Queer women pay tribute to Buffy's Willow & Tara for 'hope in a confusing time'

2022-06-29

In 2022, Heartstopper arrived on Netflix, and everything changed.

It was an absolute gift for LGBTQ+ teens and young people, centering around two teenage boys who figure out their feelings for each other, without any death, disaster or gratuitous cruelty.

For LGBTQ+ people who had grown up before, positive representation of same-sex couples were few and far between – but they did exist, and they were just as important.

As Pride month comes to a close, Metro.co.uk are catching up with LGBTQ+ people about the on-screen romances that meant everything to them growing up.

We’ve heard how Emily and Naomi from Skins helped young queer women to accept their own sexuality, as up-and-down as their relationship was.

Now we’re diving into another iconic, trailblazing couple: Willow and Tara, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

While their story was far from a happy-ever-after, their feelings for each other, eventual relationship and Willow’s emotional coming out to Buffy in a major show in the 1990’s had a huge impact at the time- and still does today.

Tara and Willow is still the most relatable queer couple for Emma, even 20 years after she show ended

Emma is 17 years old and growing up in an era where LGBTQ+ relationships on Tare far more common than it used to be – but Willow and Tara’s is the one she resonates with the most.

‘I have seen countless other shows with [woman-loving-woman] relationships,’ she says, listing out the likes of Orange Is The New Black, The L Word and The 100.

‘But none of them resonated with me as much as Tara and Willow did.’

Having just recently finished watching Buffy for the first time, Emma says she responded to how ‘normal the characters are,’ and the fact they are her own age.

Even 20 years on from when Buffy first aired, Emma says she finds it hard to think of another bisexual or lesbian on-screen relationship ‘that is so relatable and not sexualised.’

‘It’s easy for me to feel discounted from other lesbian representation, but with these two, they really reminded me that I am not alone.’

Emma’s friends and family are accepting of her sexuality, but she doesn’t have other LGBTQ+ young people in her life; she says it was ‘such a relief to finally find people who were [like me]’ when she discovered Willow and Tara.

‘It very much felt as if a weight was being lifted off my chest. Seeing them be together made me feel safe in my own body and who I am.’

Jordanne says the couple gave her hope ‘in a very confusing time’

Jordanne was born the year Buffy the Vampire Slayer first aired, and feels lucky that she didn’t know a time where LGBTQ+ relationships didn’t feature on TV.

‘Willow and Tara are the reason I realised I was bisexual,’ she says.

‘When I was a child, my mum would watch Buffy all the time, and every time Willow and Tara were on screen, I’d focus more on the episode.’

When she was younger, she justified her special interest in the couple because they were pretty and had ‘nice voices’, but as she became a teenager she began thinking about it a bit more.

‘Willow coming out to Buffy made my heart pound in my chest,’ she recalls.

‘[Willow and Tara’s] first onscreen kiss made my chest swell with pride. Willow choosing Tara over Oz actually made me cheer. I was 100% with them all the way before I even realised about my bisexuality.’

When Jordanne was 15, she realised why she was rooting so hard for the couple: ‘I wanted what they had.’

As Jordanne came to terms with wanting relationships with both men and women, she admits she became confused, as the consensus on the subject at the time was ‘you’re either gay or straight, there’s no such thing as wanting both.’

‘But as I kept rewatching it made me realise – love and attraction with both men and women are very much possible.

‘Just because Willow found her soulmate in Tara, it doesn’t make her love with Oz any less real.’

This representation, which Jordanne had never seen before, ‘meant so much to me as a teenager and even now as an adult – it shows how fluid sexuality can be.’

Willow and Tara’s relationship even gave Jordanne the confidence to come out as bisexual to her loved ones.

She believes that the fact everyone on Buffy the Vampire Slayer ‘accepted and loved’ the characters for who they are helped her real-life loved ones ‘accept me too.’

‘I’ll always be thankful that the writers of Buffy decided to include Willow and Tara, as it gave me the courage, acceptance and hope that I needed in a very confusing time in my life.’

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

Metro.co.uk celebrates 50 years of Pride

This year marks 50 years of Pride, so it seems only fitting that Metro.co.uk goes above and beyond in our ongoing LGBTQ+ support, through a wealth of content that not only celebrates all things Pride, but also share stories, take time to reflect and raises awareness for the community this Pride Month.

And we’ve got some great names on board to help us, too. From a list of famous guest editors taking over the site for a week that includes Rob Rinder, Nicola Adams, Peter Tatchell, Kimberly Hart-Simpson, John Whaite, Anna Richardson and Dr Ranj, as well as the likes of Sir Ian McKellen and Drag Race stars The Vivienne, Lawrence Chaney and Tia Kofi offering their insights.

During Pride Month, which runs from 1 – 30 June, Metro.co.uk will also be supporting Kyiv Pride, a Ukrainian charity forced to work harder than ever to protect the rights of the LGBTQ+ community during times of conflict, and youth homelessness charity AKT. To find out more about their work, and what you can do to support them, click here.

For Metro.co.uk‘s latest Pride coverage, click here.

Metro.co.uk celebrates 50 years of Pride

For Metro.co.uk‘s latest Pride coverage, click here.

Source: Read Full Article