Bashing characters because they look like you won't like them
So. Tifa and Aeris, from Final Fantasy. Aeris favors pink dresses and bows, while Tifa wears a leather skirt and fingerless gloves. Aeris likes to garden in her spare time; Tifa is a martial artist. Pop quiz: which of them is an assertive, aggressive action hero who takes matters into her own hands even when it hurts her, and which one’s shy, reserved, prefers to be part of a team, and will hide things to avoid hurting others‘ feelings?
Why, Aeris is the aggressive action girl! Tifa’s the shy one.
Or, Scarlett and Lady Jaye, from G.I. Joe. Scarlett wears a slinky catsuit to work; Lady Jaye wears baggy green fatigues. Scarlett has long, flowing red “Rapunzel hair;” Lady Jaye has a curly short cut. Pop quiz: Which one has a closet full of lacy pink dresses for after work, and which one grew up an equal in a house of rowdy brothers?
Actually, Scarlett’s got the rowdy brothers. Jaye’s got the pink dresses.
Now, April O’Neil and Irma Langenstein, from TMNT. One’s a tall, busty reporter in a half-unbuttoned shirt. The other’s a skinny secretary with big, thick glasses and a dress that reaches the floor. Okay, last question: Which one spends her evenings at home eating chocolate ice cream and watching Lifetime while the other is out on the town?
That would be April staying home with the Ben & Jerry’s.
These are just a few examples of an annoying trend that only seems to be getting worse. Fans claim they bash certain characters because they hate stereotypes; in the case of female characters, they supposedly hate that women are portrayed either as “tomboys” or “princesses.” But what happens when a female character comes along who plays against type? A student who climbs a tree in her Marie Antoinette costume to rescue the school mascot? A soldier who does needlework and hums Kei$ha while she’s waiting for deployment? A character who is not easily classified as either?
Bashers use their appearance or hobbies to figure out what category they‘re “supposed" to be in, and continue with the bashing as if nothing is amiss. The cat-rescuer in the Rococo dress becomes a princess. The soldier with the doilies becomes a tomboy. Instead of integrating the “dissonant” clothes and hobby into the characters’ actions, thoughts, and goals to see a nuanced character, they resent the against-type traits that are screwing up their model and ignore them completely.
Of course every character is going to look like a stereotype if you mentally throw out everything non-stereotypical about them!
Why, Aeris is the aggressive action girl! Tifa’s the shy one.
Or, Scarlett and Lady Jaye, from G.I. Joe. Scarlett wears a slinky catsuit to work; Lady Jaye wears baggy green fatigues. Scarlett has long, flowing red “Rapunzel hair;” Lady Jaye has a curly short cut. Pop quiz: Which one has a closet full of lacy pink dresses for after work, and which one grew up an equal in a house of rowdy brothers?
Actually, Scarlett’s got the rowdy brothers. Jaye’s got the pink dresses.
Now, April O’Neil and Irma Langenstein, from TMNT. One’s a tall, busty reporter in a half-unbuttoned shirt. The other’s a skinny secretary with big, thick glasses and a dress that reaches the floor. Okay, last question: Which one spends her evenings at home eating chocolate ice cream and watching Lifetime while the other is out on the town?
That would be April staying home with the Ben & Jerry’s.
These are just a few examples of an annoying trend that only seems to be getting worse. Fans claim they bash certain characters because they hate stereotypes; in the case of female characters, they supposedly hate that women are portrayed either as “tomboys” or “princesses.” But what happens when a female character comes along who plays against type? A student who climbs a tree in her Marie Antoinette costume to rescue the school mascot? A soldier who does needlework and hums Kei$ha while she’s waiting for deployment? A character who is not easily classified as either?
Bashers use their appearance or hobbies to figure out what category they‘re “supposed" to be in, and continue with the bashing as if nothing is amiss. The cat-rescuer in the Rococo dress becomes a princess. The soldier with the doilies becomes a tomboy. Instead of integrating the “dissonant” clothes and hobby into the characters’ actions, thoughts, and goals to see a nuanced character, they resent the against-type traits that are screwing up their model and ignore them completely.
Of course every character is going to look like a stereotype if you mentally throw out everything non-stereotypical about them!