Joss Whedon

Joss Whedon is the creator of several popular television shows including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel: The Series, Firefly, Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and Dollhouse.

Many people congratulate Whedon for his kick-ass female characters, however, many also question his feminist credentials. While Buffy the Vampire Slayer was in some ways a groundbreaking show, it's now dated and can be analyzed in a greater context.

On strong female characters and Whedon as a feminist writer

Many of the women in Whedon's work have been called strong female characters. Buffy is the most obvious of these, though characters like Willow Rosenberg and Zoe Washburne are also given as examples.

• Joss Whedon speech: "Why do you write these strong female characters?" (on YouTube)

Whedon was raised by a feminist mother and, some years ago, was more often credited with feminist sensibility. However, it is difficult, in 2009 (the time of writing this page) to find websites prepared to support his feminist credentials. Here are some, however:

• Joss Whedon - feminist? (Whedonesque.com, a Whedon fan site, talks about Whedon's feminism. That's about as pro-Whedon as you're likely to get, yes?)
• Interview with Joss Whedon in which he talks about being raised as a radical feminist

(Please add more if you can find them.)

See www.slayageonline.com as well as numerous books by scholars such as Rhonda Wilcox, Lorna Jowett, Stacey Abbott, and Roz Kaveney.

Criticisms of Whedon's work

Some people claim that Whedon's work is thinly-veiled misogyny. For instance, a frequent criticism is that many of his female characters are raped.

General

• Joss Whedon and feminist cookies at The Hathor Legacy (see also: Feminist cookie)
• Critiquing Joss Whedon at Naamenblog
• Reconsidering the Feminism of Joss Whedon at The M
• Buffy The Vampire Slayer/Angel: the Series

• Why Buffy the Vampire Slayer is not a feminist show

"Buffy on the other hand is kept almost virginal and is punished severely almost every time she has sex."

• Why Buffy Kicked Ass
• Joss Whedon is a misogynist homophobe
• A series of articles:
  • Is Joss Whedon a feminist? Buffy and female empowerment
  • The demon women of Buffy
  • Misogynist villains in the Whedonverse
• Is Joss Whedon feminist enough? (N.B.: article is arguably a critique of its own title)

Firefly

• Is Joss Whedon a feminist? The women of Firefly/Serenity
• More than just a whore: sex work, Firefly, and audience engagement

Dr. Horrible

• Doctor... Horrible? (The Hathor Legacy)
• Weak, Whedon, fucking weak.
• Sad to say it, Dr Horrible let me down

Dollhouse

• Dollhouse, rape culture, and women in refrigerators
• Why Dollhouse should be put in the attic
• My impression of Dollhouse

"Me: Have you got anything without rape? Joss Whedon: Well, there's rape, intrigue, shirtless Helo and rape, that's not got much rape in it."

• NPR interview with Joss Whedon in which he discusses misogyny in Dollhouse, and he says is trying to "take someone's identity away in order to discuss the concept of her identity".
• Fox's Dollhouse: one more excuse for misogyny
• Reasons "Dollhouse" is misogynist bullshit #1: The names

Praise for Whedon's work

• Dollhouse Is Feminist - The first in a series of videos describing feminist merits of Dollhouse.
• 'Buffy' and 'Dollhouse': Visions of Female Empowerment and Disempowerment