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so
Someone on tumblr asked this question:
and while I have about forty-five answers to that, I didn't voice them because it really just inspired one rant:
Apparently I had a lot of feelings about this.
But seriously, the more I think about the show, the more obvious the metaphor of Slaying = women's work appears to me. Unpaid, unasked for, unappreciated. Done only by women. The concept that Buffy just needs to make peace with being the Slayer in her pre-"Chosen" world just kills me, because if she did that, she'd be buckling under and agreeing to live the life that The Patriarchy has forced on her even though she doesn't want it. How can that choice possibly be construed as feminist? To be, the feminism of her actions comes in fighting back. If she had ever accepted it totally, I think that would have been a betrayal of who she is as a person and also of the show's attempts at feminism, clumsy though they may be at times.
There are lots of reasons why the solution she comes up with in "Chosen" works for me. Not only is she saving all of the rest of the potential Slayers in the world from being ruthlessly slaughtered by the Harbingers, but she's also making a statement and dealing a blow to The Patriarchy. She's saying, "This isn't right. This power should be shared with other women. We should stand together. We don't have to be alone anymore." Because I think that if you pay attention to the show and specifically to Buffy's complaints about the Slayer, it's clear that it isn't the physical power that she hates--she learns just how much she appreciates it in "Helpless," and we see her relish it often. What weighs her down is the burden of being The Only One, The One Girl, She Alone. Standing by herself and staring down evil and knowing that she'll sacrifice her life as often as she's brought back to save the world and that she won't be paid or thanked for it. That she just has to do it, by herself, on top of everything else she has to do in life. That's what's so awful about being the Slayer, and that is precisely what she defeats in "Chosen." That doesn't meant that it's a perfect solution--we see the fact that potential problems accompany the benefits of this solution in Dana in "Damages," and that's important to remember. But I think that overall it's a beautiful if clumsy metaphor, and it totally works for me. I can't bring myself to hate anything that tells us that it's a powerful and beautiful thing when women share their power with each other.
Which arcs, episodes, moments, etc. do you think are misunderstood in the Buffyverse?
and while I have about forty-five answers to that, I didn't voice them because it really just inspired one rant:
People thinking Buffy needs to get over being the Slayer and just be fine with it and stop complaining, WOMAN! So what that you’re bearing this unbelievable burden of protecting the entire world while still trying to have some sort of life (and raising your teenage sister despite the fact that you’re barely in your twenties) and that when it comes down to it you’re always going to be alone, the only one standing there staring down evil, and SO WHAT that you DIED MULTIPLE TIMES—literally giving your life for the world—AND YOU DON’T EVEN GET PAID OR THANKED FOR IT you’re just expected to do it and to take care of everyone around you all of the time (women’sworkwomen’sworkwomen’swork)? And so what that this setup is obviously designed and maintained by The Patriarchy (in the heavy-handed metaphor form of the Shadow Men + the Watcher’s Council) and that your constant kicking back against that could more generously be read as heroic and feminist, especially in the context of your obvious PTSD/clinical depression? SO WHAT? You just really need to get over that, shut up and quit complaining, go back to thekitchengraveyard, and just be grateful for your lot in life. Other ladies do it, why can’t you?
And then when you ultimately decide to tear down the entire patriarchal structure by rejecting the kyriarchically-enforced (is that a word? whatever) rule of a single woman standing alone and instead embracing the idea of women sharing power and saving the whole damn world together, you’ll be attacked for that, too. Even though you saved the lives of all the girls you shared that power with. Because you’ll never be good enough. Not ever.
Apparently I had a lot of feelings about this.
But seriously, the more I think about the show, the more obvious the metaphor of Slaying = women's work appears to me. Unpaid, unasked for, unappreciated. Done only by women. The concept that Buffy just needs to make peace with being the Slayer in her pre-"Chosen" world just kills me, because if she did that, she'd be buckling under and agreeing to live the life that The Patriarchy has forced on her even though she doesn't want it. How can that choice possibly be construed as feminist? To be, the feminism of her actions comes in fighting back. If she had ever accepted it totally, I think that would have been a betrayal of who she is as a person and also of the show's attempts at feminism, clumsy though they may be at times.
