The Feminist Filter: Dead Man's Party

[gabrielleabelle]

I'm done with my final and, thus, done with my undergrad! *dances*

I'm celebrating by having a beer and slapping up the feminist filter post for Dead Man's Party. What? My way of celebrating is UNIQUE!

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

Comments

[local_max]

Ooh, good point. I think, too, Xander is attacking a Straw Buffy who thinks that she DID behave as the Perfect Strong Woman [TM]. Buffy doesn't SEEM to think that leaving Sunnydale for a few months and not calling was imperfect, so she must believe she handled it perfectly, and needs to be told she didn't.

My other favourite thing about Xander here -- is that he is acting as Protector (falsely): he is angry at Buffy for himself (he's hurt Buffy left HIM, and he's guilty about the Lie), but he expresses it mostly by either a) saying she's morally wrong, or b) saying how she hurt Joyce or Giles, the Innocents (?) that need defending from Buffy, who from Xander's POV is the one with all the power. Because it's physical power that counts to Xander, given his upbringing, and Buffy is the one with that. And so, of course he needs to defend Joyce the mother figure from the superstrong unreliable powerful one in the family (given his upbringing &c).

If Xander felt like he were actually *allowed* to have feelings just because it sucks to have a friend leave you after you risked your life for her, I think he would be less of a douchebag. But Xander himself basically doesn't believe he deserves anything, and despite this he has huge reservoirs of (understandable) hurt, and so he lashes out on moral judgment [totally unfair]/protector-of-the-weak [mostly unfair] grounds.

[ever_neutral]

I think, too, Xander is attacking a Straw Buffy who thinks that she DID behave as the Perfect Strong Woman [TM]. Buffy doesn't SEEM to think that leaving Sunnydale for a few months and not calling was imperfect, so she must believe she handled it perfectly, and needs to be told she didn't.

Yeah, this.

My other favourite thing about Xander here -- is that he is acting as Protector (falsely)

Good point. He definitely seems to be projecting his own hurt and anger at her abandonment of him, and expressing it very badly. That's probably a gender thing too. He can't talk about his feelings of betrayal, but he can be aggressive and angry.

[local_max]

Good point. He definitely seems to be projecting his own hurt and anger at her abandonment of him, and expressing it very badly. That's probably a gender thing too. He can't talk about his feelings of betrayal, but he can be aggressive and angry.

Ooh, right. And that actually shows up really nicely in the contrast with Willow, who reacts in a "traditionally feminine" way -- she talks about her own feelings of hurt. And of course, she *can't* be "aggressive and angry," even though a part of her probably is angry (not that she should be, but you know where I'm going hopefully). Well, actually, first she avoids dealing with it period in typical Avoidant Personality Disorder way, but when she talks about it it opens her up to accusations of being self-absorbed. But it's generally a better way to deal.