Nudge, Nudge
Entry posted by Tufi Piyufi
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So what I'm gonna do here is I'm gonna invite a guest writer. Well, okay, technically I'm just copy/pasting, rather than inviting. And it's probably not written by one particular person, given the nature of its source. And oh, what a source.
Guest writer go:
The Smurfette Principle
"You need a life, and we need a regular female cast member on the show. Just one. It's like the law of webtoons. Plus, I think the people might be a little bit wary about the whole four guys living in one house thing." - Weas
Due to subtle sexism, unless a show is purposefully aimed at a female viewing audience, the main characters will tend to be disproportionately male compared to the female cast members. When female characters are introduced, they are often stereotypes, if not feminized versions of existing male characters.
Men will have various different personalities, but women will always be The Chick - so you only need one. This trope has lessened over time, but it still often applies to animated fare aimed at boys or a gender-neutral audience. This is especially egregious in the case of synthetic entities and other species which have a voice or are sufficiently humanoid, who will always be more masculine than feminine, with any feminine examples receiving special attention, suggesting that women are merely a subtype of men.
When time for merchandising comes, unless it is an all-female cast, manufacturers don't create figures of the female members of the franchise, Merchandise Driven or not. This creates a paradox where The Smurfette Principle is upheld by both toy manufacturers and TV writers, each reasoning that the other will anyway. This may be because statistically action figures of female characters don't sell as well as the male ones.
Often the problem lies with the source material, in that it's an adaptation of something written or created decades before equal recognition for women started to gain momentum. Other times, writers will try to correct this problem by inserting a few more female characters.
In classic comedy animation or shows, especially slapstick, women are often absent because hitting a girl just isn't considered funny.
Some anime series may carry it in the other direction, but it's still sexist in favor of men: the one guy will be the target of everyone's affection, and everyone else will be cute, female and aged 16, 16, 16, 19 and 25. (With the occasional loli.) See Bishoujo, Unwanted Harem, Moe Moe.
The name of this trope was first coined by an article in the New York Times printed April 7, 1991, called "The Smurfette Principle". The article discussed the negative message which this trope gave its young audience: that males are individuals who have adventures, while females are a type of deviation who exist only in relation to males.
One of the most ludicrous and irritating manifestations of this trope is the Insect Gender Bender, where a completely reversed real sexual status quo is altered to imitate humanity's. Even the laws of biology must fold in favor of this trope.
This trope is very common in both the East and West. See also Most Writers Are Male. Most writers try to "balance" this out with Positive Discrimination, making the girl more intelligent and level-headed than everyone else, but it still doesn't change the simple fact that there's only one of her. Usually, all it does is turn her into a Mary Sue for everyone to loathe.
Writers who recognize the problem after a season or two may expand the cast with Affirmative Action Girls. This is usually more effective. Interestingly, this can extend to Mooks and the Monster Of The Week with Monogender Monsters, to avoid the Unfortunate Implications of violence against women.
On the other hand, this trope is often justified (the quantity aspect, at least, if not the personality aspect). It is perfectly reasonable and realistic that armies, adventuring parties and many other types of groups would be predominantly male.
Compare Blue Bishonen Ghetto. Contrast the Pink Bishoujo Ghetto; flipped genders, but same principle. As is The One Guy.
Second thing I'm gonna do is I'm gonna look at Bionicle most meaningfully. And I have to tell people I don't give the slightest about the story. Ever.
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