Buffy: My Gay Hero

I recently found out that we get Logo, a gay-themed cable channel. I was a little surprised that when I saw they regularly show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I remember watching that with my family when I was growing up. Why would they show it on a channel designed for gay audiences? Oh well, I thought I'd watch a few episodes for old time's sake. I got lucky and they had the two-part season finale from one of the early seasons. I realized as I watched them why they were on Logo.

Here's a little background of what's going on in the show. Buffy, a beautiful, blonde high school student is the chosen one. Her destiny is to slay vampires. Her identity must remain a secret except to the small group of friends who know who she is. She fell in love with a vampire named Angel, who was given his soul back (aka, he's a good guy). After she and Angel have sex, he loses his soul and becomes evil again. He plans on opening a portal that will pull the entire world into hell. It sounds a little cheesy, but the way the show was done was amazing.

In the final episode of the season, Buffy is accused of killing people by the local police and her principal. She goes home and eventually has to tell her mother that she's the slayer. Her mother has trouble accepting the news and a huge fight ensues. Buffy has to leave to stop Angel from destroying the world. Her mom tells her that if she leaves, she had better not even think of coming back. Buffy goes to fight Angel and then he gets his soul back right before she is about to kill him (thanks to Willow, a witch friend of Buffy). As hard as it is, Buffy kills Angel and everything is back to normal, except for Buffy. She was expelled from school and can't go home. The season ends with her leaving Sunnydale on bus :-(

Now, I wouldn't have seen the gay undertones as a pre-teen, but I certainly see them now. She is a strong, sexy woman who sticks up for herself and has no trouble kicking some ass. Right there, she's given the title of gay icon. The "coming out" of sorts to her mother about her destiny and how she can't change was heartbreaking. It wasn't my experience, but I was prepared for a similar reaction when I came out of the closet to my parents. I was terrified that they'd tell me to leave and never come back. I feared not having a place to go home to when I needed my family. It's now really clear to me that Buffy was my gay hero when I was growing up, though I only realize it. Buffy is a strong, smart, sexy character with a secret who got up every day and dealt with her secret and lived without fear.

...and another piece of the puzzle falls into place.