There are lots of reasons why the solution she comes up with in "Chosen" works for me. Not only is she saving all of the rest of the potential Slayers in the world from being ruthlessly slaughtered by the Harbingers, but she's also making a statement and dealing a blow to The Patriarchy. She's saying, "This isn't right. This power should be shared with other women. We should stand together. We don't have to be alone anymore." Because I think that if you pay attention to the show and specifically to Buffy's complaints about the Slayer, it's clear that it isn't the physical power that she hates--she learns just how much she appreciates it in "Helpless," and we see her relish it often. What weighs her down is the burden of being The Only One, The One Girl, She Alone. Standing by herself and staring down evil and knowing that she'll sacrifice her life as often as she's brought back to save the world and that she won't be paid or thanked for it. That she just has to do it, by herself, on top of everything else she has to do in life. That's what's so awful about being the Slayer, and that is precisely what she defeats in "Chosen." That doesn't meant that it's a perfect solution--we see the fact that potential problems accompany the benefits of this solution in Dana in "Damages," and that's important to remember. But I think that overall it's a beautiful if clumsy metaphor, and it totally works for me. I can't bring myself to hate anything that tells us that it's a powerful and beautiful thing when women share their power with each other.
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the more I think about the show, the more obvious the metaphor of Slaying = women's work appears to me. Unpaid, unasked for, unappreciated. Done only by women.
YES. So much YES.
The concept that Buffy just needs to make peace with being the Slayer in her pre-"Chosen" world just kills me, because if she did that, she'd be buckling under and agreeing to live the life that The Patriarchy has forced on her even though she doesn't want it.
Word. And also, I think the idea of the slaying as women's work makes Buffy's struggle that much more compelling and applicable of a metaphor. Because to just show her either accepting it or rejecting it in simple terms paints this incredibly complicated issue (the inheritance of womanhood and all that that means mixed in with biological abilities like being able to bear children and biological limitations like lack of upper body strength or even only being able to bear children within a certain time frame) and reduces it in an overly simplistic way.
The fact that Buffy both *wants* her destiny and is reluctant to take it on whole-hog is far closer to my experience of womanhood--and imagine to most people's. There's many, many things I wouldn't change--but I want those things on MY OWN terms. Or at least a little bit on my own terms. Buffy's struggle illustrates that same conflict beautifully, I think.
it's clear that it isn't the physical power that she hates--she learns just how much she appreciates it in "Helpless," and we see her relish it often. What weighs her down is the burden of being The Only One, The One Girl, She Alone.
YES. Totally.
I can't bring myself to hate anything that tells us that it's a powerful and beautiful thing when women share their power with each other.
Me either.
In closing: ♥
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!!!
The fact that Buffy both *wants* her destiny and is reluctant to take it on whole-hog is far closer to my experience of womanhood--and imagine to most people's. There's many, many things I wouldn't change--but I want those things on MY OWN terms. Or at least a little bit on my own terms. Buffy's struggle illustrates that same conflict beautifully, I think.
OH YES! There seems to be one of two paths she can take, and she says, "Screw this," and makes another one entirely. We see it writ small in "Checkpoint" and then again writ large in "Chosen." *dances with glee*
♥ back atcha
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Have you seen
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You know, I don't know that I have seen it? I'll definitely be checking it out tonight when I get home--thanks! You and
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I'm still not convinced that "Chosen" is feminist though. I like what you said about women having shared power, but I don't buy that sharing of power in this case as a blow to the patriarchy because of the how. That power was forced on those girls, which I think can be read as perpetuating the patriarchy instead of dismantling it (even though the action is carried out by women). I certainly think Buffy should be applauded for fighting back against patriarchal structures in her universe like the Watcher's Council, but I don't think it's a particularly feminist solution to force other girls to share her burden (and that doesn't even really get into the fact that it is Willow who casts the spell, Willow with her very messy non-redemption arc). So basically what I'm saying is I like the idea of shared power but not the execution.
