Feminism mixed with Adolescence

Though little things like the misspelling of Whedon and a few innacurate comments about the show (Buffy isn't thought to be dead at the end of season five, she is dead...just not for forever), I must say I really enjoyed a lot of what Michele Byers had to say. I especially liked the part about "the body problem." In "Inca Mummy Girl" we are shown the dance, where Ampata and Willow are the two contrasting 16 year old girls. Willow, always the shy one in the earlier seasons, has covered her body in her Inuit apparel. We see no curves, no signs of womanhood, and she even says "...or I could have worn something sexy" when she sees Ampata walk in with the form-fitting dress. We also addressed in class how Ampata develops throughout the episode into a more mature looking woman, adding more and more makeup as the episode progresses. When we reach the dance, Willow is in childish pigtails hidden under a hood and Ampata's hair is flowing. Both of them have power over men, however. Sure, this is partially because Oz is, well, odd, and noticed the other odd and quirky person in the room, but I am more pointing all of this out because I think it is a really blatant example of the conflict for an adolescent heroine.
For a woman, the body can bring stress or can make you feel great, it is a back and forth that makes you want to flaunt and hide at the same time. It is frustrating, especially in adolescence, and "Inca Mummy Girl" really demonstrates this. In Willow's jealousy, we see her resent her body and wish that she could be "sexy" like Ampata, but we also see Ampata wishing that she didn't have to grow up so fast, and didn't have to be a savior. She wishes she could relive her adolescence, but even in her "fitting in" at Sunnydale High, we see her grow up much faster than she should.
It may seem slightly sexist, but the most visual example of a powerful woman is a seductress, a woman who makes men physically weak just with her appearance. Whenever Buffy gets on a power trip, especially in the earlier seasons, she puts on some micro mini and struts in front of Xander or Angel or whoever, and she is clearly powerful. The more visual form of power for a man is fighting, and winning that physical fight. We also see Buffy perform all of these things, but surprisingly, she is not masculine in doing these things. When she fights, she always has little high pitched grunts, and her pony tail bounces around, and she cartwheels, and she is wearing leather pants, and she does all of these things that preserve her femininity. This is what makes Buffy such a successful heroine, and such a great example of a feminist character. She is able to be a heroine without embodying the typical hero, and she is able to fight equally as hard as a male hero would while still being her girly self on and off the battlefield.