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  • Writer's pictureGisselle Pimentel

The Role of Female Characters in Young Adult Media

Most entertainment media is constructed with the notion that the audience will be made up of young adult males. Therefore, factors in which would garner certain and continuous attention of the specific consumer will remain a focal point in such media. Movies, video games, cartoons, comics, etc. aimed towards a young male audience have one major common component and it has to do with its female characters. With no real purpose other than their presence, female characters play an extremely fundamental role despite having no build to their characters.


The sole purpose of female characters' roles is essentially a sensual and intriguing presence to grasp the attention of the audience to ensure continuous consumption. Much media with such characters knows what type of audience to cater to when creating it. Seeing a 2D or 3D woman's feminine character, usually of an hourglass figure, exposed with extremely ostentatious clothing or lack of erotic demeanor and mannerisms, along with a generic but beautiful face, is more than enough to secure consumption of an audience. These characters tend to be prevalent in the duration of whatever form of media they are present in, never a protagonist but a close second to one. This ensures their regular appearance and attendance of an audience.


This process of obtaining audience attention ultimately objectifies and sexualizes women's bodies and differs views on real women's role in society. This is all the more true in cartoons, where reality crosses with fiction with the stroke of a pencil. There is no limit to changing the bodily image of women in cartoons and anime. Disregarding actual anatomy of a human body, females are drawn exaggerated, furthering the unrealistic concept of how their bodies should look like.


Movies

  • Mikaela Banes - Transformers (2007), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

  • Leeloo - Fifth Element (1997)

  • Black Widow - Marvel Series

  • Marty - Beautiful Girls (1996)

  • Violet - Pretty Baby (1978)

Video Games

  • Cortana - Halo Series

  • Miranda - Mass Effect Series

  • Lara Croft - Tomb Raider Series

  • Samus - Metroid Games

Cartoons/Anime

  • Jessica Rabbit - Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)

  • Lola Bunny - Space Jam (1996), Looney Tunes (1930-present)

  • Holli Would - Cool World (1992)

  • Tinkerbell - Peter Pan (1953)

  • Elizabeth Liones, Diane - Seven Deadly Sins (2014-2021)

  • Nami, Nico Robin - One Piece (1997-present)

  • Hinata Hyuga, Tsunade - Naruto (1999-2007), Naruto Shippuden (2007-2017), Boruto (2017-present)

Comics

  • Harley Quinn - DC Comics

  • Wonder Woman - DC Comics

  • Starfire - DC Comics

  • Powergirl - DC Comics

  • Emma Frost - X-Men Comics

  • Lady Death - Coffin Comics

  • Vampirella - Warren Publishing

  • Witchblade - Top Cow Productions

  • Dawn - Cry for Dawn Productions

  • Psylocke - Marvel Comics



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