okay so apparently the creator of the Minions (who is named Pierre Coffin, holy shit, what an amazing name) said something along the lines of “All the Minions are boys/men because I just can’t see women acting that stupid” which a lot of people are taking as “haha yeah men are stupid!” but also this is a really boring trend I’ve seen in media (especially cartoons and sitcoms) since the dawn of time
characters that are silly, goofy, stupid, funny, loud, obnoxious, and ridiculous are always boys.
characters that are smart, mature, delicate, and sophisticated are almost always girls.
now to a lot of people this is probably a “yeah, so?” kind of thing, and some people might even see it as a good thing? they might see it as “yes i’m glad girls are being taught that boys are stupid!”
well, that’s not really the case. girls aren’t being taught boys are stupid, they’re being taught that boys GET to be stupid. boys GET to be loud and goofy because they’re boys, and that’s just how boys act. it enforces a really harsh gender role that says that boys are naturally funny and silly and girls need to stay quiet.
and typically whenever these two character archetypes interact, the mature girl is always there to ruin the boy’s fun (Cosmo and Wanda, Billy and Mandy, Dib and Gaz, Goku and Chichi, Fred and Wilma, George and Jane, and Every Sitcom You’ve Ever Seen)
i just think it’s time for some girl characters that are allowed to be silly! that are allowed to run the show with their goofiness! to tell girls that it’s okay to not be mature and have fun! i’m just tired of the same gender roles being enforced that I’ve been noticing since I was a kid!
thank you for putting your finger on why that quote was bugging me
Every time people try to say that this is a hurtful stereotype against men, they’re forgetting how glorified the male “simpleton” characters often are. Yeah, we’re supposed to laugh at them, too, but people *love* the Homers and Patricks and Stimpys and Braks and Meatwads and Eds, and they’re supposed to.
Those characters are constantly portrayed as happier, more fun to be around, well-meaning, innocent and full of unexpected insight into life. They’re characters who always know how to have a good time in any situation and often come out on top over the un-fun “smart” people. Even when they’re villains, they’re the adorable not-really-evil villains.
And the worst part is, “dumb” female characters
DO exist….they just aren’t written to be fun. They’re always “valley girls” and “vapid blondes” hanging out with the ~mean popular kids~ or the joke is that they’re “dumb” but at least they’re “hot” LOL“Dumb” male characters are protected, rewarded, written to be the ideal friend and innocent cinnamon roll, while “dumb” female characters are more often demonized, punished and presented as shallow, despicable trash.
One of the reasons I got into anime years ago was all the crazy comedic female characters. Sana, Lina Inverse, heck even Misato from evangelion (sure, she was motherly and sexy, but her party girl carelessness was played for laughs, rather then as something inherently bad.)
As far as american cartoons went—unless the shows had an all female cast, the job of the girls was to be a sensible foil for the boy’s antics, someone to impress/protect or a bully (usually a stuck up bossy know-it-all like Lucy or Angelica).
But now we have-
and
There are probably other examples, at least things are starting to change. At least now you can find ridiculous female characters that aren’t demonized. They are rude and loud but we’re still supposed to love them.
