Sex and the Slayer: A Gender Studies Primer for the Buffy Fan by Lorna Jowett

Sex and the Slayer: A Gender Studies Primer for the Buffy Fan Reviews

• 
  Sarra

  I'm about 50 pages in and already wondering if I'm going to finish this one. I firmly reject two of the binaries the author laid out in the introduction, the first being that sex is either male or female. The high rate of intersex infants makes this patently untrue, and I would expect a gender studies academic to know better. Furthermore, the book so far is framed in terms of "feminist" vs. "femininity", which is an utterly false dichotomy.
  
  Also, white people, could we stop using the word "ethnic" to describe anyone who isn't white? I agree with the author that "nonwhite" is problematic, but substituting "ethnic" is the opposite of a solution.
  
  Edit: Well, I finished it, but I didn't like it (as evidenced by the two full weeks it took me to read it).
• 
  Steph

  Jowett's analysis is an interesting read for any Buffy fan or literary follower. While gender roles are a particularly complex aspect of the series (on purpose by Joss Whedon), it is often merely mentioned in other scholarly Buffy studies. Jowett's book tries to fill in this critical gap and comment on the show's reversal and compliance with traditional gender roles.
  
  The format is clear and logical: 1)the power of feminist thought on the female characters in the show; 2) who the "good" girls are and why that are not main characters; 3) who the "bad" girls are and why they are not the main characters; 4) who the "tough" men are and why they are outdated; 5) who the "new" men are and how they negotiate their role; 6) the position of dead boys in the show and their subsequent complicity or reversal of gender; and 7) how parental figures of both sexes negotiate a changing, post-modern world.
  
  I like the pyramid structure of general:good:bad:bad:good:general, although the parental section seems misplaced in this structure. The analysis of each section is carefully considered and is also supported by numerous instances from the show and secondary criticism by other scholars. The critiques of the way that the show reverses gender binaries provide a particularly close reading of the text, and provide many more instances than in other critical essays. I especially like the section on the "new" men and how they have to be a mix of roles because of race, class, relationships with the female characters, and humanity - or lack thereof. Many times the men in the show are implicitly linked to the analysis of the female characters, though Buffy, Willow, and Faith are often examined on their own.
  
  The problem I have with this text is its negotiation of post-feminism as second wave vs. third wave. Perhaps this is because it was written in the early 2000's, but while Jowett tries to discuss gender binaries and how the Scoobies reimagine these, she draws their changes in terms of further binaries or complete reversal rather than mediation. The language itself is very second wave (i.e. "new" vs. "real" men, implying that new men are fake men, or pretend men; or "feminine" vs. "feminist" so that women have to be one or the other). I think the whole point of the show, and the reason it's considered new and visionary, is that it plays with gender reversals but actually seeks to NEUTRALIZE gender binaries so that strength can be masculine AND feminine, emotion is for both men AND women, etc.
  
  The text is also not for readers who are new to critical theory because there is still literary jargon present that has associations generally linked to literature. This can make it appealing for academics, but is not necessary for viewing the show, which works on multiple levels but can be enjoyed merely as a realistic horror. Overall, interesting points but would probably be written differently now and in the future.
• 
  Jennifer

  As a big ole Buffy fan, I gobbled this book up. But I already can't really remember what I learned from it. It's written as an introduction to gender studies through the lens of Buffy. The thesis was that Buffy isn't really a feminist show, but rather that it contains a mix of feminist and conservative representations of gender. I agree with that, but the author also argues that, for this reason, Buffy is typical of other "quality" television. I guess I haven't watched much TV, but I think that Buffy has more feminist gender representation than any other show I've seen (which doesn't mean it doesn't have plenty of problematic stuff too).
  
  A plus for this book was that it paid some attention to Buffy's treatment of race, more so than other Buffy books I've read. This still wasn't that much attention, though.
• 
  Alexandra

  Decent! I was beyond excited to read this, but I admittedly thought it would be more about ... well, sex, as in sexual activity, versus sex. Perhaps my first tick against the author is the use of the title as an eye-grabber when in reality she’s talking about gender issues specifically - and one would think a gender studies expert would be more cognizant of conflating the two.
  
  I am NOT a gender studies expert, but I am an avid Buffy fan. I enjoyed the attention given to this topic and how well it was treated, but my enthusiasm I think is dampened by the fact that I just overall disagreed with a lot of what Jowett had to say. I thought her insights were interesting, but outdated, though I have tried my best to account for the fact that I am reading this in late 2020, and it was written in 2005.
  
  I felt that ultimately it was too rigidly focused on binaries, and the constant juxtaposition of “feminist vs. feminine” behavior and coding was irritating, and a (in my view) useless dichotomy. I understand what Jowett was getting at, but as a feminist who is painfully “feminine” myself, I thought it was reductive, and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I also felt Jowett was too negatively focused on heterosexuality - she seemed to repeatedly imply that no one can be a good man or a strong woman if they are straight. Possibly an erroneous reading on my part, but that’s what I kept perceiving.
  
  I thought the book really shone in its treatment of the male characters - the chapters “New Men” and “Dead Boys” were fascinating and enjoyable. But, that lends to the vague dissatisfaction with the book - its best chapters were about the men.
  
