Visions of Female Power

When I was re-watching the first season of Buffy, I was struck by an episode called “Teacher’s Pet.”  In this episode, Buffy’s science teacher mysteriously disappears and is replaced by an attractive substitute teacher named Ms. French, who is secretly a large preying mantis in disguise.  Ms. French takes over the class for purpose of finding and mating with male virgins, which she kills afterwards by biting off their heads.  Before too long, her magnetic sexuality has attracted and captivated every highschool guy within a mile.  Once again, Buffy must save the day by rescuing Xander and classmates from their horrible fate.

However preposterous and silly the plot may sound, Joss Whedon actually uses it to conduct a compelling examination of the two different visions of female power represented by Buffy and Ms. French.  When re-watching this episode (& once I got past the hokey special effects), I saw an interesting contrast between Buffy and Ms. French’s forms of power; Ms. French’s power seems to traditionally feminine whereas Buffy’s incorporates more masculine traits. 

Ms. French’s power seems more ‘feminine’ in its nature because of its relation to men.  Her power is a magnetic sexuality that attracts boys to her like flies and leaves them entirely at her mercy.  She quite literally ‘preys’ upon virginal males, taking advantage of their inexperience and youth.  This aspect of her power seems straight out of the Bible, relating back to the idea that a woman is naturally sinful, sexually depraved, and will lead a man into corruption.  Her body is highly sexualized through a number of visual clues.  First, by the sensual confidence with which she walks and carries herself, and secondly, by her attire.  She wears a mini-skirt to her first class and removes her jacket, leaving her in only a tank top.  Her eye makeup is dramatic and her lips are stained with a vampy color that contrasts with dazzlingly white teeth.  She invites her male students over after school hours, greets them in a provocative outift and offers them drugged wine.  Her power is particularly alarming because it is not physical; her power impacts the mind and strips males of their free will.  The purpose of her power is also for production of offspring, a female ability.  However, Ms. French is not all-powerful.  Both she and her power are defined by and dependent upon males.  In addition, by selecting the preying mantis as her alternative form, the creators add to the sinister side of her sexuality.  During the episode, Ms. French explains how the female preying mantis is cannibalistic and significantly larger than the male of her species.  During copulation, the female kills the male by biting his head off.  Thus, sex with this woman becomes both figuratively and literally dangerous.

Buffy’s power, by contrast, seems more traditionally masculine.  Her power is an extraordinary physical strength that helps her to slay vampires.  However, unlike Ms. French, Buffy’s power is not limited.  Buffy does not cease to have her strength if vampires are not around; she can use her powers against all forms of creatures, even humans.  In a way, her power seems less sinister and more simple because it relates strictly to the physical, rather than the mental.  Buffy may kick your ass, but she cannot mentally enslave someone.  Her power is also for the purpose of destroying enemies and protecting allies, rather than for reproduction.  Thus, Buffy’s power seems to parallel the traditional responsibilities of a man, rather than a woman.  Although Buffy is attractive, her sexuality seems less threatening.  Although she has an athletic physique and carries her body confidently, her appeal is that of the down-to-earth-girl-next-door.  She wears dresses, but they are not overly-provocative.  She also thinks and speaks more analytically than emotionally.  She is brave, upfront, responsible, and logical.  She instructs the males in her life (like Xander and Giles) on what to do and speaks clearly, rather than acting flirtacious or coy.  Buffy also reverses gender expectations when she, the hero, saves Xander (the ‘damsel’) from imminent peril, all the while making sarcastic and witty quips to prove her mental prowess as well.

~ by dkirkwood on May 13, 2007.