This article contains spoilers for the following shows and film(s): Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003), Jennifer’s Body (2009), and The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020).
Sapphic representation has been both wonderful and a slippery slope over the years. Whether it’s in movies, TV shows, books, or video games, representation has slowly improved. Despite its rocky beginnings and many other obstacles that have blocked the path and continue to hinder progress, many of the stories and characters that have come before have all contributed to the amazing representation that exists now. This article will focus on television and movies, but future articles will delve into different formats as well.
To begin the journey, I don’t think we can discuss this topic without bringing up one of the most famous, and possibly infamous, cases of sapphic representation that was present in Buffy the Vampire Slayer back in the 90s. The relationship between Willow and Tara within the show is a staple in the queer/sapphic community due to how ground-breaking it was to show two women genuinely loving each other back in that decade.
Still, they’re not immune to issues. Willow and Tara’s relationship deteriorates and ends as Willow’s addiction to magic drives a wedge between them. Willow’s response is to make Tara forget everything and set them “back to normal”, which in hindsight, isn’t really the best course of action when you want someone to take you back (spoiler alert: this makes everything worse). This in itself doesn’t mean Willow and Tara are bad representation, however, it can be hard to support a relationship where this became a problem. Further along in the show, after Tara chooses to forgive Willow, Buffy showcases one of the most infamous cases of “bury your gays”– a trope that involves the overused and usually unnecessary deaths of LGBTQ+ characters in comparison to the straight characters in pieces of media. When Tara is unfortunately killed by a demon with a stray bullet that was meant to kill Buffy, the show perpetuated this harmful trope and showed that LGBTQ+ characters have a tendency to be seen as more expendable than the abundance of straight characters within the same show. Due to the nature of the random, senseless death from a bullet not even meant for her, any reconciliation that Tara had with Willow in that moment–which showed them kissing—died with Tara, and the viewers were left with anger, sadness, and confusion as to why it happened.
Buffy is iconic, and this relationship was one of the first proper depictions of a sapphic relationship in speculative fiction, and many sapphics that watched the show fell in love with their love. As far as representation goes, there were both the highs of the positivity and love that they showed–showing that it was normal to be this way within a world of creatures and monsters–and the lows, with one of the saddest depictions of “bury your gays,” right after they were set to reconcile and get things back on track. Overall, without Buffy, many of the shows today probably wouldn’t have been inspired to include their own sapphic representation, however, it wasn’t without its blunders.
One of the next cases of sapphic representation in spec-fic I’d like to highlight is Jennifer’s Body; one of my favourite films because of the way it subverts expectations. Released in 2009, Jennifer’s Body immediately hooked male audiences. The marketing and promotion of the movie, the trailer, the choice to have Megan Fox play Jennifer Check, and the casting of Amanda Seyfried as Anita “Needy” Lesnicki, all worked to encourage the male gaze.
With this in mind though, the movie delved into more feminist themes and the concept of getting revenge on the people that stole something vital to you. In Jennifer’s case, it was both her life and her body. When a group of men in a band sacrificed her to Satan in exchange for fame, Jennifer was transformed into a succubus. With her newfound powers, she went on a rampage to kill as many boys as she deemed necessary.
Despite these amazing aspects to the film, a particular scene within it does make you pause when you think of it in terms of sapphic representation. During the iconic scene in Needy’s bedroom, Jennifer and Needy make-out: a slow process that builds from small, innocent kisses and touches, to Needy straddling Jennifer on the bed. There are both great things about this scene and issues with it despite the underlying intentions. The scene is well-known for the amount of kissing the two partake in, and the dedication from Fox and Seyfried to making it look good, but because of this, it can also be seen as male gaze-y despite the female director at the head of the film. The scene plays out slowly, with odd close ups of the women kissing, contributing to the hyper-sexualization of sapphic characters and playing into men’s fantasies.
It’s been 13 years since Jennifer’s Body was released, and it’s clear that 13 years ago, it was difficult to navigate sapphic intimacy and to make sure you’re doing it carefully, seeing as there was less awareness of the sexualization or stereotypes of these relationships at the time. Though there are deeper meanings to Jennifer’s Body, like this scene, which shows Needy’s underlying feelings for Jennifer and her battle with accepting them, the visual representation of the relationship can be detrimental to the community as it still objectifies sapphic love.
The last piece of spec-fic media I wanted to highlight is The Haunting of Bly Manor as I feel the show does an amazing job at addressing issues that other pieces of media within spec-fic have had in the past, such as the “bury your gays” trope and sexualization of sapphic relationships.
Aired in 2020, The Haunting of Bly Manor left fans pleasantly surprised as they jumped into this show expecting something similar to The Haunting of Hill House, only to get a show dedicated to a heartbreaking, tragic, beautiful love story between Dani Clayton, our main protagonist, and Jamie, the manor’s gardener.
Bly Manor, spoiler alert, ends in a terrible tragedy, with Dani having a fate that made even the most stoic of people cry. In order to save one of the kids she’s been tasked to take care of throughout the show, Dani sells herself, mind and body, to the Lady of the Lake, a spirit that roams the manor. Though Dani sacrifices herself, she is given many more years to live after this incident. There are moments here and there that show that the spirit is still within her and will eventually take over Dani’s mind and body, bringing her back to the manor to be the new Lady of the Lake. And of course, this is what happens. But what makes this show so different from other shows that feature LGBTQ+ characters dying, such as Buffy, is that Dani gets to live a fulfilling life with her partner before her unfortunate fate. Despite all the odds, she and Jamie lived together, married, and were happy for a long time–showing genuine love, affection and care separate from any sexualization or fetishization of the characters.
Dani’s fate was inevitable, but not in a way that felt unjust. We knew it was coming from the moment the spirit invaded her body, it was just a matter of time until we had to lose her. Both Dani and Jamie were amazing in terms of lesbian representation. In contrast to shows before, it gave us a whole show centered around their story, and in the end, we had a wonderful portrayal of lesbians in love. Love that transcends death.
There are many more cases of sapphic representation to discuss in spec-fic media, including those that delve into the evolution of representation in animated shows. Be on the lookout for more articles in the future dedicated to discussing the topic and the highs and lows of it.