Let's do some feminism-type stuff!
Mission Statement:
This series is intended to outline the feminist text of each episode so as to provoke and encourage open discussion. It's not so much about making value judgments about events and/or characters but about analyzing the series from a feminist framework so as to see what patterns and themes emerge.
Rules:
1. If you do not consider yourself a feminist or do not see the point of dissecting a TV show from a feminist perspective, this is not the meta series for you. I don't mean this in a hostile way, however the intended audience of this series is feminists who want to turn a critical eye to the show.
2. This meta series is written well beyond a 101 level of feminism. If you are new to feminism, I ask that you please take a look at this blog for an introduction to concepts that will be discussed heavily here.
3. If you begin to feel yourself getting defensive on behalf of a character (or the show), take a break from commenting. The outlines as posted are not meant to condemn either the characters or the show, but to contextualize the dialogue and events within the patriarchal cultural in which they reside.
4. BtVS is a constructed media. The characters are not actual people but are written, dressed, and directed by a team of outsiders. Criticizing a character for, say, having sex could be a sexist insult or it could be a legitimate criticism of the writers who chose to go that route with the storyline. There are nuances here when discussing a television show, and I ask that everybody be careful about exactly what's being discussed. A couple helpful terms are Watsonian and Doylist. "Watsonian" indicates that the discussion is taking place within the Buffy universe as if the characters are real people. "Doylist" indicates that the discussion is focused on the construction of the narrative and, as such, deals with the decisions of the writers and/or producers.
5. The key goal here is open discussion. I'm not presenting you guys with any brilliant insights; I'm just laying out what's in the episode. Feel free to discuss or disagree with me and others. Also feel free to answer other commenter's questions. The comment section is an open floor.
2.09 What's My Line? Part 1
I. The Tallies
Criteria for Bechdel Check: The episode must have a) two women in it b) who talk to each other c) about something besides a man.
- Bechdel Check: PASS on 2 counts
- Deaths:
Dead boys: 0
Dead girls: 1
II. Agency
Criteria for Agency: Do the female characters a) exert power or influence over the plot b) through decisions based on their own characterization? Agency means more than providing information or support that helps the (usually male) characters resolve the conflict.
The Plot: Spike calls in the Order of Taraka to take out Buffy while he continues his plans to heal Drusilla.
The Big Question:
If Buffy were taken out of this episode, would events occur in much the same fashion? No.
If Willow were taken out of this episode, would events occur in much the same fashion? Yes.
If Cordelia were taken out of this episode, would events occur in much the same fashion? Yes.
If Kendra were taken out of this episode, would events occur in much the same fashion? No.
If Drusilla were taken out of this episode, would events occur in much the same fashion? No.
If Mrs. Kalish were taken out of this episode, would events occur in much the same fashion? Yes.
- Decisive Buffy: Buffy is uncharacteristically passive in this episode. Giles is the one who insists on investigating what Dalton had stolen in the cemetery. Buffy bows out of research to go ice skating with Angel. This makes her a target for the Order of Taraka, however she actually falls into a damsel role. At the end of the episode, she disappears entirely and goes to Angel's for safety. She's reacting rather than making actual decisions. As far as agency goes, Buffy doesn't display much here.
- Decisive Kendra: Kendra investigates Angel upon her arrival to Sunnydale. Her primary moment of affecting the plot is unintentional. By locking Angel up to die, she inadvertently sets him up to be captured by Spike in the next episode.
- Decisive Drusilla: Drusilla is, of course, a large part of Spike's motivations for the decisions he makes. Drusilla, herself, doesn't make many decisions, though she provides guidance in the form of her seer powers. As noted in the Criteria, though, providing information to another character isn't exactly the biggest display of character agency.
III. The Feminist Fine-Toothed Comb
Criteria: Do any of the characters engage in sexist dialogue or action, whether overt or subtle? Does it receive an explicit rebuke or does it pass uncommented on? Further, what can be deduced from the various gendered comments that are made by the characters?
- Protagonists (Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, Cordelia, and Angel)
1. In the teaser, Cordelia walks by the Scoobies and reads out-loud one of the questions on the career test: "I aspire to help my fellow man."
Using the word "man" in reference to humanity perpetuates male as the default. We see this ably demonstrated when Cordelia uses male pronouns in her answer: "Check. As long as he's not smelly, dirty, or something gross."
