Character/Don Lawrence Collection

Miss Buxley

Beetle Bailey

Miss Buxley first appeared in the Beetle Bailey daily (King Features Syndicate) comic strip on November 17, 1971. Miss Buxley is one of General Halftrack's secretaries and stenographers. Most often in her early appearances, the gags were about her clothing, her sex appeal, and General Halftrack's overt infatuation and desire for her. The character became quite controversial and used by critics as an example of overt sexism in Beetle Bailey by its creator Mort Walker. The topic of sexism became the subject of a book Walker wrote, Miss Buxley, Sexism in Beetle Bailey? (Comicana Books) June 1982. The criticism of the character by readers to newspaper editors caused some newspapers to start dropping the strip when Miss Buxley appeared or canceling the comic strip altogether. Responding to the issue, in 1984, Walker changed the appearance of Miss Buxley, getting rid of the low-cut, form-fitting, short dresses the character wore. By the 1990s, even the jokes about her body began to disappear. Under pressure by the syndicate to retire the character General Halftrack, Walker in 1997 wrote a storyline in which General Halftrack was forced to apologize to Miss Buxley for his treatment of her and attend sensitivity training, saving the character and changing the direction of the interactions between the two characters. Although there is the occasional joke involving the character's sexuality in Beetle Bailey, in general, Miss Buxley has become just one of the characters.