A small warning: This blog post contains spoilers for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you haven't seen the show and are worried about decades-old spoilers, well, I'd be surprised, but I thought I should warn you anyway.
We’ve talked a lot about self-deprecating humor this
semester. Regina Barreca writes that "it's okay to be funny if you're a woman as long
as the only thing you're laughing at is yourself—or other women" (24), demonstrating how that kind of humor can only put women down. Hannah Gadsby tells her audience, "I have built a career out of self-deprecating humor. [...] And... I don't want to do that anymore" (17:40–17:50). She tells us how self-deprecation from people who are marginalized can be harmful to them, saying, "It's not humility. It's humiliation" (18:00–18:05). Moving away from the comedy for a bit, Gadsby's discussion of marginalized communities, and especially the way they can internalize the hatred others show towards them, made me think of the first lesbian characters I was ever exposed to in media.
Their names are Willow and Tara, from the T.V. show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and aside from being a cute couple, they're also two powerful witches.
Willow, portrayed by Alyson Hannigan, on the left. Tara, portrayed by Amber Benson. Source: "Once More with Feeling." Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, season 6, episode 7, Mutant Enemy, 2002.
Both women are wonderful (the actresses and the characters), but the person Gadsby reminded me of was Tara. Tara Maclay was introduced largely to be a love interest for the character Willow Rosenberg, and while her character was developed more fully later on, in the early episodes, she was a timid woman ashamed of her identity.
A lot of her identity issues actually stemmed from her being led to believe she was a demon, but the metaphor is still there. Source: "Hush." Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, season 4, episode 10, Mutant Enemy 1999.
Tara and Willow were on my mind as I watched Hannah Gadsby's Nanette, because immediately before the comedy special, I had rewatched the episode where Willow comes out and reveals her relationship with Tara. The episode focuses on Willow and her confliction as her ex-boyfriend Oz returns to town wanting to reignite their relationship, just when Willow was beginning to move on with Tara. Tara's reaction to the news, however, is heartbreaking.
Source: "New Moon Rising." Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, season 4, episode 19, Mutant Enemy 1999.
With the arrival of Oz, Tara's automatic assumption is that Willow will naturally go back to be with him. At this point in the series, everybody knew her as only a "friend" of Willow's, and while still wanting to be Willow's friend, Tara was comfortable with being cast aside as soon as Oz returned. Her self-esteem was so low that she never expected anything better.
Source: "New Moon Rising." Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, season 4, episode 19, Mutant Enemy 1999.
This episode aired in 1999, and while Buffy the Vampire Slayer was relatively progressive for its time, homosexuality was, as it still is, an awkward subject for people. Part of Tara's reaction to this situation is related to her backstory, but for the most part, it's very telling about the vulnerable position homosexuals were in during that time period. Women were less in the spotlight than men, as Gadsby said, "in all the debate about... homosexuality... no one ever really talked about the lesbians" (04:50–05:05), which is perhaps why Joss Whedon felt comfortable with having a lesbian couple on the show rather than a gay one, but episodes like this show that having an "easier" time doesn't mean having an "easy" time. The main conflict of the episode, after all, is Willow's ex-boyfriend getting captured after he turns into a werewolf... triggered by a fit of rage at discovering that Tara is Willow's lover.
Oz on the left, portrayed by Seth Green. Gotta love those late '90s special effects. Source: "New Moon Rising." Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, season 4, episode 19, Mutant Enemy 1999.
The episode highlights the delicate situation Tara is in, and even without context for her character, it's easy to understand why she would have such a hard time believing in her relationship when, at that point, even Willow was still hiding it from everyone. Tara was afraid, had grown up in an oppressive environment that taught her she had no worth, and thought it was only natural that Willow would leave Tara once Oz came back. Luckily for Tara, she was wrong.
Source: "New Moon Rising." Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, season 4, episode 19, Mutant Enemy 1999.
Tara and Willow will always be one of the most iconic lesbian relationships in my mind. It took a long time, but eventually, together with Willow, Tara began to see her own value.
People familiar with the show probably know how this relationship goes, but I'm just going to focus on the good episodes. Shhh. Source: "Once More with Feeling." Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, season 6, episode 7, Mutant Enemy, 2002.
Like any relationship, Tara and Willow go through their ups and downs, but they supported each other. When Tara was at her most vulnerable, she found she had a group of friends to fall back on. As we start the month of June, I hope we can all do our best to support the LGBTQ people in our lives—including ourselves, for those whom that applies to.
