When you've read the article you might want my thoughts on it here below;
I do find this article enlightening, because even tough I have realized that all kinds of outsiders like Buffy, I've never thought really thought specifically about how it must be to be gay in high school. I was just fat and liked studying, another kind of outsidership. So even tough the article opened my eyes, I still disagree a bit:
"...a high school jock named Larry who mercilessly bullied Xander before coming out to him (and then coming on to him)."
Coming onto him, really? I think I would remember that. I might be wrong tough. a reason to re-watch Season 2 & 3, yay!
"...but the only one Dawn is willing to discuss her problems with is Willow, which leads Buffy to say sarcastically, " Willow's the expert on boys since when now?" It's an uncharacteristically mean-spirited remark from Buffy — shocking, even, to hear her reference her best friend's sexuality in the form of a put-down."
First of, Buffy was angry and frustrated from a fight with her sister when she thought that, so I don't think it's a big deal and does not reflect her thought on Willow or Willow's sexual references. She doesn't even say it out loud, it's part of her inner dialogue. So I think the writer of this article was overreacting about Buffy's mean-spiritness towards Willow's gayness. She's just in a mood. But it's hard to tell how much bitterness she put in that comment, since I have to interpret her mood from a page. Sometimes I really miss the screen, where it was relatively easy to see what the character was thinking and feeling.
"Unlike Buffy, whose relationships have usually ended in tears or stakes through the heart, Willow has been in relationships in which she experienced true love — not to mention mutual respect — serving as a much more positive role model for Dawn."
Let's compare Willow & Buffy's main relationships, Buffy/Angel & Willow/Tara(I hear you roar Spuffy-fans, now shush).
I'm not saying that Willow doesn't have advice to give that Buffy doesn't have, but with Angel that was definitely true love, or very similar to it, and if Tara had been a 200-year old vampire with a soul, Willow & Tara's relationship might have ended in tears too. Wait, actually it did, when Willow took away Tara's memories and Tara later found out. So let's not compare the "mutual respect" between the two relationships. They were both loving yet troubled loves, and both Willow & Buffy came out of the relationships with knowledge to share.
But despite me understanding Buffy's frustration over Dawn's unwillingness to share with her, I too would rather have spoken to Willow about my love-life in Dawn's situation. Mainly because I have big sisters and I don't feel like telling them stuff like that. I'd rather go with a Willow-type, if I knew one. Also, the fact that Dawn cheated on her boyfriend, might be the reason she'd rather talk to Willow(or Xander), because she (and he) has experience in that area.
Other than those disagreements, I enjoyed this article.
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