Feminism In Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Buffy the vampire slayer is a television show that aired in the 1990s. it summers the life of a teenage girl with super power that withstands the hardships of society. Although women are overly sexualized in modern television, Buffy the vampire slayer stands up for feminism as Hill says in her article: “Feminism is central to the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003)” (Hill, 2012).

This series portrays Buffy as the super strong heroin who is and charge and saves the day. Her character combines strength with her feminine side. “She is the slayer.” However, Buffy holds on to her markers as a girl (e.g. ice-skating, fashion)” (Bercuci, 2017). During the first season Buffy struggles with two other female characters, Cordelia Chase

and Faith Lehane. Those two characters represent the ways in life in which Buffy as a heroin could have been. Cordelia is the mean girl that hates buffy and competes with her over cheerleading and fights her for prom queen position. For Cordelia, buffy is the strong freak who is odd and out of the ordinary. “The mean girl stereotype represents normative fears that the pressure on young girls to combine masculine assertiveness with feminine ways of relating may cause them to slip into the pathological:” (Bercuci. 2017). Bercuci aims to point out how mean girl character is an outcome of social pressures on women to make them think that being assertive is masculine and negates their femininity and they should not acquire both. It also shows the competitive nature in female society that unfortunately stands as an obstacle in the way of feminism.
On the other hand, Faith (who is also a Slayer) is considered the bad girl character who is ruthless, violent and sexually charged (man-eater).

Faith in the show is the reflection of buffy in a mirror, you could say she is the dark slayer and what buffy could have become. They both come from different back grounds, Buffy from a middle class and Faith from a working class. This makes their lives completely different. This shows how social pressures and social problems such as poverty takes part in the shaping of feminism. Later in the show, buffy starts becoming like Faith, and a scene comes where the two of them are holding knives to each other’s necks. Faith draws her knife away and kisses buffy on the forehead and tells her not to become like her. This scene shows a deep bond of sisterhood that hints in favour of feminism. It is trying to deliver a message that women’s friendship and bond is very important in empowering each other. And it also teaches that women should not confine themselves in the stereotype of being a mean or a bad and that those attributes and in favour of their power not against it. “Buffy and Faith’s connection is constantly acknowledged throughout the show – it is often suggested that they speak a language that only the two of them can understand, and while there is rivalry between them, there is also affection. This sisterly bond (which some have very convincingly argued has lesbian undertones) is symbolically depicted in the scene in which Buffy

and Faith each hold a knife to the other’s neck, which makes it seem that if one dies, so will the other. As they release each other, Faith kisses Buffy on the forehead and tells her that Buffy is not ready to become her yet.” (Bercuci, 2017).
At the end, problems between buffy and the two girls are resolved and they unite together. Faith gets elected for leadership and that shows that both masculine and feminine attributes should be an empowerment for women. Strength plays a major role in feminism “thus acknowledging in a way the role that physical conformism to gender roles plays in accommodating behaviours typically considered masculine, such as physical strength and assertiveness.” (Bercuci, 2017). And at the last episode Buffy shares her power with the next generation of female slayers; that portrays the way how women partake in the support of each other “In the finale, Buffy literally shares her strength with all girls who have the potential of becoming Slayers, creating an army of women just like her and dismantling her status as aberration. Half conformism becomes the sacrifice that Buffy makes in order to empower the next generation of women.” (Bercuci,2017).
Power on television should not be gendered, the misconception that women are supposed to retain in specific spot is the core reason behind sexism “The superhero is first and foremost a man, because only men are understood to be protectors in US culture and only men have the balls to lead” (Stabile, 2009). Buffy the vampire slayer remains a great example for feminism and female empowerment. And this shows message aimed and successfully managed to highlight the dangers of sexism and the importance of women role.