Gender in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Okay this is something I wanna write one of my Buffy essays on, and I'm trying to find time to read the book Sex and the Slayer. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has noticed but Buffy more or less is dedicated to crushing stereotypes, strong women, and men who can handle that strength. Here's my analysis on the characters and how they challenge stereotypes. Buffy: Big duh... physically stronger than any guy, also a good leader and the guys around her do defer power to her on many occassions, which is just as important. Willow: Strong in the math and sciences and technology, generally male dominated fields. Xander: Nurturing, not too physically strong. As Dawn says in S7 his gift is seeing, he's observant and caring. Generally female associated traits. Giles: ...he's.. a librarian. I rarely see male librarians. Angel: Emotional, broody counts as emotional in my book and emotional is definately a female associated trait Cordelia: Direct. Women are usually shown as indirect and manipulative. Cordy is as blunt as a baseball bat to the head. Anya: Money earner, provider... but that might just be because she loves money. Also, like Cordy, direct. Spike: Once again emotional, seen crying on several occasions. Oz: Soft spoken, not really macho. Tara: She doesn't actually break too many gender stereotypes but she's still really emotionally strong, overcoming her family's mental abuse. She is feminine in the sense that she's a nurterer, but she does break many lesbian stereotypes. Dawn: Well...she can fight... but she is possibly the most stereotypical female on the show, but she still has the desire the help the gang which makes her strong in my opinion. Jenny: Likes monster trucks. Faith: Kicks ass, not high on the nurturing scale. Riley: Uh... I'll have to get back, I think he's the most stereotypical male on the show. That's just my thoughts for now.
Okay this is something I wanna write one of my Buffy essays on, and I'm trying to find time to read the book Sex and the Slayer. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has noticed but Buffy more or less is dedicated to crushing stereotypes, strong women, and men who can handle that strength. Here's my analysis on the characters and how they challenge stereotypes. Buffy: Big duh... physically stronger than any guy, also a good leader and the guys around her do defer power to her on many occassions, which is just as important. Willow: Strong in the math and sciences and technology, generally male dominated fields. Xander: Nurturing, not too physically strong. As Dawn says in S7 his gift is seeing, he's observant and caring. Generally female associated traits. Giles: ...he's.. a librarian. I rarely see male librarians. Angel: Emotional, broody counts as emotional in my book and emotional is definately a female associated trait Cordelia: Direct. Women are usually shown as indirect and manipulative. Cordy is as blunt as a baseball bat to the head. Anya: Money earner, provider... but that might just be because she loves money. Also, like Cordy, direct. Spike: Once again emotional, seen crying on several occasions. Oz: Soft spoken, not really macho. Tara: She doesn't actually break too many gender stereotypes but she's still really emotionally strong, overcoming her family's mental abuse. She is feminine in the sense that she's a nurterer, but she does break many lesbian stereotypes. Dawn: Well...she can fight... but she is possibly the most stereotypical female on the show, but she still has the desire the help the gang which makes her strong in my opinion. Jenny: Likes monster trucks. Faith: Kicks ass, not high on the nurturing scale. Riley: Uh... I'll have to get back, I think he's the most stereotypical male on the show. That's just my thoughts for now.