Sexual Rhetoric in the Works of Joss Whedon: New Essays

by Erin B. Waggoner (Editor)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer has remained an enduring feature of late 1990s pop culture, spawning television spin-offs, rabid fans, and significant scholarly inquiry. Though there have been numerous books devoted to the work of Joss Whedon, this collection of fifteen essays is the first to focus specifically on the sexual rhetoric found in his oeuvre, which includes Angel, Firefly/Serenity, Dollhouse, and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, as well as Buffy. Topics covered include the role of virginity, lesbianism and homoeroticism in the shows and the comics, the nature of masculinity and femininity and gender stereotypes, an exploration of sexual binaries, and a ranking of the Buffy characters on the Kinsey scale of sexuality. Together these essays constitute a much-needed addition to the expanding body of Whedon gender scholarship.

Genres: Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Nonfiction, Gender Studies, Pop Culture

278 pages, Paperback

First published March 8, 2010

Reviews

[Manny]

I thought at first this had to be a joke. I mean, look at the blurb:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer has remained an enduring feature of late 1990s pop culture, spawning television spin-offs, rabid fans, and significant scholarly inquiry. Though there have been numerous books devoted to the work of Joss Whedon, this collection of fifteen essays is the first to focus specifically on the sexual rhetoric found in his oeuvre, which includes Angel, Firefly/Serenity, Dollhouse, and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, as well as Buffy. Topics covered include the role of virginity, lesbianism and homoeroticism in the shows and the comics, the nature of masculinity and femininity and gender stereotypes, an exploration of sexual binaries, and a ranking of the Buffy characters on the Kinsey scale of sexuality. Together these essays constitute a much-needed addition to the expanding body of Whedon gender scholarship.

But when I checked on Amazon, I found it cost $35 - so presumably it's a real piece of academic writing, as opposed to a parody?

Wow. It's getting harder and harder to tell the difference between ironic and serious commentary on pop culture. I'm still not completely sure about this one. Maybe the price tag is ironic too? If so, kudos to Ms. Waggoner!

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you go into this book knowing it's a book of academic essays and not a typical nonfiction book about Buffy and pals, you'll have a great time with this one. So yes, it can be a little dry, but if you find the subject matter as interesting as I did, this is an insightful read that presents a variety of perspectives and food for thought

[Sarra]

I read a couple of essays; they were dull and poorly written. I couldn't get motivated to pick this book up again after that, so it went back to the library unfinished.