Here's my thing with Xander, because I don't want to come off as full of Xanderhate. I like Xander unless I think too much about what his motives are, and then I get cranky, because yes, he's had not the best role models for sexual dynamics, but the way he treats the women on the show, especially Buffy, is not good. And it makes me sad, because Buffy is kind of my hero, and I don't like that she takes this shit from Xander. For a show that is about power, about a woman who steps up and takes some power, Xander seems . . . antithetical. You know? But at the same time, I do really want to like him, because he's earnest and funny and, yeah, has that whole Jimmy Olsen complex to overcome.
And again, if what you read in my questioning of Xander going unpunished was that I thought he deserved "permanent exile," then I apologize, because that was not what I meant. I'm just concerned, given the sketchy sexual politics of the Buffy-Xander relationship, along with the general Buffyverse caveat that people who do bad things get punished, that letting Xander off completely scot-free for his lie in "Becoming II" condones the act. (This is also why I have big, big problems with Andrew. But that's another essay . . .) Which, you know, only leads to more sketchy sexual politics, and hey, now I'm in a Mobius strip.
Anyway, thank you for reading, and taking the time to leave your comments. And happy reviewing!
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Date: 2008-07-23 08:30 pm (UTC)Here's my thing with Xander, because I don't want to come off as full of Xanderhate. I like Xander unless I think too much about what his motives are, and then I get cranky, because yes, he's had not the best role models for sexual dynamics, but the way he treats the women on the show, especially Buffy, is not good. And it makes me sad, because Buffy is kind of my hero, and I don't like that she takes this shit from Xander. For a show that is about power, about a woman who steps up and takes some power, Xander seems . . . antithetical. You know? But at the same time, I do really want to like him, because he's earnest and funny and, yeah, has that whole Jimmy Olsen complex to overcome.
And again, if what you read in my questioning of Xander going unpunished was that I thought he deserved "permanent exile," then I apologize, because that was not what I meant. I'm just concerned, given the sketchy sexual politics of the Buffy-Xander relationship, along with the general Buffyverse caveat that people who do bad things get punished, that letting Xander off completely scot-free for his lie in "Becoming II" condones the act. (This is also why I have big, big problems with Andrew. But that's another essay . . .) Which, you know, only leads to more sketchy sexual politics, and hey, now I'm in a Mobius strip.
Anyway, thank you for reading, and taking the time to leave your comments. And happy reviewing!