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I think your objections make sense from a Holmsian perspective, but from a Watsonian one, I don't know what else she could have done. It's heavily implied that she thought that all of the living Slayers were there with her in her house, and she does run her plan by them, and we don't see any objections from any of them. But even putting that aside, if she didn't give those girls that strength, they would have been killed. The Harbingers would have hunted them down and killed them, we know that for sure. So she literally saved their lives. And I don't think we have any reason to believe that just because they now have this power that that means that they have to take up her burden of Slaying. They have the option of still going on with their normal lives--albeit with a lot more physical strength. That, to me, is the point: that because there are all these women out there who can potentially share the burden, no one individual has to share it anymore. It was that obligation + aloneness that was so awful to begin with.
Plus, there's the fact that I read a lot of thrown-away lines about inherent abilities, etc. as saying that the Potentials already had this power and that instead of forcing it from the outside, the spell instead unleashed what was already there. Either way, I can't think of any other course Buffy could have taken to save those girls' lives and the world.
I do hear you about Willow, though. That does really bother me. Though I don't think that Buffy knew the full extent of what Willow had done (I don't think she knew that Willow raped Tara, for instance), so that's another thing I can't lay at Buffy's door.
But I'm interested--how would you have resolved the show? I see a lot of complaints about the spell, but I have yet to see anyone give me a solid answer on A) what Buffy could have done differently and B) how the show should have ended in a way that was satisfyingly feminist. I'd absolutely love to hear another option if you have one!
I'm right now begging a friend to unlock a post that verbalizes all of my thoughts about why "Chosen" is AWESOME. So if she does, I'll come back here and link you to it, because I think she makes a better argument than I do. Also: feelings.
[eta] Here it is! OH YAY! It has all my feelings about "Chosen"!
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Unpaid, unasked for, unappreciated. Done only by women.
YES. And I think there's a big thing in there with how the watchers, or at least the field watchers, try to sell the Slayer gig. It's a SACRED DUTY; it's necessary for everyone else's survival, it is the one place you can take in history - it's all the vague, amorphous, conscience-soothing self-justification that claims to glorify traditionally feminine roles, rather than actually respecting and rewarding them.
we see the fact that potential problems accompany the benefits of this solution in Dana in "Damages," and that's important to remember.
Problems, sure, but more because they didn't know to look for her than anything else. All her dialogue suggests that she's happy for the Slayer power, that she even finds it healing - "not weak anymore." It's terribly confusing for her to get the dreams, but it does also give her a purpose and make her think of herself as not alone, probably for the first time since the abuse she experienced. Needless to say, I find "even mentally ill women might get empowered!" to be an unpersuasive criticism of Buffy's actions.
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This is how I always feel when you write meta!
It's a SACRED DUTY; it's necessary for everyone else's survival, it is the one place you can take in history - it's all the vague, amorphous, conscience-soothing self-justification that claims to glorify traditionally feminine roles, rather than actually respecting and rewarding them.
Oh, man, yes. Just...yes.
I agree with you about Dana--perhaps I should have said "reprecussions" rather than consequences. I feel like I've read all the Dana fic there is out there, because I want her to get some help post-"Damages" for obvious reasons.
. Needless to say, I find "even mentally ill women might get empowered!" to be an unpersuasive criticism of Buffy's actions.
*snorfle* Totally agreed.
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[insert slow clap gif here]
UGH. The "whiny Buffy" reason for not liking her (closely related to the "she's so mean to poor widdle Spikey!" argument)! Buffy does the best she can, and I would expect anyone to complain if they had to bear the burden she does!
And it is women's work; though physical, the term applies BECAUSE it's under-appreciated and done solely by women.
I stand by the slayer spell because, even though it was a somewhat flawed metaphor, IT STILL WAS A METAPHOR FOR SHARING POWER, flawed or not. It's the only way Buffy could have ended, with Buffy's inner conflict about being The One being solved by becoming One of Many.
And that's all I've got to say on that.
