Buffy and Gender

From the 1990’s and onwards, the way that we see gender roles on television being portrayed had began to evolve, Gauntlett (2008) explains that this evolution has seen these roles as becoming more and more equal, and gradually losing the stereotypical mould that would typically surround these portrayals of gender. In more recent years, films, television series, music videos and other forms of media has occasionally been praised for challenging the status quo in reference to the depiction of gender roles and for constructing innovative concepts of femininity and masculinity (Gymnich et al. 2010). However Carroll (2015) rebuts this argument by pointing out that gender roles and stereotypes are still reinforced in American Reality television in shows such as The Bachelor, The Millionaire Matchmaker and Keeping Up With the Kardashians, which paint women as brainless, backstabbing and bitchy. Carroll (2015) does go on to say, however, that gender stereotypes are changing in fictional television shows; men are being shown as stay at home dads, single fathers and even poke fun at the old fashioned “macho-man” stereotype. This essay will look specifically at the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) and analyse the way in which it deals with gender roles and gender representation.

Building on the previously mentioned progress in representation in the 1990’s, O’Brien (2008) states that by the 1980’s and 90’s, women’s sexualities were being shown as more prominent and independent and no longer dependent on a man’s approval. O’Brien (2008, p. 376) says, “Gone were the pearls and knee length skirts of the 1950’s and 60’s: in came stiletto heels, miniskirts and belly-button baring t-shirts in popular television series such as [...] Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” The whole point of casting Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy is because of the way she looks - she is small, slim, blonde and, at a glance, is typically everything a “badass heroine” is not. Something that the show acknowledges and uses as a source of comedy.            

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is no stranger to the practise of poking fun at gender roles, often parodying these ideas (Wilcox and Lavery 2002). Xander Harris is Buffy’s long time admirer turned sidekick, and is the show’s resident camp comedy provider. He struggles intensely with the macho stereotypes placed on men, as he is an archetype of the new 1990’s masculinity. Wilcox and Lavery (2002) go on to explain that Xander navigates his role as Buffy’s resident handmaiden to her vampire slayer. This gender reversal is shown frequently throughout Buffy’s run, and not just in Xander. In Angel, he takes on the two roles most commonly associated with women: the spectacularized, eroticised body and the traumatized body (Levine and Parks 2007). Of all the bodies in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it is Angel’s body which is the most displayed and eroticised, reversing the norm of the male gaze on female bodies in media. Angel’s body is fetishized by the camera in a way that Buffy’s (and the other female characters on the show) is not (Levine and Parks 2007).

Overall, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is a show which embodies and embraces the change in gender roles from the 1990’s onwards. From the strength of Buffy, to the campness of Xander and the fetishization of Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer turns the concept of gender roles and representation on its head.

References

GAUNTLETT, D., 2008. Media, Gender and Identity: An Introduction. New York: Routledge.

GYMNICH, M., RUHL, K., SCHEUNEMANN, K., 2010. Gendered (re)visions: Constructions of Gender in Audiovisual Media. Germany: Bonn University Press.

CARROLL, J., 2015. Sexuality Now: Embracing Diversity. Canada: Cengage Learning.

O’BRIEN, J., 2008. Encyclopedia of Gender and Society. California: Sage Publications.

WILCOX, R., LAVERY, D., 2002. Fighting the Forces: What’s at Stake in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

LEVINE, E., PARKS, L., 2007. Undead TV: Essays on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. USA: Duke University Press.