Buffy vs. bella: Gender, relationships and the modern vampire

Abstract

The recent repositioning of the vampire in literature, film and television has been accompanied by a radical change in the role and performance of the female human. In the last fifteen years two female human characters have stood above all others and have created more debate around their roles, actions and decisions than any female character since Stoker’s Lucy Westenra: Buffy Summers in the television series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) and Bella Swan in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight novels (2005-8). Created almost ten years apart, these two series have been both lauded and criticized for their representations of the female, feminism and femininity. Both characters are problematic in that they simultaneously resist and reinforce the Western gender norms placed on women: Buffy extols independence and physical strength yet reinforces traditional, male-dominated Western ideals of female beauty while the Twilight series emphasizes the role of men as protectors of women but makes it clear that Bella chooses her passive position.