FUDGE!

In Rachel Fudge’s article, The Buffy Effect OR, a Tale of Cleavage and Marketing, she discusses Buffy the Vampire Slayer and whether it is a great feminist role model or a stereotypical “Girl Power” figure. On the one hand Buffy is great character. Her “cosmology” combined with her slayer power create a great feminist characterization. She doesn’t lose her femininity to do her powerful job. She is a great model for standing up to others as a woman. This attitude combined with her in screen martial arts beat downs make her visually striking. The critique is in how limiting this can be. Her image is very one dimensional as an attractive hero. Her physical image can take away from what she represents. This realized by even the shows producer, but this is seen as a small price if it means teenage boy learning about feminism.

I want to start off by saying I’m aware this isn’t a direct example, but I think there are ten other examples, two of them are actually good, and they are all pretty much the same idea (action star who at some point is sexy). SO, my case in point is different and still somewhat relatable.

My example is the song “Just A Girl” by No Doubt. The song ironically talks about how the singer is just a girl. The video talks about the separation between girls and guys being unnecessary. They are separated in the beginning of the video. Then they join each other. I think this relates to the article in that Gwen Stefani, the lead singer, doesn’t want to be just called a girl. She thinks that stereotype isn’t true. At the same time she keeps her femininity in the way she dresses in a way that doesn’t largely sexualize her. Gwen is saying that music isn’t just a guy’s world in the same way Buffy takes over a the male hero role.

I think what’s happening in the video is a form of feminism as well. They don’t allow typical gender separation. I think this goes further than Buffy and other female heroes. They singularly invade a man’s world and women are proud, but men see it as an exception to the everyday image. I feel like gender equality is the main goal. This isn’t going to come from unrealistic characters like Buffy. They are making even representation, but not creating equality. I think this video makes real equality easier goal by saying that there are no boys and girls only club. Instead of an anything you can do I can do better attitude. It makes equality less of a big deal than it needs to be, and it is an effort that both men and women can participate in.