Jenny Calendar
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Jenny Calendar Janna of the Kalderdash |
| Occupation: | Computer Science Teacher |
| Relationships: | Rupert Giles (love interest) |
| Fandom: | BTVS |
| Other: | |
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Jenny Calendar is a character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Canon
Jenny Calendar is the Computer Science Teacher at Sunnydale High School, and often banters with the school librarian Rupert Giles, who prefers his books to her computers. Jenny assists the Scooby Gang and eventually forms a romantic relationship with Giles.
When Angelus returns, it is revealed that Jenny is Roma, and it was her family who cursed Angelus with a soul. The Scooby Gang and Giles ostracize Jenny for what they see as her betrayal. She continues to work to restore Angel's soul on her own, but is murdered by Angelus before she can succeed in her plan.
Fandom
There has been much discussion of Jenny's ethnicity in fandom, and some re-examination of the way the source material handled her ethnicity. Throughout Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, Jenny's Roma family were consistently referred to as 'gypsies' by all characters.
In earlier years, discussion of Jenny's ethnicity often revolved around trying to determine Jenny's race; is she a white character or a character of colour? Many fans viewed her character as white, regardless of her community's status as an indigenous ethnic minority group in Europe.[1]
Other fans, who see Jenny as a non-white/ethnic minority character, are quick to point out that her death comes very soon after she's revealed to be an ethnic minority character:
Jenny Calendar in The WB’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She’s a witch. She hides her identity and lies to her friends in order to keep an eye on Angel. Shortly after she reveals that she isn’t white, Angel kills her brutally. She’s the first member of the main cast to die.[2]
In discussions of race and racism in the Buffyverse, many agree that characters of colour are often under-developed, stereotyped, and/or killed shortly after their first appearance. The fandom continues to debate if Jenny was originally conceived to be a Roma character, or if the writers did a soft-retcon on her background in season 2.[3] If Jenny was originally written as a white character, it would undermine many of the more progressive aspects of her character. In many ways Jenny defies harmful stereotypes associated with Traveller and Roma people, and is shown to be a female mentor to the Scooby Gang.
Jenny’s character, despite the reversion to a few stereotypes, is arguably one of the most multi-faceted and positive representations of a female Gypsy in the past 20 years. In sharp contrast to all other Gypsy portrayals, she is technologically savvy, and, instead of resorting to incantations or obscure rituals, is able to create a computer algorithm that would make possible the restoration of Angel’s soul.[4]
However, the reveal of her Roma heritage does feed into those harmful stereotypes. Jenny is ostracized because she has lied to her friends, and she is viewed as untrustworthy. Her Uncle Enyos is also a more stereotypically Roma character, and Jenny and her uncle are both murdered by Angelus shortly after their heritage is revealed.
Shipping
Common Tropes & Storylines
Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanart
Fanfiction
- Being Jenny by FaeMelody
- Romano Drom by Seanan McGuire
- When the Bat in the Moonlight Flies by Gray Cardinal
Fanvids
Meta
Archives & Fannish Links
References
- ^ Buffy Boards thread: What race was Jenny Calendar?, Jul 25 2018
- ^ Reply to anon ask by earnestdesire, discussing Romani representation in media
- ^ What do you guys and gals think: was the "Giles and the Gang get gypped by Jenny Calendar" storyline pre-planned or not? a thread on r/buffy debating if the Jenny's S2 storyline was pre-planned, July 2016.
- ^ The Case of the Traveling Dancer: Romani Representation from the 19th Century European Literature to Hollywood Film and Beyond, an academic article by Nikolina Dobreva, (2009).