Tara and Willow are always going to be iconic for me, but who was the first LGBTQ character you saw in media? Do you think they were a good representation?
I never put “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” in the category of “progressive” shows until your article. Its very interesting to me there was any lesbian dynamic happening on TV before “Queer-Eye for the Striaght-Guy.” Its nice to hear just two years after homosexuality was legalized in Gadsby’s home, the Australian state of Tasmania, female homosexuality was being depicted by a very popular and mainstream show such as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” I can't think of a lesbian dynamic predating 1999.
ReplyDeleteThere are definitely still some cringe-worthy moments in the show, but considering the year, I think the handled it relatively well. They had some heavy-handed metaphors about how they were both "witches," and the relationship causes some temporary tension between Willow and her friend group. I don't know of any explicit lesbian couples before Willow and Tara's (though I know people like to read into the relationship between Xena: Warrior Princess and her friend Gabrielle, which aired around the same time as Buffy), but of course, I was pretty young at the time. I don't think I know much about "Queer-Eye for the Straight-Guy," but I guess the title is pretty self-explanatory.
DeleteAs a die-hard Buffy fan, I love this post. I watched Buffy from the start and remember very clearly the (somewhat muted but still present) controversy over the Willow/Tara storyline. It *was* groundbreaking and I remember watching it play out thinking, "Are they going where I think they are going?" Interesting to note that the show was still very chaste in their depiction of the relationship.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the first time I taught ENGL 372, the entire theme was Joss Whedon shows/movies. That class blog is still up: https://suadvancedcomp.blogspot.com/
Another professor (Dr. Pate I believe?) told me that you'd had a course that focused heavily on Buffy in the past, and I was pretty sad to hear that it was before I started Shepherd. I grew up watching it a lot when I was in elementary school, because my mom always watched it as I was getting ready for school in the morning. I remember not even noticing when Willow and Tara started their relationship, just seeing them together in so many episodes, not even knowing how the relationship started, but being able to pick up enough from their actions and my mom's discussions that they were a couple. Watching everything again now that I'm older, it's really interesting seeing how they built the relationship. And you're right, it's very chaste compared to how other relationships on the show are depicted (though there's still some obvious innuendo here and there). Of course, I was too young at the time to know about controversy around the relationship, but it makes sense that some people would have been bothered at the time. Not that I agree with them, but considering it was the late 90s, I'm sure not everyone who watched the show was open-minded about it.
DeleteLike Oliver, I did not picture "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to be a show that depicted the constraints of homosexuality. It was nice to how you were able to connect Gadsby's comedy to something outside of class. I like how you highlighted real life issues in a fictional show about mythical beings. Very interesting!
ReplyDeleteHi Bethany! I have never seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I think that I’m one of the few people who hasn’t! It looks like a fun show that I would like to check out, so thanks for the heads up about the spoilers in your blog post. So where could I watch this show online?
ReplyDeleteAs for the first LGBTQ representation character that I saw in the media, my answer is a little unusual. The first LGBTQ representation that I saw in the media was the 1959 version of Ben-Hur. You see, when I was young, I watched a lot of old films because my family would rent them out at WonderBook (I still watch old movies and WonderBook is still a majestic labyrinth of treasures.) Anyway, when I saw the relationship between Ben-Hur and Messala, my younger self thought “golly, they seem really friendly with each other.” After I saw the fantastic documentary about the history of LGBTQ representation in the movies, The Celluloid Closet, it made a lot more sense that Ben-Hur and Messala were a LGBTQ couple. Since the movie was made in the 1950s, the portrayal of their relationship was very subtle, but since Ben-Hur was depicted as a hero, I think that it was a more positive LGBTQ depiction than other films of that era.
Hi Bethany! Thanks for this great post. I have never watched Buffy but now it is definitely on my list! I think it is fascinating that some LGBTQ representation was going on in this show - and although it is a bit more acceptable on television now, I remember similar controversies about some of my favorite CW shows, like Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill. Eric, in Gossip Girl comes out as gay and struggles with mental health, no doubt partially resulting from his family's initial lack of acceptance of him. Anna, in One Tree Hill came out as a bisexual, which to me was completely unheard of on television growing up. Although it might seem trivial, representation like this does make a difference, I firmly believe so.
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