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Now that I think about it, I kind of think that the fact that the metaphor is flawed is kind of fitting? Because life is a mess, and any feminist solution for anything in real life is going to also be flawed. I mean, we have to work to make it as not-flawed as possible, but it's still going to be flawed. It shouldn't be surprising that a show that embraces the messiness of life (as this one definitely does in the last couple of seasons) would reflect that. And I don't think that defending the feminism of the intent or of the general necessarily has to be undermined if we acknowledge the flawed-ness of some specific areas.
If any of that makes sense at all, which it probably doesn't. Have an icon of Buffy casually straddling Spike instead!
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The concept that Buffy just needs to make peace with being the Slayer in her pre-"Chosen" world just kills me
People say that? Why? That makes no sense. That goes against the entire point of the series. o.0
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People say that? Why? That makes no sense. That goes against the entire point of the series. o.0
I'm with you, but apprently Buffy isn't a feminist icon because she complains about her lot in life and doesn't accept it. And so clearly she isn't as good as some of the other women in the 'Verse. Clearly.
I don't know. Don't ask me.
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But seriously, the more I think about the show, the more obvious the metaphor of Slaying = women's work appears to me. Unpaid, unasked for, unappreciated.
It's not even veiled a number of times this is suggested in S7, the duties of being the Slayer and the one having to do it. It is, after all, the point of the rant in Selfless. She's the one that has to do that, not because she wants to but because she has to. Because she's the Slayer. It's the direct opposite of what Faith meant when she talked about being the law. Even Willow mentioned it about it being Buffy's job to think she might have been skinning people.
Not only is she saving all of the rest of the potential Slayers in the world from being ruthlessly slaughtered by the Harbingers, but she's also making a statement and dealing a blow to The Patriarchy.
Yeah, I agree. The potentials aren't just random girls, they're victims being hunted and slaughtered. Always thought the chains metaphor in GiD was echoed in this--using the power that bound herself free. In Chosen she and Willow used the power that bound her and the other slayers/potentials to free them.
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Always thought the chains metaphor in GiD was echoed in this--using the power that bound herself free. In Chosen she and Willow used the power that bound her and the other slayers/potentials to free them.
YES!
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I would just like to say that while I totally agree with you that her fighting back is both consistent with her as a character and with the attempted feminism of the show, I would never ever mean that as any kind of slam against all the previous Slayers who didn't take that action - Nikki and the Chinese Slayer and the Korean Slayer and so on, the ones who soldiered through and did what was asked of them like the badass heroines they were. Which, I know you wouldn't mean that either!
I think this is actually just me griping about the term feminism, because what I in my head want the term to mean, among other things, is "Yay, women!" And that includes celebrating women being awesome in whatever ways, quiet or loud, public or private, whether or not in conscious or unconscious political action against the patriarchal establishment, whether or not I agree with all their individual beliefs and politics. So feminism seems often to mean both this particular set of political attitudes about power, and also All That Is Good About Attitudes Towards Women. Like, the activism seems inherent in the term?
Which means Nikki isn't feminist (at least, not as I recall of what we see of her - I haven't seen her eps in a while) or, presumably, anti-feminist; she's just there, serving as an example of System Gone Wrong. She isn't The Best Kind of Female Character, because she's not explicitly feminist in thought or action; she's, ahem, just another female character.
Ugh. Okay. That was a rant, at best only tangentially related to your rant. And I'm not sure I have any idea what I'm really trying to say in it.
In regards to what you were talking about: I like your slaying = women's work metaphor! I like your thoughts. We are shocked. :D
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Relevant post is relevant!
I feel like there's a pretty terrible misconception on what it means to be a feminist. And likewise, when it comes to literature and media, that it's less about finding the examples of women who are Bad Feminists and more about appreciating examples of characters who directly deal with feminist issues. There's many ways to be feminist, right, and Nikki Wood isn't necessarily Not Feminist or Anti-Feminist because she prioritizes saving the world and caring for her son over changing the system.
