Being A Beautiful, Heavy,
Lesbian Witch Rocks !
Alyson Hannigan (Willow) on the development of the Willow/ Tara relationship:
'I knew that I was going to have a friend and that we'd do witchcraft together and cast spells and I'd always asked if there was "something more" to the relationship. Joss would always say, "Well, maybe there's some subtext there" and then Amber and I would see some of the spells and we'd be like, "Joss –– this is going way beyond subtext."
Eventually, after weeks of tiptoeing round the issue, everyone concerned admitted that all roads led to the fact that the girls were in love which resulted in huge sighs of relief all round. "Amber and I were sort of in the same
position as Willow and Tara in that for the longest time we weren't sure what was going on...Then finally it was, "Great! It's official. We're in luurrvvve."
'I think the way Joss developed the relationship was so sweet and wonderful. When some reporters ask about us they go,
"Oooh! Lesbian affair!" but I say "No! It's just two girls who are in love." It's no different than when Willow fell for Oz really.
The whole Tara thing was built up over a long time. I mean, she was in 10 episodes or so and pretty much from the start
our relationship grew. But then suddenly, when it finally turns out that Tara is my girlfriend, people on the Net were like "Ohmygod! I can't believe it." [yeah, remember the expression "The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name"? - Ivanova] I thought "Have you not been watching all the other episodes because this was really on the cards. Just
because it wasn't blatantly in your face doesn't mean it wasn't there." And it's not as if
Joss is trying to exploit the situation and just have two girls together for the sake of it. Not at all.
I don't understand why some people are making a big deal out of it. (...) Right now, she is in love with Tara, who's female, but I don't know whether it means Willow's gay. In fact - that's what I want to know. (...) If it turns out that she is gay then it's my belief that it's just the same as me growing up liking boys. It's just the way I'm built and if Willow knows what she's attracted to and didn't act on it till college because she didn't feel comfortable with it, who am I to go against that?' (Cult Times, Juli 2000)
 'Joss has handled it just the same way any other relationship would be handled - maybe a little more delicately because it's two women. But it is all about the love they have for each other. It's not "ooooh, phwoar, two girls!" (...) In America, we've not been allowed to have the "kiss" on screen. I don't think we need to see it. It's just the annoying fact that we can see Buffy and Riley having full-on sex all day and all night, but these two girls who love each other can't even kiss...?' (Dreamwatch)
'I think the people who have a problem with it haven't even grasped what it is. They're still in the denial stage of, "Hey, wait, what's going on, how can you…You guys are always doing those spells." It's kind of weird, but the people who really understand the show completely get it and have seen the progression of the relationship. I don't personally think it matters that it's two girls at all. I think it's just two characters that are fond of each other who have fallen in love (...) It just happens
that they're both female.' (Official Buffy Magazine, September 2000)
Amber Benson (Tara) chatte with the fans when she was attacked on the board.
"...but I can say this. If I ever had to have a girlfriend, well, Aly [Alyson Hannigan]'d have to be it. She's a doll..." (23. Februar 2000, Bronze-Postingboard)
Amber: Well, I think that it's OK to say now that Willow and I are a little bit more than
friends [laughs]. I think it's a good thing because we're not going to be just a ratings thing....
IGN Sci-Fi: Yeah, I'd say so. What do you think of all the subtext? Because, at this point, t's pretty much reaching Xena/ Gabrielle proportions...
Amber: [laughs] Well, I hope that eventually it becomes more than that. I think that
[Xena was] kind of, in a way playing it for people to [say], 'Oooh, what's going on? What's going on?' and be interested. Whereas I hope with Buffy, it becomes something that people can look at and say, 'Wow, it's OK to care about somebody, whether
they're the same sex or not.' That you can have a good relationship with somebody based on trust and friendship, you know? I hope it becomes more than just idle stuff for people to talk about. I hope it becomes more than just gossip fodder. (IGN Sci-Fi, 07.März 2000)
'Love is beautiful whether it's between a man and a woman or any variant of that combo.'(Bronze-Board, 4. Mai 2000)
 Bensons reply to "reproaches" of her being fat: "Yes, I am not a STICK. I am a NORMAL, HEALTHY (I was gonna say girl, but...) WOMAN. I have breasts and hips and I am very happy that they are part of me. (...) I have seen enough of my friends...perpetuate the LIE that ANOREXIA is Beautiful. IT IS NOT. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. ALL OF YOU. Just for
being. You all can judge me and Tara for being 'fat', 'gay' and 'shy'. I suppose that my being on tv gives you that right. (...) I think that being a beautiful, heavy, lesbian witch rocks! (Bronze-Board, 04. Mai 2000)
"And if you gotta be a lesbian, aren't too many people better to do some 'splorin [=exploring] with than Aly! (...) I
mean, I'm straight (sorry girls - just a thing for hairy chest;)" (Bronze, 12. Mai 2000)
"I love Aly. She's a dear. And if I were gonna be a lesbian, I'd definitely steal her away from her boyfriend!!! (...) On the whole lesbian thing - I AM SOOOO GLAD that it has made people feel better about their sexual preference. That it's okay to love whomever you want." (Bronze, 22 Mai 2000)
"I had no idea that I was going to be playing a lesbian. In fact, it wasn't until like the third episode that Joss and I had 'the talk'. He pretty much let me know what was going to happen and I was like 'Cool. Let's do it.' I mean, I did worry that I wouldn't be able to do Tara justice because I wasn't gay. I really worried that I wouldn't come off as 'real'. That people wouldn't buy it. But in the end, I decided that no matter what my sexual orientation was, I could give her something important - humanity." (The Watcher's Web, August 2000)
 "It was just so surreal to have people using my name and Tara's interchangeably and saying nasty things about both. I know that portraying a lesbian is a very 'hot button' thing to do at the moment. And I also know that portraying anything outside the norm can engender a lot of upset. (...) But it still hurt for people to make nasty comments about
Willow and Tara's relationship and about my weight and what I looked like as a whole. Whether someone says to your face that you're ugly or on a posting board, it still hurts horribly. I mean, you wouldn't just walk over to Joe Blow on the street and say 'I think
you're a fat, ugly, sexual pervert', would you?" (Dreamwatch, September 2000)
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