Buffy to be canceled!

[WizarDru]

the sudden 100% switch in orientation always seemed implausible to me. People who are gay know they're gay from an early age, it doesn't hit them at age 20.

I'll make sure and tell my friend from college that. He grew up loving heavy metal, pledged a fraternity and had a steady girlfriend for a while...then one day, he came over and announced he'd realized he was gay. Many folks, like him, spend time trying to decide or deny, partly based on upbringing and the environment they came from, I expect. He's certainly never gone back, to my knowledge, in the fifteen or so years since...though he was quite put out that none of us acted stunned or suprised after he made his announcement. He'd had a speech prepared, and we all disappointed him by being cool about it.

 

[S'mon]

I don't think pledging a fraternity or liking heavy metal requires any particular sexual orientation. If he really had no idea he was gay, then suddenly one day decided he was 100% homosexual, and has stayed that way since (like Willow), I am surprised, yes. All the accounts I've read previously have been quite the reverse, people who are strongly aligned seem to generally decide/realise their orientation in fairly early childhood.

 

[WizarDru]

I don't think pledging a fraternity or liking heavy metal requires any particular sexual orientation.

Quite right, and I didn't mean to imply otherwise. However, my point was that he didn't present a very flamboyantly gay profile, nor did he think of himself that way for some time. One of his roommates after me, however was quite the opposite, though he claimed otherwise and actually got married. Of course, that fell apart a year or two later, when he finally admitted it to himself (to the suprise of none).

If he really had no idea he was gay, then suddenly one day decided he was 100% homosexual, and has stayed that way since (like Willow), I am surprised, yes. All the accounts I've read previously have been quite the reverse, people who are strongly aligned seem to generally decide/realise their orientation in fairly early childhood.

Subconciously, I'm sure he had some inkling when he was almost 20. Personally, I don't think he was sure, but he wouldn't be the first person to emerge from his teens sexually confused. More specifically, I was miffed that he, being homosexual, had had more success with women than I had.

I have no doubt that you are correct, GENERALLY. But, as Umbram pointed out, there are exceptions to every rule. My friend was not the only person I knew in college who realized their sexual orientation there...just the only one I knew personally.

It may have something to do with the changes in attitudes in the last fifteen-twenty years, as well. Being publicly gay in your mid-teens may not be as uncommon as it was when I was at that age. I really couldn't say, though...I'm no sociologist, after all. At least, not unless I can make a Bluff check.

 

[barsoomcore]

Anybody who thinks Will had no inkling that she might find girls interesting is forgetting Evil Willow.

"I think I'm kinda gay."

Hee hee hee.

And remember that Willow and Tara's relationship took a long time to get to the point where things were romantic. They were "doing spells together" for half a year -- which, when you're eighteen, is pretty much a lifetime.

I don't think we were meant to think Will just switched one day and never looked back. I think she was still attracted to Oz when he came back -- just not as much as she was attracted to Tara.

I reckon.

 

[Vocenoctum]

Anybody who thinks Will had no inkling that she might find girls interesting is forgetting Evil Willow.

"I think I'm kinda gay."

Hee hee hee.

Sure they were friends, but IIRC, Evil Willow and Evil Xander were hanging all over each other. Evil Willow was a more open/ sensual person, but I don't think anything really signified Evil Willow being homosexual.

My problems with the relationship are that I never really liked Tara, and Willow's Uber Magic got just plain irritating. The fact that she is now totally 100% gay, with no doubt in her mind seems a bit over the top as well. Kennedy is less irritating to me than Tara, but still blah. (As are all the protoslayers truthfully, and Dawn, so maybe it's just me

 

[barsoomcore]

Sure they were friends, but IIRC, Evil Willow and Evil Xander were hanging all over each other. Evil Willow was a more open/ sensual person, but I don't think anything really signified Evil Willow being homosexual.

Um, didn't she lick Good Willow's neck? You know. Just saying.

I can't claim to have perfect recollection. Hanigan in tight leather pants always throws off my concentration.

My problems with the relationship are that I never really liked Tara ... Kennedy is less irritating to me than Tara, but still blah. (As are all the protoslayers truthfully, and Dawn, so maybe it's just me

See, now here we disagree. Tara's one of my favourite Buffy characters of all time -- I'd've happily watched the "Willow & Tara Show".

I kind of agree with you, though -- and don't really believe that Will's 100% one way or the other. I think they're making her that way to avoid backlash from the sizable community that has turned her into something of an icon. If she starts chasing boys around there's a large number of fans who would be pretty angered and feel let down, and sadly I think Buffy's become the kind of show where such things drive story decisions. It's too bad -- especially after the bravery the producers showed in getting us here in the first place.

 

[WizarDru]

Um, didn't she lick Good Willow's neck? You know. Just saying.

I can't claim to have perfect recollection. Hanigan in tight leather pants always throws off my concentration.

You want your concentration broke? Go watch the trailer for "American Wedding". Now THAT will break your concentration.


What were we talking about, again?

 

[drothgery]

I don't think we were meant to think Will just switched one day and never looked back. I think she was still attracted to Oz when he came back -- just not as much as she was attracted to Tara.

I reckon.

It's just kind of odd that
1) After Willow & Tara became serious, she hasn't even looked at a guy except under the influence of magic.
2) Pre-Tara, she never looked at a girl (excepting Evil Willow).

 

[John Crichton]

Considering she's still pretty yound (early 20's in the show) she simply may not want anything to do with guys right now is more comfy with women. It does happen. Doesn't mean that she isn't attracted to both. There just hasn't been any male around that has got her juices flowing.

 

[S'mon]

It's just kind of odd that
1) After Willow & Tara became serious, she hasn't even looked at a guy except under the influence of magic.
2) Pre-Tara, she never looked at a girl (excepting Evil Willow).

Yes, this is what bugs me. Joss could have created a character who was 'in denial', but there was absolutely no inkling of this prior to meeting Tara, eg she'd had a crush on Xander for years. Her falling for Tara seemed totally plausible to me, it's her behaviour since that seems odd, except perhaps as a response to societal pressure to 'stay over the line', because people (her friends in-show, like the boycott-threateners out of) can't deal with ambiguity. That seems the most charitable explanation, the other one being that Joss doesn't want the hassle he'd get if he didn't sacrifice character credibility to political imperatives.