Buffy essays?
I've been reading essays in the Feminist Media Studies journal at university and also this and was intrigued by the couple of points on Spike as phallic symbol and inherantly male. I've always thought of Spike as, actually, the more feminine -- if not of the Buffy/Spike pairing, then of the male BtVS characters in general.
Freudian name aside, Spike is incapacitated in his inherantly male (fangs as phallic symbol?) position, with many many references to his 'impotence'; Of any male BtVS character he is the most passionate -- not just in terms of smashing whiskey bottles, but in terms of crying. I mean, count the episodes: Lover's Walk, in The Gift he just crumbles, his many, many madnesses at the start of S7 -- I'm stuck for any of the other male leads, except perhaps Angel, but I don't remember a specific instance. Even as a vampire, he keeps with the poetry (Angel S5 finale), a very feminine form of expression, and love poetry to boot. In terms of his 'place' in relationships, when he is serious about it, he's always under the boot. He sticks with Drusilla, despite the fact that she'd be with Angel, given the choice, let alone other infiedlities (The Immortal, a random Chaos Demon, Darla, etc), and Spike proves in the Buffy S7 finale that he knew all along that Buffy didn't, wouldn't and couldn't love him. He knew, probably particularly in S6, that he was being used, and was clearly damaged by it. Whenever Spike attempts to assert his masculinity -- When he tries to rape Buffy, when he proves he can still hurt her in Smashed, when he tries to bite Willow -- he is always knocked back down to size. To make any sort of headway in hurting Buffy, or in asserting himself, he must rely upon women who can carry out his phallic fang function (try saying that ten times fast!), namely as Harmony and Drusilla and, in a round-about way, The First (I cite The First as female, as its favourite embodyment appears to be Buffy, and the overtly sexual ritual that takes place between 'it' and Caleb). It must also not be forgotten that, although all vampires require blood to survive, Spike is the one obsessed with it ("Because it's always blood" The Gift, I think) -- there just has to be some sort of menstrual link there.
If we're going to go below symbolism and action and Freudian connotations, Spike also acts like a woman, if we're going to go with gender stereotypes. When he actually does some damage on Adam's behalf, he is quite impressively manipulative. He identifies closely with the other women, particularly Willow -- He notices after only a few moments in the company of she and Tara that they are a couple; in Something Blue he tells Buffy and Giles that she's falling apart, and not coping at all; He points out to Buffy that Willow was lying when she said she would just leave Glory alone, and has in fact gone after her. This is particularly relevent to gender subversion as Willow and Tara, the lesbian and the Pagan (Goddess worship), have to be the most overtly female characters on the show. When he's not seeing through Willow, he's telling Buffy about her true nature, or understanding how Dawn needs to be given independence in order to really grow up, or seeing that Anya needs a shoulder to cry on (It is, in fact, only after MUCH alcohol that this session becomes sexual). He is the shoulder to cry on for even Xander, when they talk about similarities between their unusual girlfriends ("I know where you're coming from. Not many people got Drusilla.") And I may be wrong in this, but I think he's the only character to mention a gay sex experience -- doesn't he says something in Angel S5 about not getting physical with Angel, except for that one time? Little help there?
I could similarly bang on about the butchness of Buffy, her need for control in every relationship, her inability to handle or empathise with the emotions of her friends and relatives, her methods of tackling and 'fixing' every problem rather than accepting -- plus, y'know, she's like REALLY STRONG AND KILLS STUFF LOTS! I know the whole point of BtVS is that it's a really feminist work, because Buffy is still a woman who shops and flutters her eyelids and worries about boys -- but it can't be helped that her position, her outlook is pretty masculine, particularly within a relationship (S1 with Angel being a possible exception -- or maybe even up to Surprise/Innocence).
So, yeah. Is there a gender essay on Spuffy out there? Or am I going to have to write my own? Anyone know?
Other cool stuff: I'm going to see Patrick Stewart in The Tempest in London with my university. How cool is that? Freakin' Picard as Prospero! It's like all my SF geek fantasies came true! Really gutted I can't go see Ian McKellan in King Lear, though. Not my favourite play, but still -- Gandalf! Same room as Gandalf!
