Well, not precisely, but any vindictive person with a gun, a can of acid, or, say, superior upper body strength, is capable of wreaking serious bodily harm upon their ex-beloved. We see it all the freaking time, alas. I don't think we really have to reach very far for a metaphor OR for a real life equivalent to the situation, myself.
I was responding to your statement that what Anya did was "just words". I have no idea what your point is here.
Anya didn't just "want" to kill Xander. She tried to. Repeatedly. The fact that, after repeatedly failing to harm him, she decided she was wrong to do so (but at that time just wrong to hurt him, apparently, not to other people in similar situations) is good, but not really much to write home about. If you want a real-life example: If Anya had pointed what she thought was a loaded gun at Xander, pulled the trigger, discovered it was empty, when out to get bullets, and then decided not to kill Xander after all...she's still guilty of attempted murder. And if she then goes on to kill a bunch of other guys who did stuff that's similar to Xander?
I do think that part of the problem is that Anya's killing spree was always portrayed as humorous, and Entropy is clearly supposed to make you laugh (and it makes me laugh!). But as I've said repeatedly, within the context of the fantasy world that we accept as real for purposes of enjoyment while and for much of fannish analysis, Anya tried to trick Xander's friends into helping her torture him to death. In the same way as she had killed people like Xander in the past, and would kill them in the near future.
No one in fandom is special. No one in fandom has emotional reactions that are so righteous and good that they are above criticism. Assumptions about gender are a very real thing in our culture, and they affect everyone.
If you want to convince me that gender double standards don't play a role in how fans reaction to Xander vs. Anya, you're going to have to give me more than a few weak reasons that may or may not apply to some percentage of fans. I find it highly unlikely that every single fan who reacts more negatively to Xander and Anya does it primarily out of gender. But if you are trying to convince me that gender isn't a huge issue, you are going to much better.
no subject
I was responding to your statement that what Anya did was "just words". I have no idea what your point is here.
Anya didn't just "want" to kill Xander. She tried to. Repeatedly. The fact that, after repeatedly failing to harm him, she decided she was wrong to do so (but at that time just wrong to hurt him, apparently, not to other people in similar situations) is good, but not really much to write home about. If you want a real-life example: If Anya had pointed what she thought was a loaded gun at Xander, pulled the trigger, discovered it was empty, when out to get bullets, and then decided not to kill Xander after all...she's still guilty of attempted murder. And if she then goes on to kill a bunch of other guys who did stuff that's similar to Xander?
I do think that part of the problem is that Anya's killing spree was always portrayed as humorous, and Entropy is clearly supposed to make you laugh (and it makes me laugh!). But as I've said repeatedly, within the context of the fantasy world that we accept as real for purposes of enjoyment while and for much of fannish analysis, Anya tried to trick Xander's friends into helping her torture him to death. In the same way as she had killed people like Xander in the past, and would kill them in the near future.
When you give me your thoughts on why viewers are blasé about Anya's attempt to get revenge on Xander in Entropy, what are you basing that on, exactly? Observations of fandom?
No one in fandom is special. No one in fandom has emotional reactions that are so righteous and good that they are above criticism. Assumptions about gender are a very real thing in our culture, and they affect everyone.
If you want to convince me that gender double standards don't play a role in how fans reaction to Xander vs. Anya, you're going to have to give me more than a few weak reasons that may or may not apply to some percentage of fans. I find it highly unlikely that every single fan who reacts more negatively to Xander and Anya does it primarily out of gender. But if you are trying to convince me that gender isn't a huge issue, you are going to much better.