Gender associations to fans of Joss Whedon series

POSTED BY: EasyMark
UPDATED: Friday, December 9, 2005 15:13
VIEWED: 7774
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EASYMARK

Thursday, December 8, 2005 1:51 AM

Watched Serenity, got hooked, line, and sinker for the Firefly series, and been slowly working my way through Buffy and Angel. Shame that I hadn't known how entertaining Joss Whedon was sooner.

Although I heard of Buffy before, my naive notions dismissed the show as something targeted for little girls who wanted to relate more to the hero (or in this case, heroine) in an action/adventure setting. Think I might have channel surfed by back then and caught Xander playing an adolescently stereotypical "boys-are-so-stupid" motif and figured the show wasn't for me.

Now that I've caught some of the other episodes, some of the story elements have been quite impressive and I took back any negative thoughts I had about the series. But it did get me thinking though...

Buffy lasted for 7 seasons, Angel 5, and Firefly, well... I'll save my whining for later. Point is that Buffy lasted much longer and one reason might be the gender of the protagonist. Having a female at the head of the show could have female fans subconsciously relating better to the series and certain male fans might be pulled in, um, subconsciously enjoying other "superficial" factors.

But back to Firefly, I'm curious about the gender ratio of the fans. Can anyone who attended one of the conferences give me a ballpark figure? And also to the female fans who lurk here, do you find it tougher to relate to Firefly compared to, for instance, Buffy? Main cast, 5 males, 4 females... does it make a difference? For anyone to respond, do you think it's easier for men to get hooked on Firefly versus women?

NYWOE

Thursday, December 8, 2005 2:02 AM

I can't answer your first question, but I'll answer your second.

Quote:
And also to the female fans who lurk here, do you find it tougher to relate to Firefly compared to, for instance, Buffy?

No, I don't find Buffy easier to relate to than Firefly. In fact, Firefly seems more "real," while Buffy and Angel seem more "fantasy." I love it all, but Firefly is the one that made me a frothing obsessed fan. :)

When they were on the air, I liked Buffy more than Angel, but now I see them on the same level. Maybe it's a maturity thing...

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PSOLARIS

Thursday, December 8, 2005 2:08 AM

Well, being a female I'll put in my two cents.

I have no problems relating to Firefly what so ever. I actually never got into watching Buffy much to tell the truth. I am a big fan of Joss Whedon's writing style, but the series just never did it for me. Some of the storyline was interesting, but perhaps it was because I was not a fan of Sarah Michelle Gellar's acting style. I'm not saying she's a bad actor, most people like her acting...I just don't.

I find it easier to relate to those on FF, and perhaps it's because I find I have something in common with each of the characters. Whether it's Simon's protectiveness of his sister (I have a younger brother that I'm fiercly protective of), or the fact that I tend to get my point across much the way Mal does, and I'm just as much a perv as Jayne, but as level headed and loyal as Zoe...I could go on. I think that if the show got it's fair shot, it could very well have lasted much longer. I honestly don't know what the male to female ratio on this website is, but it'd be interesting to find out.

Personally, I don't think that this show would have much of a problem getting a female fanbase. It'd be interesting to see what others think tho.

Psolaris

"Ten percent of nuthin' is...let me do the math here...nuthin' into nuthin'...carry the nuthin'"

NANDY

Thursday, December 8, 2005 2:10 AM

I find Firefly easier to relate to but it has nothing to do with gender. I don't think gender is as big of a deal to girls as it is to guys. I think guys have a much harder time looking up to and relating women as heroes. I don't think that it's really an issue for women.
ex. Harry Potter? vs. any book with a female lead... also the reason JK Rowling used her initial on the book... because boys wouldn't read a book written by a female author... but girls will read book written by a guy about a guy.

"You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with until you understand who's in ruttin' command here."

