of a TV series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Six out the twelve main characters in Buffy are female, which is a realistic representation, as females make up around 51% of the U.S population (“Gender” 2011). Many similar primetime American TV shows’ casts were only 37% female, on average (“Gender” 2011). There is also a worrying, almost misogynistic trend regarding film and television that a majority of female characters seem to exist only as an extension of the male characters. All too often women are reduced to love interests and mere objects who exist for the gratification of Watercooler Journal

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not only the male characters, but also the male audience. Buffy has produced a catalogue of iconic female characters who exhibit autonomy, independence and extreme resilience, which not only enhances the show’s feminist ethos, but provides relatable and strong role models for young females. The show also dispels the assumption of what it means to be a feminist. The cultural assumption that feminists are man-hating, butch, hairy, lesbians is challenged by the feminine, heterosexual feminist Buffy. Whedon objected to making “Buffy the Lesbian Separatist” (Jowett 2005), as he wanted people to reassess their notions of feminism and femininity, rather than just objectifying women through the male gaze. Similarly, Willow doesn’t conform to a typical femininity. Willow isn’t conventionally “feminine” throughout the series, and she lacks female social structures (Jowett 2005), as her best friend in the show is the male character of Xander. Willow refuses to be just an accomplice, as seen in her assertion, “I’m not your sidekick” (“Fear Itself” Buffy). In characterising Willow and Buffy as both being heroes in their own right, Whedon dispels the assumption that there is only room for one alpha female in a social structure (Jowett 2005). Early on in the series, during a self-defence class in the episode Phases, Willow reminds Buffy, “Don’t forget, you’re supposed to be a meek little girlie girl like the rest of us” whilst pointing out Buffy’s variance from traditional gender norms. Buffy’s answer, “Spoil my fun” highlights the pleasure to be had from seeing established, misogynistic, gender norms transgressed (Jowett 2005).

“She talks back. She fights back. She even comes back to life.” It can be interpreted that the character of Buffy Summers represents the modern feminist question, “Can women have it all?” “Buffy has been described as a wry, ongoing parable of the modern woman’s greatest conflict: the challenge to balance personal and professional life” (Jowett 2005). It is often indicated in the show that Buffy’s thriving social life is an anomaly and a deviation from the traditional life of a slayer. Giles, Kendra, and Wesley all initially express shock regarding Buffy’s inclusion of her close friends in the slayer lifestyle. Whilst the concept may be unrealistic, it is none-the-less inspirational; if Buffy can avert an apocalypse, go on a few dates every now and again, manage to get into a good college, and still have time to kick back at The Bronze, then why can’t we? Buffy’s turbulent personal life adds to the realism of the Watercooler Journal

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show, and presents a somewhat realistic depiction of a young woman maintaining a successful professional life whilst enjoying a favourable personal one. Respect of Sex and Sexuality In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, women and their sexuality are respected. It is notable that the show doesn’t punish or publicly shame the sexually active female characters. For example, when Willow embarks on a lesbian relationship with her girlfriend Tara, it is presented in a dignified way. There is no sexism, no misogyny, and definitely no homophobia (from both the other characters and the way the storylines are directed). All the characters respect and delicately welcome Willow and Tara’s relationship, and the theme of lesbianism isn't sexualised or fetishised. However, some critics may argue that Buffy is punished for her sexual experiences with both Angel and Parker. Yet, it can be understood that in both of these cases Buffy isn’t being punished for her sexuality, but in fact each of these experiences represents an important metaphorical concept which the show aims to bring attention to—the modern male treatment of female sexuality. Buffy’s sexual encounters with Angel and Parker speak volumes about these males, regarding the way in which they react to events. Buffy’s experiences with these males are a literal representation of the modern male stereotype that a guy could turn indifferent or cold after he has fulfilled his sexual motives. It almost serves as a cautionary tale to young, impressionable women and gives allusion to the concept be careful who you trust. It is clear to the audience that Buffy often goes against oppressive, patriarchal figures and institutions that exist in her society. In season three, Buffy detaches herself from the “male dominated hierarchy” of the Watcher’s Council. When Buffy learns that the First Slayer was violated by three men, she sympathises and refuses the exploitation even with the knowledge that it would grant her more power (Jowett 2005). In season six, Buffy takes down “The Trio,” a group of three extremely misogynistic twenty-something males who systematically objectify and invasively violate females. Additionally, in the show’s final season, Buffy goes up against probably the most misogynistic and sexist character to ever grace TV screens: Caleb, an evil priest and a sadistic sociopath who seems to harness an intrinsically pathological hatred for females. But fear not—Buffy efficiently destroys Caleb (which can be seen as an entirely feminist notion of the matriarch confronting the existing misogynistic patriarchy). In season six, Spike, the loveable rogue of a vampire, acknowledges that the male assertion (from Tara’s father) that women’s power is evil and monstrous, is just “a bit of a spin to keep the ladies in line,” and thus the show offers a “feminist explanation of how potentially powerful females are subordinated and ‘bad’ women are demonized” (Jowett 2005). Watercooler Journal