2. When Giles chastising Buffy for not investigating what some vamps were stealing, Buffy jokes that she could be dead and her situation would be much the same:Buffy: Wouldn't be much of a change. Either way I'm bored, constricted, I never get to shop, and my hair and fingernails still continue to grow. So really, when you think about it, what's the diff?
The key part of interest is the “I never get to shop”, a feminine activity. Buffy laments her Slayerness constricting her ability to engage in the female-coded parts of life.
3. In Act Two, Buffy again brings up the incompatibility of being the Slayer with being feminine. When Giles tells her that she could find some job that meshes with her Slayer duties, she retorts: “What am I supposed to do? Carve stakes for a nursery?”
Referencing a nursery, one of the most female-coded jobs you could probably come up with, highlights the incongruity.
4. In Act Three, Buffy goes AWOL after hearing the news about the Order of Taraka. Xander tries to call her house but doesn't get a response. When Giles suggests that she might have unplugged her phone, Xander responds: "No, it's a statistical impossibility for a sixteen-year-old girl to unplug her phone."
Willow nods in agreement.
One gender stereotype of women is that they are chatty. They talk a lot, gossip - usually about unimportant stuff. The more specific stereotype of teen girls talking on the phone all the time is rooted in this more generalized gender stereotype.
5. In the final act, Cordelia and Xander are checking out Buffy's house. They have this exchange:Cordelia: I can't even believe you. You dragged me out of bed for a ride? What am I, mass transportation?
Xander: That's what a lot of the guys say, but it's just locker room talk. I wouldn't pay it any mind.
In response to Cordelia's complaint, Xander engages in some slut-shaming. As often happens, it's not direct slut-shaming but indirect: he's alluding to rumors about Cordelia being a slut.
Cordelia calls this out: "Oh, great, so now I'm your taxi and your punching bag."
6. In the final scene, Buffy and Kendra fight. Buffy says: "Come on, don't make me do the chick fight thing."
Chick fights tend to be a derogatory term, usually also with a sexualized image. Physical fights between women are usually seen as humorous and trivial because society still sees women as physically weak and unthreatening. Also, chick fights are known for using techniques that are "cheating" in traditional fights. As in this case, Buffy uses her nails against Kendra. - Antagonists (Spike, Drusilla, Dalton, Norman)
1. In the teaser, Spike says that he'll “send the boys, pronto!” to get the key to translate the text.
This default to the masculine, even when we've seen women as minions for Spike, helps maintain the perception of men being the main actors.
2. During a colorful rant about Buffy, Spike says: "We'll never complete your cure with that bitch breathing down our necks."
"Bitch", obviously, being a gendered slur against women. - The Rest (Kendra, Snyder, Oz, Willy)
1. When Angel is bullying information from Willy, Willy says: "Spike's sick of your girl getting in his way!"
"Your girl" implies Angel's possession of Buffy. This isn't an uncommon phrasing, and it does tend to go both ways across genders. However, the history of women as literal legal possessions of men is still salient in the culture, and the phrasing directed to women carries a different connotation as a result.
Willy repeats the trend when he says: "Okay! Okay! He and that freaky chick of his are..."
"That freaky chick of his", again denoting Drusilla as Spike's possession.
IV. Objectification Watch
- We actually get a bit of the female gaze as Buffy comes into her bedroom through the window. We're shown a couple shots of Angel from her viewpoint.
- Alternately, we also get the male gaze when one of the Order of Taraka watches Buffy as she ice skates. We're given a couple shots of her from his viewpoint.
V. Points to Consider
- Are there any gendered tendencies to the results of the career test? Cordelia gets "motivational speaker"; Xander "prison guard"; Buffy "police"; Willow gets yanked out for an offer by a well-known computer company (which acts as a stand-in for Microsoft).
- Buffy shows an unusual amount of passiveness in this episode. This seems to be the result of her male-coded Slayer ability being question. What do we make of her then withdrawing into the more female-coded passive role of the damsel?
- Norman's method of preying on women is very much gendered. Not only does he use make-up, he offers up "free samples", which apparently no woman can resist.
- Kendra becomes one of the first women of color with a substantial role on the show. We'll explore more of her character in the outline for the next episode, but let's get out some preliminary thoughts about her here.
- Drusilla displays her seer powers in this episode. How does this connect with female stereotypes of "women's intuition"?
