How Slayers: A Buffyverse Story continues the franchise’s feminist and queer legacy
With Slayers: A Buffyverse Story finally here, we explore how the Audible Original continues the franchise’s queer and feminist legacy while reflecting on the series’ trailblazing moments.
WORDS BY SAM DAMSHENAS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AUDIBLE This year marks the 20th anniversary since Buffy and the Scooby Gang paid the Hellmouth (and its glamorous Turok-Han army) a visit, whilst imbuing all potential slayers around the world with the power to battle the forces of darkness. (If you feel ancient, that’s because you are.) During its seven-season stint on air and the years since, Buffy has inspired a whole generation of LGBTQIA+ viewers.
The queer allegories, from Buffy’s need to conceal her true self from the outside world to her reliance on her chosen Scooby family, and having to “come out” as a vampire slayer, have been attributed to helping struggling queer youth feel represented.
But, it didn’t stop at allegories. Buffy eventually blazed a trail for (authentic) rainbow representation thanks to resident witches Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Tara (Amber Benson), with the couple making history as mainstream television’s first long-term lesbian romance.
