Girls can do anything boys can... except be well-written characters.

Yin has also made bad decisions, has let her ego get the better of her and has gotten beaten up by the occasional enemy or foe, so Yin hardly qualifies as a "too perfect" female.
 
here's my 2-cents
in combat point of view

Seeing a catfight is fun

seeing a mixed fight can be fun too but wait


if the guy wins he sometimes get the shame of beating up the fairer sex,unless the woman is a (B-witch) or "ugly" or not really a woman


if he loses the guy lose nearly all of his machismo and thus ridiculed

the only time a mix fight made me feel bad was Videl vs spopavich I mean there is the equal opportunity fighting but come on he should have stopped

that was painful to watch

an here another example an early Dragon ball fight "Nam vs Ran-Fan"
where the girl took advantage of the mans chivalry and pummeled him in to almost losing, when he started to fight back she use another tactic "strip to her bra and panties" and well....ummm....:o



anyway the only way he won was to colse his eyes and knock her out,he appoligizes later


sorry if I am rabbling but it's 1 AM where I live
 
I don't see what's wrong with any of these categories. Yes some of the girls like Clover might be a Valley Girl who care's about her hair and boys alot but she care's about the safty of people two that's why she's a spy so to me that's makes up for her being a Valley girl. Same with Blossom and Kim, they care about the safty of people that's what we should be looking at.
 
Also, Jave made a very good point earlier: We're always talking about female characters being stereotypes, but in truth, male characters are often equally stereotyped. Boys and men likewise, quite often fall into distinct archetypes: All-American hero, fearless leader, wimpy nice guy, nerd, jock, weirdo, badazz, braggart, crazy dumb dad, etc.

It's not necessarily the type of character you have, it's what you do with said character or character type that's important. My particular issue isn't with female character types, I'd just like to see more female characters in dynamic roles instead of being relegated to do-nothing straight parts or secondary supporting roles.
 
There's nothing inherently wrong with any of those character types, provided that they have some depth, genuine personality and character development beyond those basic archetypes. Val Gals, Miss Perfects and Atta Girl characters only an issue for me when they bring nothing to the table outside of the usual string of gags with no substance or character to round them out. It comes down to the age-old issue of style over substance.

Also, just because these above archetypes are acceptable doesn't mean that that should be the only kinds of females that we ever see in the media, which I believe is the point the OP was trying to make.
 
There not the only kinds of females in the media. Buttercup,Bubbles,Alex from Totally spies ,Wonder Woman, Raven and Starfire from Teen Titans does not fall into any of these character types to me aleast.
 
I don't know if I'd call Mai Valentine a Valley Girl. Sure, she's materialistic and vain, but she's also very headstrong, intelligent and determined, and downright ruthless on the playing field. There seems to be a lot more going on in Mai's psyche than just heading for the mall to purchase the latest color of lip gloss.
 
I think the main cliche with females that act like massive jerks in animation usually is because there's some underlying thing going on in their life or their past that causes it, so they get a pass on their jerk behavior, whereas the male characters don't, because, we're just programmed to be a-holes.
 
Equally stereotyped? I disagree, women are far more stereotyped and demeaned in the media compared to men. The stereotypes of men also tend to be much less specific and deameaning (anyone can be a nerd, anyone can be an outcast, but only a girl can be fashion-obsessed and a ditz, going by these stereotypes) Not to mention that if a girl is shown as the hero, then it's automatically assumed to be a show for girls (W.I.T.C.H. The Animated Series and Kim Possible being good examples) by a lot of people despite the content itself, where as if a male is the lead, people generally don't try to make assumptions about the show.

Also, men who do fit into stereotypes (nerd, for example) are also more likely to be those dynamic characters you mentioned compared to women. Male characters can easily grow out of the stereotype and evolve as a character (Peter Parker, and many similar-themed superheroes, for example) while women tend to just stay in their stereotype and be nothing more than "the hero's girlfriend" or "female hero in a male-focused show to appeal to girls".

