Must be Monday. New podcast! Just click on the fancy logo below.
Main main index Narrative
|
Species Gender CodingThere is a tendency, especially in animated works involving animal characters on the Sliding Scale of Anthropomorphism from Nearly Normal Animal to Petting Zoo Person, to cast characters of some species as more commonly male and characters of some species as more commonly female. This is about an animal species that has both biological sexes in Real Life, but has one gender overrepresented in fiction due to stereotyping. Usually the more ugly, masculine-looking, or androgynous-looking animals (like rhinos, pigs, gorillas, Ravens and Crows, Frogs and Toads, dogs, donkeys, turkeys, and walruses) are more commonly male, while the more beautiful, graceful, or feminine-looking ones (like cats, ladybugs, swans, giraffes, gazelles, and ironically peacocks and male-plumaged ostriches) are more commonly female. If butterflies are shown as adult butterflies they're all female, but when an "ugly" catepillar is shown it'll be male, and one of the few male butterflies. Some species can be either/or gender wise (like mice, foxes, rabbits, squirrels, kangaroos, and snakes). There are exceptions to the "graceful animals are female, big stompy animals are male" part of the trope. Hippos for examples are quite often female in fiction and if so will be cast in the Fat Girl role. Apex hunters such as wolves, bears, and lions tend to be portrayed as male (while unfortunately also being portrayed as "evil" in an anthropomorphic society). Generally, villains, especially in youth-oriented works, are more likely to be male, especially when non-human. However, more mature and realistic works know that in many cases, it is the female who tends to be more dangerous. As an exception to the "predator" category, big cats other than lions (tigers, pumas, etc) are equally likely to be female, reflecting their grace and agility. In animals which engage in complex courtship rituals, such as most birds, the males tend to be larger and more vibrantly coloured. But because these are more "pretty", they tend to be portrayed as female, especially if the bird in question is a peafowl. The opposite is true with insects and arachnids, where females tend to be bigger and stronger and more likely to have distinguishing marks while males are tiny and nondescript. Because of this insects like mosquitoes, mantises, ants and bees are usually portrayed as male. Spiders seem to come out all right, though. It's become common knowledge that the female attempts to eat the male during/after coitus, so spiders tend to be portrayed as vamps, especially the Black Widow, probably thanks to her very indicative name. Anytime a large population of a given species is present, there will be a more realistic balance of males and females to accurately reflect the human population. Thus in films like A Bug's Life (ants), Bee Movie (bees), Antz (ants), and Disney's adaptation of Tarzan (gorillas), males and females are seen together. It's still not realistically in the case with eusocial insects (like A Bug's Life, Bee Movie, and Antz), as the different genders tend to have widely different roles and appearances. This trope can also be combined with Animal Motifs and Transformation Conventions. See also Animal Stereotypes, Animal Gender Bender, Peacock Girl, Insect Gender Bender, Female Feline, Male Mutt, and Gender Equals Breed. Related to and usually a subtrope to Women Are Delicate. Related to Pale Females, Dark Males and Masculine Lines, Feminine Curves. open/close all folders
Species Gender Coding List: More Likely to be Male
Usually Male
More Likely to be Female
Can be Either/Or
Notable Examples, Subversions, Aversions, and Exceptions: Animated Film
Literature
Western Animation
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org.
Privacy Policy
38