Freudian name aside, Spike is incapacitated in his inherantly male (fangs as phallic symbol?) position, with many many references to his 'impotence'; Of any male BtVS character he is the most passionate -- not just in terms of smashing whiskey bottles, but in terms of crying. I mean, count the episodes: Lover's Walk, in The Gift he just crumbles, his many, many madnesses at the start of S7 -- I'm stuck for any of the other male leads, except perhaps Angel, but I don't remember a specific instance. Even as a vampire, he keeps with the poetry (Angel S5 finale), a very feminine form of expression, and love poetry to boot. In terms of his 'place' in relationships, when he is serious about it, he's always under the boot. He sticks with Drusilla, despite the fact that she'd be with Angel, given the choice, let alone other infiedlities (The Immortal, a random Chaos Demon, Darla, etc), and Spike proves in the Buffy S7 finale that he knew all along that Buffy didn't, wouldn't and couldn't love him. He knew, probably particularly in S6, that he was being used, and was clearly damaged by it. Whenever Spike attempts to assert his masculinity -- When he tries to rape Buffy, when he proves he can still hurt her in Smashed, when he tries to bite Willow -- he is always knocked back down to size. To make any sort of headway in hurting Buffy, or in asserting himself, he must rely upon women who can carry out his phallic fang function (try saying that ten times fast!), namely as Harmony and Drusilla and, in a round-about way, The First (I cite The First as female, as its favourite embodyment appears to be Buffy, and the overtly sexual ritual that takes place between 'it' and Caleb). It must also not be forgotten that, although all vampires require blood to survive, Spike is the one obsessed with it ("Because it's always blood" The Gift, I think) -- there just has to be some sort of menstrual link there.
If we're going to go below symbolism and action and Freudian connotations, Spike also acts like a woman, if we're going to go with gender stereotypes. When he actually does some damage on Adam's behalf, he is quite impressively manipulative. He identifies closely with the other women, particularly Willow -- He notices after only a few moments in the company of she and Tara that they are a couple; in Something Blue he tells Buffy and Giles that she's falling apart, and not coping at all; He points out to Buffy that Willow was lying when she said she would just leave Glory alone, and has in fact gone after her. This is particularly relevent to gender subversion as Willow and Tara, the lesbian and the Pagan (Goddess worship), have to be the most overtly female characters on the show. When he's not seeing through Willow, he's telling Buffy about her true nature, or understanding how Dawn needs to be given independence in order to really grow up, or seeing that Anya needs a shoulder to cry on (It is, in fact, only after MUCH alcohol that this session becomes sexual). He is the shoulder to cry on for even Xander, when they talk about similarities between their unusual girlfriends ("I know where you're coming from. Not many people got Drusilla.") And I may be wrong in this, but I think he's the only character to mention a gay sex experience -- doesn't he says something in Angel S5 about not getting physical with Angel, except for that one time? Little help there?
I could similarly bang on about the butchness of Buffy, her need for control in every relationship, her inability to handle or empathise with the emotions of her friends and relatives, her methods of tackling and 'fixing' every problem rather than accepting -- plus, y'know, she's like REALLY STRONG AND KILLS STUFF LOTS! I know the whole point of BtVS is that it's a really feminist work, because Buffy is still a woman who shops and flutters her eyelids and worries about boys -- but it can't be helped that her position, her outlook is pretty masculine, particularly within a relationship (S1 with Angel being a possible exception -- or maybe even up to Surprise/Innocence).
So, yeah. Is there a gender essay on Spuffy out there? Or am I going to have to write my own? Anyone know?
Other cool stuff: I'm going to see Patrick Stewart in The Tempest in London with my university. How cool is that? Freakin' Picard as Prospero! It's like all my SF geek fantasies came true! Really gutted I can't go see Ian McKellan in King Lear, though. Not my favourite play, but still -- Gandalf! Same room as Gandalf!