rusty_halo

From what I've read JM does not 'get' that females actually identify with Spike, that the character's potential for screwing up and his sometimes clueless behaviour in the S/B relationship make him a template on which females project themselves. I am under the impression that he thinks ALL his female fans imagine themselves WITH Spike, when IMHO many female fans feel FOR the character. Spike is easily the most emotional character. In B/S the traditional gender roles are pretty much flipped. If ME do that kind of thing they have to live with the fallout, i.e. that people look past the actual gender and at the actual predicament. And Spike's predicament (his love is exploited by someone who doesn't love him back - although Buffy eventually realises this and leaves him) is something too many women can identify.
In a way, ME were TOO successful with the gender flipping.

Of course there are still plenty of fans who see JM's cheekbones and swoon, confuse Spike and ME and seem to see entirely different things in an episode than I do. *Shrug*