Orientation & The Fandom

[Harley]

Do you think the Buffy fandom (or any fandom really) attracts one orientation over another? Do you think gender plays a factor?

 

[Kean]

From my time in fandom (not just Buffyverse fandom) I have found that the majority of the people that I meet are female. There are plenty of men, I just find there is more women.

As for orientation, I don't think fandom attracts more LGBT or straight people. However, I do find that people are much more open about their orientation.

 

[NY State of Mind]

hmmmmmmm interesting i know one thing for sure is majority will be females 😛

 

[WWGD]

For some reason I think that the majority of the show's fanbase is made up of straight or bi women. I also think that there is a relatively large gay fanbase for BtVS.

Regardless, they are all awesome for liking this show 😀

 

[Tome]

This fandom has definitely more females than males. As for orientation, I haven't met THAT many fans, but overall I think there is a good amount of bi/gay females/males amongst us. 🙂 Which of course is mighty cool. Diversity rocks. 😉

The only thing I'd wish is to convert even more straight guys into the Verse! A lot of them would probably like it if they gave it a shot... It's just the reputation the show has and the cheesy title, haha! I still managed to get 3-4 of them into it. 😀

 

[Mr Giles]

I imagine its mostly straight females that are buffy fans! Like 50%?

 

[sisterofmercy]

I would imagine it's predominantly a female fanbase but I don't think orientation has anything to do with it really.

 

[Bexieh]

Well I spend my time on a couple of forums and of all of them this is probably the most diverse. Usually it's females on the places I go but there's a fair amount of males here!

 

[msfantastico87]

According to this right now, I'm the only gay woman lol but anyways...I do think that certain tv shows, mostly sci fi ones, tend to reel in all types of people 🙂 especially when they have at least one same sex scene in the series 😛

 

[Gum Gnome33]

I'm a straight female--you can add my husband to the mix for another count for the boys. 🙂 In my immediate circle of friends who are fans there is another straight woman and a gay woman as well. But I'd say none of them are as much of a mega fan as I am...do they count? 😛

 

[SlayerOfVampyrs]

Not quite sure why this is in The Bronze. It's almost impossible to say whether more males or females are involved in fandom when discussing it as a whole, as opposed to just for one show. For example, I've met more males involved in the Breaking Bad fandom than I have involved in sayyy..the OC fandom. Does that automatically mean that there are less men involved in fandom as a whole, simply because they are into one show less than another? Absolutely not. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your question, but from the way I am understanding it, it's far too generalized to ever get an actual answer.

That said, I am a bisexual woman, and, without fully expanding on my feelings on this matter, I don't think that sexual orientation dictates what fandom a person belongs to anymore than their race does.

 

[Xin Rong]

Truth is that this show isn't 'allowed to be liked by men' according to peer pressure or gender stereotypes... the amount of males I know who will say they like the show in private but won't do so generally is shocking.

My cousin wanted her boyfriend to watch buffy, but he wouldn't cos it is a 'girls tv show.' So she got him to watch angel instead. He absolutely loved it and went onto watch buffy, and loved that too.

Unfortunately most Angel viewers came from buffy, otherwise I think it would be a much more equal fanbase, as it is the fanbase is definitely more female/gay males than it is hetro men. This is a shame, cos as a hetro guy I know they're missing out.

 

[Jodast]

All of my male friends liked Buffy first time around. Admittedly in our group, I am the only who has watched it through more than once, but none of us had any problem admitting they are fans of the show in public.

 

[zobothehobo]

I am a woman and I recently started identifying as queer. Basically what that means is I don't fit into "gay, straight, or bi" and I really think this kind of binary thinking is limiting and flawed. I reject the dichotomous thought process with every fiber of my being.

That said, my particular brand of queer is such: I'm primarily attracted to women and female parts... however, I am sexually attracted to men as long as I do not have to see their penis. Penises are gross and freak me out. But the male body can be incredibly sexy taking that away.

 

[Living Dead Boy]

Honestly, there's a lot more males in this fandom than people realize. I've met plenty of males who are into the show, but the degree may vary. Also alot of males have a hard time admitting that they like this show, like people have said. They're Buffy loving behind closed doors, but it's a slim chance they'll be marching in the Slayer Pride Parade. Sorry, I let my freak flag fly! 😛 I think it's ridiculous to be ashamed of loving a show, personally, but what's a male without his ego. 😉

And sexual orientation has nothing to do with loving the show, in the grand scheme of things. Sure, lots of LGBT people would like better visibility, and a gay character certainly would spark interest, but it's not a deciding factor. A good show's a good show, regardless of age, sexual orientation, background, race, or nationality.

 

[SlayerFest]

No, I don't think so. I mean, obviously some shows do attract a particular group of people. The L Word has a huge lesbian fan base which...is to be expected haha but my parents and my best friends' parents were obsessed with that show, simply because it's a good show.

I think if a show is alright, and it's clearly targeting a specific fan base, it'll mostly just draw in that fan base. But if a show is really well written and has characters that anyone of any race, gender, or sexual orientation can relate to...it will draw everyone in. For example, Buffy is directed towards girls/women, I mean it seems that way from a far, yet I know a lot guys who love it simply because it's a kick ass show. My dad loves Desperate Housewives and he's a straight man! Haha the title seems as if it would be for women "only" but it's not. I don't know if I'm making sense.

I guess what I mean is, if a show is good, it shouldn't matter how "girly" the title is or whatever. It's going to draw in everyone (I mean people of all races, orientations, sexes...) if it's a well rounded show. Typically, more women are outspoken about their love of shows like Buffy because some guys probably get picked on or they're mocked for liking it, but there are tons of guys out there who love Buffy, as most of us know 😉 and there also seems to be a lot of people of different sexual orientations. I've also noticed that almost everyone on here seems to be pretty open about it, which is cool.

 

[zobothehobo]

[MENTION=11786]Sweet J[/MENTION] agrees: lol. Are you serious?

... yes. I thought I'd just throw that in there since something matching my sexuality is not on the poll.

 

[Sweet J]

That said, my particular brand of queer is such: I'm primarily attracted to women and female parts... however, I am sexually attracted to men as long as I do not have to see their penis. Penises are gross and freak me out. But the male body can be incredibly sexy taking that away.

I think I know why penises can freak you out,is it because...
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xerft0z0PyQ"]Nothing can defeat the penis[/ame]

 

[Amethyst]

I'm a straight female 🙂

 

[Cast No Shadow]

I am a lady who is straight.


OR AM I?