III. Sex and Censorship: The Case of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Abstract

In this article, I will discuss the impact that television fiction may have upon our understanding of women’s sexuality and sexual oppression. Using the cult television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS) (Whedon, 1997–2003) as a case study, I argue that some censorship deprives viewers of the opportunity to reflect upon and debate sexual mores. Public concern over the effects of television on young people has led to much empirical investigation, principally regarding television violence and, to a lesser extent, sexual content. There is no evidence to suggest that sexual material directly influences young people’s sexual attitudes or behaviour (Donnerstein and Smith, 2001; Malamuth and Impett, 2001); furthermore, research has been criticized for using ‘simple exposure’ to sexual scenes (Bauserman,1998) as measures; the relationship between television viewing and behaviour is likely to be complex, mediated through historical, cultural and social contexts. Young viewers ‘read’ sexual scenes through the lens of their own prior experiences and developing sexual identities and are capable of interpreting moral messages underlying scenes of a sexual nature; their views are often influenced by broader moral values such as trust and mutual respect (Brown, 2000; Levine, 2002; Bragg and Buckingham, 2003). Indeed, it has been argued that the overarching moral messages contained in television fiction are more important than specific content. Selnow (1990) analysed a range of prime-time television programmes and concluded that although they contained scenes of sex and violence, they also conveyed many positive values; people view the whole programme, not just the controversial scenes. Arguably all but the youngest of viewers understand the values being conveyed.