Dracula: Stoker and Netflix (Episode 3)

Buffy the vampire slayer: "The Witch" Ep. 1

By: Rachael Brown 

     The show Buffy the Vampire Slayer follows Buffy, a vampire slayer through her journey through high school trying to live a normal life but also fighting off vampires and other monstrous creatures along the way. In this specific episode "The Witch" Buffy along with several other girls are trying out for the school's cheerleading squad. This television show really puts a twist on gender stereotypes, this episode specifically has a ton of gender and stereotyping that could be discussed as far as all of the girls trying out for the cheerleading squad and how they are all portrayed as society's perfect cheerleaders. 

     Throughout this episode, you can really see how the girls trying out for cheerleading are both physically and behaviorally stereotyped. There are many points where the girls are very feminized and are shown as society's perfect expectations of how a cheerleader looks and acts. As far as physically stereotyped all of the girls are shown in their tight uniforms and short skirts. All of the girls playing the role of the cheerleader are also all mostly blondes and are all skinny and very fit and in shape. The character Amy even says at one point in the episode that she is afraid of gaining weight because she is afraid that she will not look good enough to be a cheerleader. Also shown in this episode is how the cheerleaders are portrayed as far as their behaviors and attitude. It appears that all of the girls that make the squad all seem to be the popular mean girls that run the school, while Buffy and Amy don't make it and are only used to fill in for the other more popular girls. It is sad to say that this is exactly how we imagine cheerleaders to be because of society and movies when in reality it is quite different and more than just looking good in a uniform and being the most popular.



     I would also like to take a look at the stereotypical relationship between Amy and her mother. Amy has a stereotypical relationship with her mom in the aspect that she feels the need to impress her mom and live up to her expectations. Amy says to Buffy that she and her mom spend a couple hours every day working on cheerleading to improve her skills to be a better cheerleader. Amy's mom wants her so bad to be the great cheerleader that she was in high school so bad that when Amy only makes the team as a fill-in for the other girls she is very scared that she is going to let her mother down. However, this is where the show decided to give the stereotypical mother-daughter relationship a twist. Amy's mother, who turns out to be a witch, takes matters into her own hands and switches their bodies so that Amy can get onto the cheerleading team and be just like her. Amy knows that she will never be as good as her mother but is so afraid of letting her down that she tries anyway she even says at one point to Buffy while looking at her cheerleading trophy that she just can't get her body to move like her moms did in cheerleading. Seeing the relationship play put between Amy and her mom is kind of sad because it seems as though Amy doesn't really have a passion for cheerleading she just wants to be able to make her mom proud. It also seems like her mother only wants to be on the cheerleading team so that she can live through Amy and feel like she can relive her past. 


     I think that this episode offers the viewer a lot to think about in terms of stereotypes and how society portrays and expects cheerleaders to be and the role that they are expected to fulfill compared to the expectations of male sports. Cordelia even says at one point that she needs to look good so that she can be adored by the guys while she is cheering. This statement alone shows how much males and females are shown differently through tv and movies. In any other movie or show when guys are in sports it is about winning the game and being good at the sport they are in, however, when the girls are shown in this episode as cheerleaders it is as if they are just there to look good and be the picture-perfect cheerleader that everyone imagines.


    This episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer shows many different examples of stereotyping in relationships, cheerleading, and women that has been portrayed for years and still is in all kinds of movies and tv shows. This show does a very good job of going outside the box and offering different views than the ones society gives us, however, this episode stays more in the lines of how cheerleaders and girls are supposed to look and act according to society.