Coming out on a Hellmouth
- Edwina Bartlem (University of Melbourne)
Willow and Tara = "good" lesbians, aligned with the slayer and not the vampires.
One character cannot represent the whole group - but inevitably this happens.
Metaphors of witchcraft/wicca problematic:
- female narcissism
- jealousy
- revenge
- drug addiction
Both wiccans and lesbians celebrate a different kind of/focus on sexuality.
Stylistic representations and language used as metaphor for lesbian sex, illustrating both as a mysterious event.
Willow and Tara have a more conventional relationship than the others on the show.
Coming Out
Hush - power of two girls
- self-realisation
A New Man and Who Are You increased use of magic ("sex")
New Moon Rising coming out to friends
Sense of mystical and otherworldliness around lesbian sex.
Unnatural?
Potentially evil?
Not real?
Magic as an unstable signifier
= lesbianism
= addictive substance
= catching?!