Buffy the Vampire Slayer was an incredibly popular series in the late '90s and early 2000s. The show mixed humor and danger in a perfect way that kept audiences coming back week after week. The suspenseful storylines mixed with quippy one-liners is what made this show so addictive.
Times were different over twenty years ago and some things that were considered funny back then, are now considered inappropriate or even offensive. Television has become much more politically correct since the days of Buffy and the Scooby gang, so there are a few moments throughout the series that don't hold up with audiences today.
"That outfit doesn't make you look like a hooker."
Xander approaches Cordelia at The Bronze in an early episode of season one. Cordelia has a sassy greeting for Xander, to which he responds, "I don't know what everyone's talking about. That outfit doesn't make you look like a hooker." This comment is problematic for a few reasons. First, it's bullying, and in today's high schools, there is a zero tolerance policy for that kind of behavior. In all fairness, Cordelia probably started it and said something mean to Xander first, but even then, his response is not only bullying, but it's sex shaming. Sex work is much more widely accepted today, so calling a woman a "hooker" is offensive for a lot of reasons.
"Say it! You ran like a woman!"
Cordelia teases Xander in one episode after he runs away from a demon, fearing for his life. The fact that this punch line comes from a female character is wildly problematic.
Add to it the fact that this show's central focus is on a female heroine and Joss Whedon's main goal in creating the series was to create empowering female storylines, this comment goes against everything the show stands for. The comment is also very sexist and would be axed very quickly today. It insinuates that running like a woman is a bad thing or not a strong thing, and that couldn't be further from the truth.
Larry's Coming Out
The Scoobys are investigating a series of werewolf attacks in an episode of season two called "Phases". Xander starts to suspect that Larry, a football player and a big bully, might be responsible for some of the attacks, so he confronts Larry in the locker room. As Larry and Xander talk, it becomes clear they aren't on the same page. The "changes" Xander is questioning Larry about experiencing are demonic, but Larry things Xander is talking about his sexuality and comes out to Xander. The whole interaction becomes an inappropriate punch line and the writes miss a great opportunity to have a character come out on television, which at the time hadn't been done before.
"I was so hoping you'd do that."
There are a few problems with the season two episode 'Ted'. In this episode, Buffy meets her mom's new boyfriend, who turns out to be a crazy robot demon that's been poisoning Buffy's mom with cookies so she becomes obsessed with him. Buffy knows something isn't right, especially when she thinks she's killed Ted, but he comes back to the Summers' house.
Once back from the dead, Ted hits Buffy and she seems happy about it. Depicting domestic abuse with a punchline would never hold up with audiences today, even if the audience knows that Buffy is the slayer and can take a hit from anyone, a potential father figure should never be shown swinging at her.
"1-800-I'm-Dating-A-Skanky-Ho"
Xander and Cordelia unexpectedly fall for one another and everyone is shocked by the new couple. Xander's friends are the most shocked and their reactions are not very friendly. When Xander decides to hang out with Cordelia one night, instead of Willow and Buffy, Willow notes the decision with a joke, telling Buffy she can reach Xander by phone at "1-800-I'm-Dating-A-Skanky-Ho". The slut shaming that Willow and the other of the Scooby gang give to Cordelia is something that hasn't aged well. Today, calling another woman a "skank" or "ho" is unacceptable.
"Uh. First word, jail. Second word, bait."
When Faith needs a new watcher, after killing her old one who was evil and trying to destroy both Faith and Buffy, the council sends in Wesley. Wesley is a younger watcher, but still much older than Buffy and her friends and as a watcher, is responsible for looking out for the slayer and anyone helping her.
When Wesley meets Cordelia, there's an instant attraction and Cordelia shamelessly flirts with Wesley in front of Faith and Wesley seems to like it. Faith has to point out how wrong that is, calling Cordelia "jail bait". The world is different now and a man with authority showing his attraction to a much younger girl is heavily frowned upon.
"He's like, three feet tall!"
In one episode, Buffy saves a student without having to use her slayer powers. Jonathan is up in the high school's clock tower with a gun, ready to take his own life. Buffy finds Jonathan just in time and talks him out of it. Later, when Buffy and Giles are re-capping the events, Buffy tells her watcher she's worried Jonathan has a crush on her and makes a couple of inappropriate jokes about why she would never accept a date from him. Talking about someone in this way, even behind their back, especially when you know they're suicidal, is tone deaf and watching it back, the jokes just don't land.
"What is Buffy wearing?"
Xander, in general, is a character that hasn't aged well for this series. He definitely has his good guy moments, like when he tells Willow how much he loves her to stop her from destroying the entire world, but leading up to those good moments, there's a lot of bad ones.
Xander deflects a lot with humor, and his humor tends to be sexist. In one episode of season four, Xander is trying to give Buffy a pep talk. He tells her that whenever he's alone and scared he thinks, "What would Buffy do?", which is sweet, until Xander recants that statement and its that sometimes he just wonders what she's wearing. The sweet moment between friends is ruined by Xander's unbecoming humor.
Spike Defends Thanksgiving
Buffy and her friends try to have a happy, normal Thanksgiving in season four, but the plans change once Spike, now chipped, is thrown into the mix. As the gang preps for dinner, a debate ensues about the novelty of the holiday and the history behind it. Spike lashes out at the group exclaiming, "You won! Alright? You came in and you killed them and you took their land!" Spike's incentive comments and his excitement over the entire conversation is completely inappropriate when you think about everything Native American people have been through and are still going through today.
"...Poorly Ventilated Sweatshop."
When Willow brings Buffy back from the dead, Buffy not only has to face new demons and new evils, but she also has to face adulthood and the responsibilities of being the head of a household with a teenager living there. The bills have been piling up at the Summers' house in Buffy's absence and money woes have begun for both Buffy and Dawn. Dawn confides in Giles that she is just as worried about how she and Buffy will get by. Giles tries to reassure Dawn that they will be okay, but Dawn counters his sincerity with an unfit joke asking if she'll have to quit school to work in a poorly ventilated sweatshop, which is actually a harsh reality for a lot of children and young adults around the world and not something to mock.