Women's Sexuality in Season 2 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

[Ahead spoilers of season 3, 4 and 6 of Buffy]

Among the many themes of season 2, the discovery of sexuality is a central idea. This is THE season where Buffy and Angel make love, with dire consequences. Angel turns into a cruel soulless vampire. Buffy is in a crucial age of her life where she discovers her sexual power. So the question is: how does Buffy deal with her new sexual power? And how is women's sexuality represented in this season?

Buffy uses her sexual power mutiple times. See in the very first episode, it is blatant and awfully disturbing. In « When she was bad », Buffy is left traumatized by the Master. As a response to her state of shock, she attacks her friends. The sexy "Sugar Water" dance is a very agressive and bold choice to hurt them, but it works only too well : Xander, Willow and Angel are shocked. When she is alone with Angel, she goes (almost) further when she taunts him in a sexy and provocative voice : « Kick my ass ». 

So Buffy arrives in an age when her natural beauty becomes a real asset and she uses it. But in « When she was bad » it feels extremely trangressive as it diverges from previous characterisations of Buffy: there’s an evolution in progress. But Buffy will not master all the tools she has in her hands right away, as she faces formidable obstacles, as problems when a woman wants to exercice the power of her sexuality. One is the response she can encounter, as objectification. This is presented in the form of a not-so-sublte metaphor in « Some Assembly required » where Chris and Eric are actually interested in pieces of women.

Another problem is that it is used as a weapon against her. Let me use 3 examples to show how. The first to do it is Spike. In "School Hard", the first time he sees her is SO meaningful. She is dancing in a rather sensual way and he stares. James Marsters later said that he heavily played a sexual attraction from the very beginning. But it’s really in the fight that he uses her sexuality aginst her. Their dialogue is full of sexual innuendos. He calls her a « ripe girl » (as a reference to the earlier inclusion of the tampon. It is a so sublte detail one could easily miss. See how Xander is terrified by it. The symbolism of the objects he takes out of her purse is revealing : the yo-yo, very season one lollipop Buffy representing childhood that she left behind in « Prophecy Girl », the tampon, her new sexuality to deal with before arriving at the stake, adulthood and real power.). Spike praises the use of weapons because they « make [him] feel all manly » and promises « it won ‘t hurt a bit. » Buffy is not ready to face this and Joyce, the maternal figure, saves her, hence delaying the confrontation.

The other male character who uses Buffy’s sexuality as a weapon is of course Angel. In « Innocence », he is horrible and uses her insecurity to destabilize her. She asks : « Was I not good ? » and he laughs. Arr. The loss of Buffy’s virginity is a huge piece of information that can create an emotional bomb, as when Giles understands why Angel turned bad, or worse, when Joyce finds out. In Passion, when Angelus uses it to attack Buffy, it works so well. He says « I haven’t been able to sleep since the night we  made love… ».. and Joyce stops and looks up...

As a third example, I will use a very unpopular episode. I know that « Go Fish » contains very  questionable sexist allusions, but there are also very interesting ideas. The dressing code issue is so important and I ‘m glad they have treated it. It is true that Buffy wears very short dresses (mainly in season 1) however in what right would she have to bear the responsibility of exciting young men’s desires ? She would have been « leading on » the pervert swimteam gut (he doesn’t deserve that I look up his name). Jerk. Cordelia is also, for completly unjustified reasons, attacked because of the way she dresses when Xander calls her a « hooker ». And, ok, I can’t help but cringe at this so shocking joke, but the coach wants to use Buffy for the boys’… other needs. Yurk Fury, seriously ? It is not the first allusion to rape that we have : in Reptile Boy, Richard wants to rape Buffy when she’s unconscious. Yurk yurk.

The theme of Buffy’s sexuality being challenged will also appear in season 4 and 6. Parker. Hum. I have not much to say about him except that he’s a jerk and he used her naiveté and innocence to get her into his bed. She was not in power there. But it’s not about having power over the other, and Riley and Buffy seem to understand it (at least in bed…). In season 6, she will use sex as a weapon against herself. Everything she had built : confidence and respect is put aside when she has sex with Spike. Dark time. She had grown into a secure woman but well, then she died so I guess it puts things into a new perspective.

         Buffy herself has to be in peace with herself (as she is in "Innocence") and her community (as she is not in "When she was bad") to commit herself to adult experiences such as sex. We see her struggle in « Reptile boy ». She has to choose between a comforting evening with her friends watching an Indian movie and the fraternity party. She is sick of being serious and enduring pressure from her peers (Cordelia). No luck, giant reptile monster. This weird basement truly represents the danger of unexplored places.

In « Halloween », she chooses to give up all efforts to become a fully mature and modern woman and wants to see how it feels to be just pretty. It turns out to be dangerous though, people can hurt her so easily.

          In spite of Buffy's winding journey to experience, women's sexuality is still presented as a real power in season 2. In "Inca Mummy Girl", Ampara can kill with a kiss… and because she is a 16 year-old girl, she is sacrificed by a patriarcal community. Buffy herself demonstrates several times the power of her sexuality, even for the worst when it triggers the loss of Angel’s soul.

We are offered multiple counterpoints to this powerful use of sex. Kendra, for example, is a flawless slayer who masters technique, but her one of her weak point is presented as… boys. She is very shy around them. It's not a huge thing, but it’s still a weakness.

Willow in «Halloween » is "forced" both by Buffy and social norms, to embrace a sexier version of herself.

The dark side of sexual power is represented by Drusilla. She is a character whose sexuality is possessed by men : Spike and Angel. It could diminish her, but she doesn’t seem to care… Well, she’s Drusilla. Faith in season 3 will also embody this dark queen predatory approch to sexuality.

              So to conclude about season 2, despite huge obstacles, Buffy overall succeeds to survive through the loss of her innocence/virginity and to be stronger than before. « I only have eyes for you » brings her closure and frees her from the burden of her guilt. And of course, she kicks the hell outta Angelus’ butt. She overcomes her vulnerability as a 16 year-old girl to become the slayer. Because even with no weapons, no friends and no hopes, what is left is Buffy.