  I think Jowett is flat out wrong in concluding that Buffy is not a feminist show, but she makes excellent and necessary points about the conservatism thats laced throughout the narratives, especially in relation to Buffy (vs Faith and Anya’s) sexual exploits. Jowett is also very good at sometimes pointing out where her opinion influenced her reading, and acknowledging she isn’t arguing that her word is law.
  
  Lastly, I do not think this book is at all accessible to someone without a university level background in gender studies, which is disappointing to Buffy fans who may not have had that privilege. It reads like a dissertation, which is not great entertainment, but it’s a solid read that I’m glad I spent money on and sat and thought with.
• 
  Susannah

  Theoretically this is a book for the layperson, but with terms like "subject perspective", "patriarchal hegemony" and "performance of masculinity" sprinkled liberally throughout, the layperson had better have a background in gender studies and social theory or they may be hopelessly lost in the first few pages. Nonetheless, I found it an interesting vantage point on the relationships and events in the Buffyverse. On some points I believe the author may have been smoking crack, but I mostly agreed with or understood her perspective, and since the Buffyverse is so open to myriad meanings, this is as valid as any other theory about the show. For the serious student of Buffy and/or gender studies only.
• 
  Stacey Handler

  I didn't really enjoy this as much as I'd hoped to. I think of 'gender' a set of stereotypes based on your sex. I don't believe that anger is a 'masculine' emotion and weakness is a 'feminine' quality. I also hate the term 'postfeminist' as I am a feminist and there are still plenty of us out there. I believe in biological reality and not in a gendered identity, so a primer in Gender Studies isn't really my thing. But I love Buffy, so I gave it a try but couldn't finish it. Some of the characters in this show (as in real life) do not conform to the stereotypes expected of their sex, it's as simple as that and I don't think this book adds anything to that understanding of character.
• 
  Anna

  This is a pretty simple look at Gender in Buffy, but if you are interested at all in the characters it is worth a quick read. I didn't learn anything new, and was hoping for a more provocative and in depth study of the series. If you aren't a Buffy fan you aren't going to get much out of it, and if you are a feminist buffy fan you have probably come up with the same conclusions that Jowett does.
• 
  Jamie

  It's Buffy. It's academic. You want to fight about it?
• 
  Adam Ross

  Ugh. What a slog through a postmodernist, deconstructionist, feminist world. Yikes. If I hadn't had to read it for a class, I never would have.
• 
  Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken

  I definitely disagree with some of the author's assertions on gender relating directly to the show and characters, but this is still a well thought-out text.
• 
  Lucile

  This was a very interesting read about the gender construct in Buffy, which analysed a lot of characters and made me rethink a lot of my opinions. But it’s also quite dated: the author wrote it during and just after the last season of the show, more than ten years ago. In all this time, Buffy has been analysed again and again and there’s probably other studies more up to date with gender theories today. Still a good introduction to gender studies in the Buffy universe.
• 
  Alexandra Michaelides

  A couple of the chapters stood out to me as particularly thoughtful and well-done, including Dead Boys, which looks at the liminal and complex nature of Angel and Spike. But overall, the book was weighed down by the approach. While the book is broken down categorically--Good Girls, Bad Girls, New Men, etc.-- Jowett's tendency to further break down every section character by character (even very minor, one episode characters) becomes a tiresome list rather than an overall analysis. I wish this book had been a collection of essays on a variety of topics under the banner of feminist or gendered analysis instead of simply seeking the answer to whether or not Buffy was a feminist or transgressive show. But that's OK. I assume there are books like this out there? Help me Buffy fans!
• 
  Liza

  I wish I'd read this in sixth form: I feel like I have already had enough of an education of gender to find this book particularly elucidating (although, to be fair, it is entitled a 'primer,' so perhaps I should have expected less). I did like all the reminiscing about BtVS that I got to do whilst reading but, as demonstrated by the amount of TIME it took me to complete this, I didn't exactly find it gripping.
• 
  Jay

  Forgettable. Truly -- until I skimmed a copy to refresh my memory, the only thing I could remember about this book at all was the library's copy was laminated. Nothing standout and some of the ideas felt dated even when I first read them. You can find better stuff online, even from the same time period.
• 
  Dani

  An interesting read, though not totally engaging. Some of the characters she uses as examples are incredibly minor and the format of the book itself almost feels too repetitive. There's some really interesting points however and it made me excited to re-watch some Buffy.
• 
  Taylor

  I've been reading this over the course of the semester for an independent study on Buffy. This is one of the most solid Buffy books out there. Jowett's categorizations and considerations for each character definitely add to watching the show.
• 
  Sareena Nunez

  One of my favorite Buffy books. I had to re-read a few sections because of the rote academia and gender studies lingo, but very insightful.
• 
  Brittany S

  This book was incredibly insightful and a great read. I wish I had gotten the chance to read this in my 'pop culture and sociology' class back in college.
• 
  Devilyn (Emily)

  You've just got to love Buffy through a gender studies lense!
• 
  Rebecca roth

  For my Buffy studies class.
• 
  Pádraic

  Only read maybe two chapters of this, found it mostly eyeroll-inducing. Useful at least in the sense that it pointed me towards more useful resources.