#so willow being bi-coded & willow being used as a buffy sexuality figure were near entirely overlapping which negates the view of | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

fiapple · 2 years ago

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other early buffy bi-coding includes: both her heart & spirit being initially coded as gay/bisexual (the writers weren’t sure which till tara came into the picture, & according to a semi-recent article, of which label pretty much until willow came out) & were intended as such, as the writers always knew one of them was going to come out.

#buffy summers #btvs #this is why i don’t consider the use of willow (a lesbian) to convey elements of buffy’s (a bisexual) sexuality biphobic whereas i sort of #do when that lens is applied to faith. in willow’s case her lesbianism is important like i cannot understate that but the writing choice #itself was influenced by the notion on part of the creators that willow being written as bisexual was the original intent & they changed #their minds because the lesbian representation was important & they felt with the way people thought of bisexuals it would make willowtara #get taken less seriously. so until willow came out she was very much a bi-coded character (STILL A LESBIAN & STILL MEANS HER & OZ WAS COMP #AS SOON AS THAT WAS CONFIRMED)#up until she came out- and it was largely if not entirely that before that point (bar the coming out scene) where she is used in any major #way to convey that aspect of sexuality with buffy- it becomes more general in terms of paralleling relationship struggle after that point #so willow being bi-coded & willow being used as a buffy sexuality figure were near entirely overlapping which negates the view of #bisexuality genuinely being part straight part gay rather than having to exist in dual spaces due to the way sexuality is dichotomized #also shout out to willow’s lesbianism for still retroactively working very well as a narrative way to convey that dual space even before the #choice to definitively make her such was made. her complicated lesbianism does so much for the themes girlie is carrying.#like a lot of people complain about that choice because of the fact we later got confirmation that it was made for reasons which were i #inconsiderate to both bisexuals & lesbians but ultimately willow as a lesbian works better overall than willow as a bisexual on a #storytelling level to me based on how sexuality in particular is ultimately positioned in the story by the end of s7 #like when i talk about pre-coming out willow being bi-coded it isn’t to detract from her present lesbianism or say she should be bi- that’s #flat out lesbophobic & i don’t fuck with it- it’s just acknowledging a reality that influenced how she was written prior to coming out 100%#where as with faith that’s not present especially because she is fully meant to represent buffy (a bisexual’s) sexuality rather than any #sort of dual space struggle- she (darkly) mirrors buffy’s rather than playing a role in it #which then (to me) does start to play into the half straight half gay idea when considering again that she represents buffy’s sexuality #specifically the repressed aspect is positioning a bisexual’s repressed sapphic attraction as lesbian rather than… repressed bisexual #*ie positioning #attraction. like especially considering eliza said she thinks faith swing both ways it kinda does make me uncomfy & feels really reductivist #which is part of why i plan to make that post #blah blah people are entitled to their headcanons. in context the headcanon kinda has a biphobia issue when ignoring faiths bi-coding & word #of saint paul confirmation on top of her narrative positioning irt sexuality that’s all i’m saying

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