I think this strict dichotomy of Good Feminist/Bad Feminist or simply Feminist/Anti-Feminist is itself a misunderstanding of feminism, which is constantly re-evaluating and exploring new ways. There's no one right way here and policing feminism and feminists, using feminism as a judgment system against which all women are destined to fail because being a Perfect Feminist is as impossible as being Superwoman -- well, it's a trap really. That's not what feminism is about, but somehow, at one point or another, we all begin to think that is what it's about. Because we all live in society built upon inequality and we can't all be fighting the good fight because life cannot be a battle everyday and so there's this kneejerk guilt reaction to our complicity, to our failure to reject and question and challenge every little thing that is somehow connected to the grosser implications and consequences of our society.
Feminism isn't fandom's baseball bat or the yardstick against which all female characters are deemed good or bad. The sad thing is that some folks in the Social Justice set of fandom do use feminism as an excuse to hate on characters or contrive reasons to dislike them and frame this as objective, as if disliking a female character somehow makes them both morally and intellectually superior.
I think maybe what's making you ranty is not feminism itself, but how certain asshole social justice fans use feminism to justify their likes and dislikes, as if finding a new way to hate women for failing to be perfect is somehow the ~right way~ to be feminist.
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I just don't think it's as well-written when she starts to feel the long-term effects of being the Slayer later in the series. I'm not going to say she shouldn't be depressed or angry about her fate, I just think the show doesn't do a great job of showing it, and so to a lot of people she comes off as "whiny." I confess that I enjoy Buffy more as a character when she's more hopeful and happier, but I don't know if that's because I don't like the changes she goes through or if I just don't like how they're written. You know what I mean? In general I feel like the later seasons (4+) have this sense of, I can see what they were GOING for, but they didn't quite pull it off. So I have trouble thinking of Buffy as a character without thinking about the writers who shaped her.
Really I have to finish my re-watch before I can talk about this coherently though, since I haven't seen the whole show all the way through more than once. So... I'll get back to you?
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Bravo, Lauren. Bravo.
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and trying to keep a very trying group happy.
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and so do they ^
Sometimes it gets so depressing looking at the things other people in fandom say about Buffy (especially S6 Buffy, at which point I want to kick them in the fucking face), but then I remember that my little corner of fandom is full of people that have kick-ass opinions like this, and I'm like,
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Hi there. This sentence makes me think I should know you... because we would make excellent face-kicking partners. I think I've seen you around a bit, but I'm not sure if we've talked. So, what up. I'm gonna friend you if that's okay.
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Imagine yourself in Buffy’s position;
You’re a fifteen year old girl. You’re approached by a complete stranger and told that you have a destiny and that you must come with him to a cemetery to slay vampires. So you do. He then commands you to fight on the frontlines of a nightly war alone. It’s dangerous, frightening and violent but it is now your responsibility because you were chosen so you don’t get a say in the matter. You must follow the Council’s orders and do whatever they say. They are fighting a war and you are now the instrument they use to fight that war. The Council remains the Slayer dies and that’s the way it has always been. You have no right to challenge the Council’s authority. A good Slayer, as per the Slayer the Handbook, is one that is extremely obedient at all times. You won’t get compensated or thanked in any way for protecting the public. You must risk your life every night to save humanity but you must not tell anybody because you might endanger them. You will lose all of your friends but that’s an acceptable cost because social interaction will just distract you and you will seriously jeopardise your education but a Slayer doesn’t need an education anyway. You are not allowed to speak with boys and you can certainly rule out dating. You’ll be allowed to remain living with your mother but, hey, consider yourself lucky because usually they’d take you away from her. If they had found you sooner they probably would have. You will devote your entire life to your calling and must forget about whatever hopes or dreams you had for the future. They are irrelevant now. You probably won’t even make it past your 18th birthday. And if you do you’ll have the Cruciamentum to look forward to.
Why would anyone think Buffy should just lay down and accept that? OF COURSE she complains about it! She has every right to! If somebody tried to strip you of your freedoms, force you into a life of solitude and obedience, and condemn you to a short, violent and traumatic existence, then you’d bloody complain too! She was a fifteen year old CHILD plucked off the steps of her high school by a complete stranger who pretty much wanted to groom her into becoming a soldier. And the people forcing you into this life have no problem whatsoever telling you right to your face that you are just the “instrument” they use to fight their war. That’s how little they respect you or value your life.
