How's your Saturday? Good? Good!

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.

1. Bechdel Check: PASS on 2 counts
   
   
2. 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

1. 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.
   
   
2. 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

1. 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).
   
   
2. 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?
   
   
3. 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.
   
   
4. 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.
   
   
5. Drusilla displays her seer powers in this episode. How does this connect with female stereotypes of "women's intuition"?