STAKETHELURK

Thursday, December 8, 2005 2:17 AM

These are some interesting questions you raised, but I don't necessarily think they were much of a factor in any series' longevity. Remember, Buffy nearly got the axe in Season Five. It was only through the unprecedented and near-miraculous intervention of UPN that the series was able to go on for another two seasons. Because the venture proved unprofitable for UPN, they were unwilling to repeat it when Angel ended up in a similar situation--thus, Angel only lasted five seasons. It's appeal to female viewers didn't have much to do with it (for the record, Angel's ratings were up that season when almost all the other WB series were bleeding viewers; why the network chose to kill the show remains something of a mystery). And as for Firefly, it's basically clear that Fox wanted to kill it long before it ever aired and could be embraced or rejected by viewers of either gender.

As for fan gender ratio, I have heard it reported time and time again that the largest bloc of Whedon fans (of any series) are women in their thirties or older. I think it's Joss' writing more than any particular grouping of characters that attracts this demographic (of which I am not a part).

JETFLAIR

Thursday, December 8, 2005 4:27 AM

For my part, I have only seen one season of Buffy, and it didn't grab me.

I'm a girl, and the male cast members really hooked me. From the first glimpse, I found Mal incredibly attractive, both physically and character-wise. He's the most appealing leading man I've ever seen. I also find Wash and Simon to be very attractive, engaging characters and I like Book. I love to hate Jayne.

Kaylee is my favorite girl of the cast and she too helped hook me on the show because I enjoy her character so much. Zoe's awesome too because I like to think of myself as a worrior woman sometimes:)

But the guys did it for me. Make River the lead instead of Mal, and it would have been just another show.

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NYWOE

Thursday, December 8, 2005 7:24 AM

Quote:
I don't think gender is as big of a deal to girls as it is to guys.

That's a good point. As long as a show has both strong men and strong women somewhere in there, I'll be able to relate.

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QUEENOFTHENORTH

Thursday, December 8, 2005 3:56 PM

I appreciate the fact that BtVS has a female lead, and a strong one at that, but I don't think it makes it easier to relate to. I love Firefly just as much. One of my favorite things about Joss is that, unlike a lot of male writers, he doesn't have a problem writing in both physically and emotionally strong women. In fact, he seems to make a point of it. But I liked the men in Firefly too . So I don't think it really makes a difference for women.

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CLIOMUSE

Thursday, December 8, 2005 4:48 PM

My personal recruiting experience suggests that women are probably more attracted to "Firefly" and *Serenity* than men. It is character driven rather than action driven, and this is a draw for many women. All the characters are strong in their own way. If you look at the IMDB user ratings, women rate *Serenity* higher than men do in most of the age categories.

I believe the show didn't find an audience because Fox was marketing it to teenage boys, many of whom were probably dissapointed when they saw it (though I have recruited a few teenage boys into the Browncoat fold.) Based on the ads, I would never have watched it if my husband, who is a teenage boy at heart, hadn't insisted. If they had marketed it to 30+-year-old women it might have been a different story. "Buffy" came out when the WB was new and it was allowed to find its audience. Fox was looking for an instant hit with "Firefly."

"Firefly" turned me into a "Buffy" and "Angel" viewer. I would never have considered watching either show if it hadn't been for the magic of the more grown-up and "real" "Firefly."

ZOID

Thursday, December 8, 2005 5:08 PM

A guy's viewpoint, for what it's worth:

I was amazed by the characters on Firefly, male and female. While archetypal, they weren't caricatures. The 'he-men' exhibited doubt, weaknesses, fear, and occasionally self-loathing (just like us 'real' men do). The 'farm girl' was sexually uninhibited. The 'whore' was introverted. The 'warrior woman' wanted a child, fathered by a man she clearly loved (I'm still grieving over that).

And then -- of course -- JW and his brilliant Mutant Enemy team revealed all that depth of character through the words and actions of the players, who gave excellent performances themselves. For those reasons, Firefly was the best show in the history of television, sez I.

Buffy and Angel: not so much. I'm not big on Hallowe'en costumes. Some of the story and dialogue were engaging; but I could never lose myself in it because of the bogus prosthetics...

Just my 2p (approximately 3 cents),

zoid
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