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gabrielleabelle- The One Who Isn't Chosen
Comments
Edited at 2011-10-15 08:08 pm (UTC)
*not sure where to go from there*
There are some complicating factors: obviously the dynamic of AtS in general skews more toward doom than BtVS does. But AtS has Wesley and Gunn, demon fighters par excellence. Kate is perennially either being saved by Angel or failing. Wesley even has the same daddy issues she does, but manages to overcome them.
Yeah, I think that's sort of true of any female character on AtS. Angel is very much a "save the damsel" kind of guy, so most of the women end up being damsels a lot, regardless of their own abilities.
Cordy and Fred do get their BAMF moments, so I'd like to think that if Kate had stuck around (instead of Elisabeth Rohm leaving for L&O), she'd have had a better character arc than "my entire life is a failure." Meh.
Re: the "nursery" quip -- I always assumed she was referring to a garden nursery!
Anyway, onto the other questions:
2. I think in this episode (and, well, in much of the series) Buffy is struggling to reconcile who she is, what she can do, with her gender identity, which doesn't allow for any of that. She's overcompensating, essentially. And I think it's interesting that she overcompensates by emphasizing her "feminine" passivity, helplessness, and triviality. I think she's trying to make herself seem less threatening to men, to retain her desirability to men. And patriarchy teaches women that our whole existence is really defined by our desirability to men.
I think also poor Buffy has no adult female role models of strength, capability, and general kick-assness. So she has to figure it out as she goes. ::hugs poor Buffy::
3. The Norman bit always played as a coded depiction of sexual assault and rape, in my eyes. Let a strange man into your house and that's what you get ladies! Also it's almost like a reference to Snow White, the silly woman tempted by frippery to her doom...
4. Ah, Kendra. WHY THE JAMAICAN ACCENT WHY GOD WHY. I like Kendra, but man there is so much fail here. The "accent" is purely to make her more exotic, not to mention her wardrobe is pretty objectifying.
5. Drusilla is a pretty textbook case of women's knowledge, power, and intuition being synonymous with madness, chaos and evil. She's not in control of her powers, ever, and her visions are always ultimately for men's benefit, never her own. (IIRC)
lol! Okay, yeah. Hadn't thought of that. :)
2. *nods*
Especially good point about the lack of adult female role models for Buffy. I think Willow looks up to Jenny as something of a role model, but Buffy doesn't have anybody.
3. Excellent point. Yes.
4. Oh, Kendra. This is something that will get mentioned in the outline for Part 2, but Kendra also "poses" in a fashion that thrusts her breasts out. It's very awkward. Not to mention, she wears a lot of make-up for someone who's so socially inept.
OHHHH. *light bulb* That line makes a lot more sense now!
And it still sorta fits Gabs' point, since gardening is considered a feminine pursuit, though probably less so than a children's nursery, but both require nurturing, which tends to be considered women's domain.
Doesn't detective fall into the broader policeman profession,m unless we're talking PI?
I think that Buffy's score has a meaning because the Slayer *is* the equivalent of police in the supernatural world; in that world, she *is* "the law", i.e. the one enforcing it.
WHOA. I just realized this connects to how Kendra will die -- her neck slashed by Drusilla's nail. Drusilla using her ~chick fighting style totally annihilates Kendra (which contrasts Kendra's lack of female social graces since she doesn't know how to talk to boys and doesn't even know the word "chick fight?"). And, I mean, c'mon --there's a reason claws are dangerous. It's nature's way of slashing.
I realize I'm skipping ahead here (eep!), but the chick fighting between Buffy/Kendra and Drusilla/Kendra is connecting with my recent readings about women's history in America and especially the racial tension between white and black women in the pursuit for equality. It's interesting how Buffy's analogue, Drusilla, is the one to kill Kendra -- not Angel or Spike or any other random vampire, but Drusilla who partly symbolizes a Buffy that has been broken by Angel. If Buffy/Kendra are the demonstration of women of power joining forces, Drusilla/Kendra shows the decimation of this relationship as Drusilla's out to do her part on a mission for Daddy. Policing other women? In terms of gender and race, Kendra's death effectively silences her ability to ~stop Angel from creating a new world order where he's in control.
