Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a famous American TV show that aired from 1997 to 2003 for seven seasons. The show follows the main character Buffy Summers, a high school student who is also a chosen vampire slayer. She has been given the power and responsibility to fight against vampires, demons, and other supernatural beings that threaten the world. Buffy and her friends navigate the dangers of Sunnydale, a town on top of a Hellmouth, which makes it a hotbed for supernatural activity. Throughout her journey, Buffy faces many personal challenges and moral dilemmas, as she tries to balance her duties as a slayer, and her life as an everyday teenager. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a cult classic with its mix of action, horror, and drama, and the way their stories can parallel those of real life.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer wasn’t shy when it came to having conversations that could be seen as ahead of their time. We see one of these conversations being had in Season 2 Episode 22 when Buffy is forced to come out as a slayer to her mother Joy. The episode is titled, “Becoming, Part Two”, and is an action-packed finale. In this episode, Buffy’s facing the vampire Angel, who’s her ex-boyfriend, who lost his soul, and turned evil. He’s trying to open a portal to a demon dimension, intending to bring about the end of the world. While all of this is going on, Buffy’s mother, Joyce, discovers her secret life as a slayer, so Buffy comes clean about everything. Joyce doesn’t take the news well and gives Buffy the ultimatum, to either reject being a slayer and stay home where it’s safe, or to leave and fight, but never come back. In the end, Buffy is forced to leave her home to stop Angel, killing the man she loves to save the world, and losing her family by following her calling. The episode ends with Buffy leaving Sunnydale and trying to start a new life elsewhere.
When you look at the plot of this episode and the underlying themes within it, you can see Buffy’s experience with coming out as a slayer to Joyce, are very similar to the coming out of experiences of queer people. Buffy being a slayer is a part of herself she keeps secret because of how people would react. Joyce watches Buffy kill a vampire right in front of her, leaving Buffy with no choice, but to come out with the truth. This is similar to how many queer people get caught by their parents being themselves, which forces them to confront everything in the moment. Joyce doesn’t respond well and tells Buffy if she leaves to go fight Angel, following her destiny and choosing to be herself, she’s not welcome to come back to the house. She can’t help being the slayer and having to choose between her calling or suppressing that, is reminiscent of the ways parents try to stop their children from embracing their queerness because of the discomfort it brings them.
Buffy leaves Sunnydale to start a life elsewhere after being disowned by her mother for choosing to continue being a slayer. Lots of queer youth are kicked out of their homes once their families find out about them and don’t react well. This leads to queer youth being on the street and having to fend for themselves. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is able to show the dynamic of a child hiding a part of themselves and the negative ways parents can react to that.
Cites:
https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Becoming,_Part_Two
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E22BecomingPart2
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