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Work to be Done Buffy the Vampire Slayer is often associated with a new feminist attitude, which Mukherjea asserts is “younger women invested in gender equality and self-empowerment but uncomfortable with the stigmatised associations of ‘feminism.’” Sherryl Vint, in her essay “‘Killing Us Softly’? A Feminist Search for the ‘Real’ Buffy,” declares that: Young women often reject a feminist identity because they associate such an identity with the negative stereotype of a man-hater, or because they believe feminism is about a kind of “political correctness” that rejects the pleasure they find in culture and judges them for finding such pleasure. It is imperative that feminism find a way to connect with the cultural life of young women, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer strikes me as one productive avenue through which this work can be done. Of course, the show has been criticised for lacking racial and queer diversity and for being concerned with only white, American privilege. It has even been suggested that the show isn’t really feminist at all, and various critics have put forward that the character of Buffy has been incredibly sexualised, and that the show “reinforced sexualised images of women” (RandellWatercooler Journal

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Moon 2012). However, it has to be noted that the show “always combines this sexualization with demonstration of her power” (Vint). The discussion about feminism in the show is complicated to say the least, but it is extremely evident that through Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Joss Whedon created a show that clearly attempted to delineate traditional gender roles and express a feminist ideology. The show’s finale, “Chosen,” saw the power of the slayer shared with all the potentials, and thus Whedon’s feminist message became clear: strong women are everywhere, they come in many variations, and are just waiting for their potential to be realised.

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works cited “Fear Itself.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Fourth Season. Writ. David Fury and Joss Whedon. Dir. Tucker Gates. The WB Television Network, 2003. DVD. “Gender Representation in the Media, and Sexualization.” The Representation Project. Miss Representation, 2011. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. Jowett, Lorna. 2005. Sex and the Slayer: A Gender Studies Primer for the Buffy Fan. Wesleyan University Press. Mukherjea, Ananya. 2007. Studies in Popular Culture 29.2 (Apr. 2007): pp. 122-5. Review of Sex and the Slayer: A Gender Studies Primer for the "Buffy" Fan by Lorna Jowett. Owen, A. Susan. 1999. Journal of Popular Film & Television 27.2: p. 24. “Vampires, Postmodernity and Postfeminism.” Randell-Moon, Holly. 2012. Feminist Media Studies 12.2 (Jun. 2012): p. 265-280. “I’m Nobody: The Somatechnical Construction of Bodies and Identity in Joss Whedon's Dollhouse” Spicer, Arwen. 2004. Slayage 4.3: “’It’s Bloody Brilliant!’: The Undermining of Metanarrative Feminism in the Season Seven Arc of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Web. 26 Mar. 2014. Symonds, Gwyn. “’Solving Problems with Sharp Objects’: Female Empowerment, Sex and Violence in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Web. 26 Mar. 2014. Vint, Sherryl. “’Killing Us Softly’? A Feminist Search for the ‘Real’ Buffy.” Web. 26 Mar. 2014. Wilcox, Rhonda. 2002. Fighting the Forces: What’s at Stake in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.

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