And what really, really frustrates me is how much people criticise Buffy when she isn’t able to perfectly juggle slaying with her responsibilities as a friend, girlfriend, daughter, sister, guardian and student. It is amazing that she even tries to do all of these things at all. They completely forget that Buffy completely redefined what it meant to even be the Slayer and that she stood up to the patriarchal system and refused to do things their way. They only reason she has friends to begin with is because she refused to live a life of solitude and be mindlessly obedient and instead she tried to hold onto some semblance of normality. She was entitled to an education like any other young woman and she was going to have one. She deserved to have friends and partners and she was going to have all of that too. She did what no Slayer has done before her and instead of applauding her for that, fans just criticise her because she doesn’t do it perfectly. And I hate that. A Slayer’s life is tough enough if they live it exactly as the Council wanted them to so just appreciate how much tougher it is for Buffy when she tries to balance the WEIGHT OF THE WORLD with everyday life. Heck, a lot of people can’t even take everyday life! And Buffy tries to do it all every single day and fans don’t see that at all. Instead they just focus on all the way she fails, and how she’s not some perfect superwoman, and how she has the audacity to complain about how her life, on occasion, tends to suck beyond the telling of it. Sometimes more than she can handle.
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Because I feel it but I couldn't have explained it to save my life.
You rock!
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But YES and MORE YES to this post. And all of the love to everyone in this bar. The end.
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Quick thought: season 7 talks a lot about power. "The stake is not the power" is what Buffy tells Dawn. What being The Slayer gives Buffy is strength, agility, speed, healing, prophetic dreams... all of which looks like power (it's called "superpowers" for a reason), but isn't really; power is only power when it translates into "ability to exert influence". As long as only one woman at a time gets to have that power, they can never influence their situation; they may stop the apocalypse, they may survive for a while, but they can never get ahead (insert image of Buffy begging Wesley to be allowed to go to college here). Credit someone with saving the world all by themselves, and they'll never have time to save themselves. It's not a perfect metaphor, but I think it works.
Also, your comparison to "women's work" is brilliant - as in, something that people are expected to do because it has to be done, because it's admirable and self-sacrificing, because it feels good to do it, that you don't need to pay people a lot for because it's a Calling... which, oddly enough, is what people usually say IRL about jobs that involve cleaning, teaching, caring, and wiping up shit, as opposed to important and difficult work that require you to wear a (tweed) suit and tie, which obviously must be better paid since nobody really wants to do that.
Also, why have I never friended you? That's just odd.
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That said, it never occurred to me to see Buffy this way. I mainlined it so fast when I first watched it, that all her wishing to be "normal" seemed to fly by. It never really seemed to be the real issue for her, although she voices it often enough, and I know there are still fans out there that think that's all she wants. But when you see her thrill in fighting the Make Out Point vamp in Prophecy Girl, her despair at losing her powers in Helpless, and her joy when Joan discovers her abilities in Tabula Rasa, it's obvious that she's not really all that drawn to "normality". You've eloquently laid out the very real issues that she has to deal with, and the way that they just aren't fair.
Contrast her situation with Cap's in the recent Captain America movie. He, too, is an extraordinary person, who is given unusual abilities later in life. He has an iron-clad set of ethics. He wants to make a difference. He has friends. He has a mentor or two. He has a potential love interest (who's pretty awesome, actually). So far, so Buffy. But then, he also gets paid, is fed, housed, cleaned up after, and has the whole US military industrial complex to provide technical and logistical support. He is only called upon to fight the good fight — at a time when that is a common goal for society and results in tangible and emotional rewards. He doesn't have to care for an ailing parent or a minor child. He has problems, sure, but not like Buffy does.
Woman's work, indeed. (This is why the Council always makes me see red.) The only way to change things for huge swaths of society is for people to band together and say "nope". (See: Arab Spring) We may not get to the promised land, but just watch Mad Men if you think everything's the same for women as it always was. So, yeah. empowering the Potentials in Chosen looks pretty darned feminist to me.