Oh, I'd definately say Wonder Woman falls into number 3. Especially with the way she's toted as one of DC"s "Big Three" yet only has a fraction of notice and development compared to Superman and Batman. It's quite clear the only reason she's in the big three is because she's female so it looks less male-dominating. Starfire (if you mean the cartoon version) was pretty ditzy and fits into number 1 fairly well (minus being boy crazy) Comic Starfire is pretty much a sex symbol and would fit in number 3. Alex is fairly similar to Clover in being boy crazy, fashion obsessed, and ditzy, though she's more athletic instead of lazy.
 
Really? I find the girls in Avatar to be a prime example of number 2, myself. Katara, at the start, is shown to have little control over her bending, yet after a few days training with Pakku (and self-taught training when she's not with Pakku) she goes to a master-level waterbender who can beat anyone she goes up against, including Azula, another "I'm super good because I just am" girl character (in the season 2 finale we see her countering everything Azula throws at her and it isn't until Aang fights Azula that they start to lose). This worsens in the third season when she gains control over Bloodbending, a technique only an old woman with years of forced practice in prison could use in about a few hours of training.

Even Toph was shown out-bending even the most experienced people with ease. She also created/perfected metalbending, which even the likes of Bumi and other Earthbenders couldn't do. Toph's "disability" also showcases more Number 2. The fact that her blindness actually makes her see better than anone else in the world, as well as giving her abilities like her lie-detector and earth-sense abilities just reek of number 2.

One could argue every Avatar character falls into this hole (it seems like kids can become godly benders which can defeat adults easilly unless they're a "wise-old mentor" figure like Iroh or Pakku). Even Sokka is shown taking down soldiers left and right and even powerful people like Combustion Man, but that doesn't make it any less valid I think.

Balance really is the key. Going back to Will, for example. She's not boycrazy, but at the same time she's not the "tough girl who doesn't need any man in her life" that you can find in a lot of Hollywood movies and stuff. She likes a boy. One boy, not all of them she sees. She also actively pursues him by striking up conversations, going on dates, and actually instigating a relationship with him, and they start going out by the end of the first season, where most shows will just have them crushing on a person for the entire series, then have them hook up suddenly in the finale without much development towards it (Danny Phantom does this, and Avatar as well, though Aang is the one with the crush) We also get to see her grow and become more confident and a better leader, but still make plenty of mistakes and underestimate her enemy, which causes her team to lose most of the battles they fight, just because they're simply outmatched by their foe. Despite all the losses, though, we definately see her grow from it and never becomes an overpowered character who can trounce all over the villains. In fact, the main baddie isn't even taken down by her, she has to use her wits to have someone else take them down... but even that leads to yet another mistake.
 
I'll say this. Usually I try to avoid focusing on stereotypes because I believe that's looking too hard into something that really shouldn't be a priority. If I start focusing too much on the negative traits of a character I feel it affects my overall enjoyment of the series.

I also believe "demeaning" is far too strong a word to define a lot of the examples mentioned here. Saying it's a stereotype is one thing, (and I can certainly see where you're coming from) but "demeaning" usually denotes something that the mainstream should find offensive. If you want truly demeaning, OFFENSIVE stereotypes, go back to the 30s and 40s and look at how every non-white, non-American was portrayed there.

I also have to agree that just because the character fits into a category doesn't necessarily mean it's badly written. I believe Sakura is a well-written character. She may not be useful in battle in the same level as Naruto or Sasuke, but I believe she adds a different layer of enjoyment to the series. Similar thing with Hinata and to a lesser extent Ino. They keep a good balance between the action, comedy, and drama moments of the series. I don't think I'd enjoy Naruto as much as I did if it was nothing but fighting. Same thing can apply to many other series.

One last thing. I can't say I'm too keen on this topic. It's good discussion, but we prefer not to encourage topics about things denoting negative aspects of cartoons that have the potential of getting the attention of overprotective groups. I honestly believe that cartoons (and fiction in general) should be enjoyed for what it is, but if you start over-focusing on something that's probably not even a big deal to begin with, then you're likely missing on something that you probably could be enjoying on its own merits.

Heck, I didn't even notice most of the stereotypes mentioned here until you guys pointed them out. And I still disagree about plenty of them.

Oh, and before anyone here breaks my post into paragraphs and replies to every one of my points, give me a good reason why I should really care about these stereotypes. I've never let these stereotypes affect the enjoyment of what I like, so is there any reason why I should start now?
 
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