It is argued that one reason for the success of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and other shows in the female action-adventure genre is the lead character's ability to portray both masculine and feminine narrative traits as suggested by Brown (1987) and Fiske (1987). This flexibility in narrative traits helps create a polysemic program with multiple texts for the audience to read. Past research by McGuire (2001) also suggests female action-adventure programs often allow secondary female characters (such as Buffy's Willow) to grow in power and become as flexible in gender traits as the lead. Through a critical analysis, this paper argues that the final seasons of Buffy offered a twist in gender narrative traits found in female action-adventure series. As Buffy and Willow grew more powerful, they became less gender flexible. It was a male character, Xander Harris, who became the most flexible of all of the show's characters by the end of the series. This paper also argues that Xander was the most difficult character for writers to develop for this very reason.

VCR/Monitor, overhead projector