Its well known that Joss had to decide between the two and in the end he chose to make Willow lesbian. Well,it would have been better to make Xander gay instead,in my opinion. If they do a reboot,this time make Xander gay and leave Willow straight.
shareI dont like Xander very much,maybe i would like a gay Xander more,or maybe i would dislike him even more,who knows
shareI don't believe he "had" to make any such choice. Both were established heterosexual characters, if he was really interested in the show having a gay character, he could've added someone new.
shareHe had plans for both. He made hints about homosexuality for both in the first 3 seasons because he hadnt decided yet. Then in s4 decided for Willow.
shareLol, no, that supposed foreshadowing is something people love to claim after the fact (just like the hints about Dawn). Whedon has even said that he didn't know what route he was going to take with Willow and Tara during season 4. The gay references were nothing more than jokes. Xander and Willow were very obviously heterosexual. If you want to sell them as gay or bi to me, you should write some proper character development. Try watching the first 3 seasons imagining them as gay and you'll see it makes no sense.
shareThere were clear hints,like Xander talking with the boy in the closet in season 2
shareUhm, Xander isn't gay, so that's not a hint.
The point of that whole storyline is that he thinks Xander is gay while he isn't. It's supposed to mock guys for freaking out at the thought of being gay. It was pretty succesful in that regard, not as some kind of indication that he might turn out to have homosexual feelings himself one day.
Uhm this comment is kinda....stupid? Yeah then Joss chose Willow,so of course Xander isnt gay! That doesnt mean that Joss and the writers didnt think about that being a possible foreshadowing. Writers do these kind of elements all the time,sometimes they lead to an event,sometimes it doesnt.
shareUhm, no, you missed the point. I said I believe Whedon didn't put any actual foreshadowing about it in the show. Pointing out one joke that never lead to anything isn't exactly proof he did.
What's actually "kinda...stupid" is the idea that one single joke is some kind of set up for the future sexual development of a main character, when no such reference was ever made before or afterwards again.
That storyline said nothing about Xander's own sexuality, just his discomfort with homosexuality. I guess Willow also had the hots for Buffy because of that one remark Xander once made???
To believe that Whedon used two obvious jokes and pretty much a coin toss up to make decisions about character development, is to admit his writing abilities suck!
Nope, that would have be gratuitous and gross.
shareFor the period it was made in lesbians (especially cute ones) were far more accepted than gay men.
shareYou don't flip sexualities at age 19. This show made no sense.
shareUh, many people actually do. At 19 you're an adult on your own, no longer under your parent's roof, and this is when we start to explore. Many gays come out at 19.
shareThere's a big difference between "coming out" and actually being gay. Xander wasn't hiding anything. he was actually a straight male. He had a crush on Buffy, was in love with Willow as a friend and also dated Cordelia. At no time do we ever see Xander fantasize about a gay relationship. He is is straight. The same was true for Willow. She dated Oz and was in love with Xander.
shareXander would have been a disaster as a gay male. I'm not arguing for that.
You said people don't flip sexualities at age 19. That's just wrong. Of course they were always "gay" but hid it from their family until they were 19. That's very common.
Also, many divorced women with kids come out as lesbians after bad experiences with men.
That's a Contradiction. Either they are gay and hiding it or they aren't. But you don't chase after girls and fantasize towards women and than at 19 just magically switcheroo. I call that nonsense.
shareBut you don't chase after girls and fantasize towards women and than at 19 just magically switcheroo.
than you fantasized about boys too in High school.
shareYup, exactly. And we as viewers got to know them intimately and never saw them have homosexual feelings, so it makes no sense.
shareIt's rather obvious they wouldn't make a major male character, especially Xander, gay because they want female fans to be attracted to him, and "available" in a fantasy sense. Plus, face it, male homosexual leading men are not popular on tv unless it's a gay themed show.
They made Willow "gay" to capitalize on straight male fascination with lesbians having sex.
It's all pandering bullshit.
I wouldn't call it bullshit. Straight men will not watch a TV show with gay men, usually. No ratings equals no show.
shareBut more importantly, they want straight females to develop a crush on Xander.
shareNo, I think Xander was a character that was supposed to appeal more to guys than girls. Characters like Angel were supposed to be eye candy for straight females.
shareYes, you make a good point. Angel and Spike were the male idols for girls. But Xander had to be appealing to girls. And straight males could be put off by him.
shareThis lol.
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