Edited at 2011-10-15 09:39 pm (UTC)
It almost seems like there's a critique about Kendra's not questioning her Watcher's training, of not harnessing the power of her emotion (masculine is analytical power, amirite?) and imagination. Kendra is disconnected from feminine socialization (despite the Hollywoodification of her clothes and heavily applied make-up -- who taught her that? Doubt it was her Watcher -- it seems inconsistent with Kendra's character overall), so the demonized manifestation of feminine wiles, Drusilla, defeats Kendra because she's wholly unprepared to face it.
Do you have to be inside the system in order to understand and deconstruct it? Otherwise, will the monster swallow you up -- or marginalize you into a grave? :( I'm also remembering how the concept of "womanhood" is most popularly understood as white. So showing Kendra failing to understand femininity and also showing her being so fully under the power of The Man seems hella problematic. (Buffyverse race issues :-////)
Let me sit on those thoughts for a bit. We'll go into Kendra a whole lot more in the next part, but I definitely want to get some preliminary discussion on her going now before getting to the nitty-gritty.
Taking it back to this episode (or well, the two-parter, I'm only jumping ahead one ep now!), we could view Buffy's use of her groomed nails as weaponizing her beauty, somewhat similar to the Slayer herself being a young women that would presumably attract vampires thinking she's easy prey. In a way, Buffy using her nails to fight is what the Shadowmen did in creating the Slayer in the first place.
The beauty-as-weapon/femininity-as-weapon would make more sense, though, if Kendra weren't presented as such an exoticized figure. I can't help but think that her physical presentation is more symptomatic of Hollywood's imagining of a young Jamaican woman.
Something else that occurred to me (that's disturbing) is that this might be reflective of Buffy's POV as a young American white woman. There is a bit of 'splaining going on in how Buffy coaches Kendra to get in touch with her emotions, which reflects the historical perspective that denied African Americans a fully human identity. Of course, a sense of balance is restored when Kendra is the one who understands how slaying is not just her job, but that it's who she is also -- something Buffy struggles to accept.
For sure, this is definitely awkward. However, it is realistic and consistent with the rest of the story that Buffy is ignorant about race -- one of the few times Willow calls her out on anything is when she talks incessantly about Christmas. This is realistic, but it's a shame there's no one around who calls it out, perhaps not least because her major intellectual authority figure is Giles, who seems just as ignorant about the U.S. legacy of racism.
Edited at 2011-10-15 10:59 pm (UTC)
BtVS misses a lot of opportunities to make intelligent criticism on race. It's very white feminism, I think -- overly focused on gender with a blind eye towards the intersection with race.
I think it's a statement about women's pursuit of power. There are sort of two paths for women who want power: they can try to be "one of the guys" (e.g. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign) or they can distinguish themselves as women and use that to their advantage, bringing different styles of leadership, different problem-solving methods, etc. to the table.
The first model is generally more successful in our society, because we still conceptualize power with masculine attributes. But it's also letting men DEFINE power. We're just accepting that masculine slant and trying to adapt ourselves to it. That's what Kendra's doing.
Buffy, on the other hand, is taking the second route - rather than redefining herself, she redefines POWER. Over the course of the series, she discovers that she can be feminine AND powerful. They are not contradictory. We see her struggle with this a lot early on, where becoming more feminine automatically seems to make her more powerless. But the "chick fight thing" proves that, instinctively, she's not afraid to draw on unconventional means of power, and doing so gives her an advantage, because they are evenly matched in their command of masculine power (physical strength). It's a more positive model of power, embracing the feminine instead of dismissing it as disadvantageous.
I think with Kendra there's this undercutting of her embrace of a masculine style -- like being a woman without the proper gender socialization has undercut her ability to navigate society. The depiction of the metaphor is very dependent on gender essentialism. Which is great for portraying feminine attributes as strong, but why should Kendra's disinterest/lack of education in the traditional female gender role have to mean her doom? It's like by not falling in line with gender expectations, she's failing to capitalize on her position as a woman. Why does she have to be feminine to be powerful? Why's it either a woman playing at masculine or a woman embracing both masculine and feminine?
It's like, if BtVS is intent on working within the confines of gender essentialism, its commentary is inevitably going to be a reaction to reality and consequently reaffirms it to a degree. I'm not sure BtVS really goes far enough to deconstruct gender roles. There's too much story capital in maintaining the codification because it helps achieve clarity in the narrative.
ETA: Just wanted to add that Kendra's portrayal as someone without a personal life, a family, or anything beyond duty to her calling and her perfect obedience to her Watcher seems like a stereotypical portrayal of black history.
Edited at 2011-10-15 11:09 pm (UTC)
The racial commentary doesn't really jive for me. There's so many interesting things a black Slayer could've said about rape culture in America (vampirism => sexualization of oppression), but the show never delves deep enough into a racial POV.
:(
I think the key here is that Kendra didn't choose to be disinterested or uneducated. She was indoctrinated by the patriarchy. The Council are the gatekeepers of what Kendra is allowed to experience, and she's been denied access to any alternative. She's operating within a male concept of power because that's all she knows. And she is weaker for it.
I feel like her POV isn't as developed as I'd like it to be. It makes it hard to talk about her without reducing her to symbolism and archetypes.
Yeah, this. Then again, given the race!fail, I'm hardly surprised.
A part of me is hoping Poco will sweep in with some brilliant Kendra commentary.
And I don't know if it even is a masculine style. Male soldiers usually aren't taught to do their duty in a cold and detached way; when it comes to the enemy, especially during wars, they're taught to give vent to their feelings of anger and hate and be aggressive. And there are not many societies in which men are taught to not have friends or girlfriends if they're going to be good warriors.
I wish I had some pithy feminist reading about Buffy's Mr. Gordo, but nope.
I wish I had some pithy feminist reading about Buffy's Mr. Gordo, but nope.
...
I dream of this.
Can one only change culture in a popular medium? Doesn't the popular quality by rights mean the change is feeding into the system?
Edited at 2011-10-16 02:27 am (UTC)
It's like he's approaching social change backwards. First I get the money, then I get the women. Wait, no. Anger leads to hate and hate leads to women. Wait, no.
---
Also, hand over heart, "Buffy the Lesbian Separatist" perked my interest.
Edited at 2011-10-16 02:52 am (UTC)
That said, he does have a point. Buffy was a very feminist and queer-friendly show by pop culture standards. It's hard for me not to see that as a net positive, even if there are a lot of retrograde elements in the show. Like Xander's slut-shaming, especially in the early seasons... ugh, I hate it when he says things like the "mass transportation" joke.
No.
Doesn't the popular quality by rights mean the change is feeding into the system?
I think there be shades of gray to this question.
Joss' quote is weird and hyperbolic. I think it's possible to create a truly feminist work of fiction without compromise (as an example, I would point to Revolutionary Girl Utena, a fantastic anime series).
I also think Joss is wont to try to justify his prioritizing of narrative over feminist message.
And I think Buffy the Lesbian Separatist would have been fucking AWESOME. *would watch*
And I think Buffy the Lesbian Separatist would have been fucking AWESOME. *would watch*
My thoughts exactly upon first encountering this quote.
I also think Joss is wont to try to justify his prioritizing of narrative over feminist message.
YES. That's what he's doing. Nailed it.
I also think he's prone to looking for the most easily accessible way to make his narrative point, which draws upon communicating to the audience in ways we're already groomed to understand by popular media and stories. So he really is perpetuating the system by not engaging in fully challenging it, by using tools (imagery, metaphor) that reinforce the kyriarchy. There's an acknowledgment of complicity, in being part of the system, which I think he more readily exposes in 'Dollhouse' which is as much about storytelling in Hollywood as it is about rape culture, I think.
So I'm just gonna ponder.
Would you elaborate a bit? I'm unclear what your point is exactly.
If your point is that I think an artist must prioritize the message over the art, then I think you're missing my point in my comment above.
But again, please clarify. I'm not really sure how to respond since I'm not really getting the main thrust of your comment, what it's specifically in reaction to.
Edited at 2011-10-26 05:22 pm (UTC)
Now as to his statement, it's one of the examples of Joss being glib and a bit silly in his interviews. There's so much that doesn't make sense in that quote, from the equation of feminism with lesbian separatism, to saying it would be boring, which I doubt would be the case; why not simply say that he wasn't interested in making such a show and was more interested in creating BtVS? It's not like there's anything wrong the theme of BtVS. He's putting down his own work by implying he would be doing a different kind of show if only it were more accessible to mainstream, but oh shucks he had to settle for making BtVS.
Of course that's not what he really meant, especially since the quote is hard to judge out of context. I'd first have to see the question this was in response to, and why he thought he needed to justify his choices.
Agreed on not compromising art to a didactic treatise. Though I think there's a fine line to be walked in creating popular culture, which is what I was getting at above.