Are promiscuous female characters portrayed negatively always UI?

Is it neccessarily Unfortunate Implications if a sexually promiscuous female character is protrayed negatively? The character in question is not portrayed negatively BECAUSE she's promiscuous neccessarily, but more because she doesn't care about any of her partners and uses sexual/emotional manipulation to pry her way into powerful positions without actual merit. Is this Unfortunate Implications?

I don't see how it would be, unless you were trying to imply that all promiscuous women are like that.

Agreed with melloncollie. As long as you are keeping it on an individual level and it doesn't feel like you are trying to make a general statement about sexually promiscuous women, its fine.

Because women like that do exist, unfortunately.

BTW, love the signature, mellon: The Prophecy, Lucifer to Thomas Daggett.

One of my favoritest movies ever, as of last week

Spot-on delivery, IMO. *bows down to Viggo Mortensen*

It only really comes off as Unfortunate Implications if she's the only woman on the cast or if the trait is applied to all the women on the cast.

K then. I was worried it might be seen as Unfortunate Implications but now I am reassured otherwise.

On a secondary note, are there any tropes associated with this character archetype?

Black Lingerie? I don't remember what we call it.

It sounds kinda like The Vamp or Femme Fatale to me, so I gues those are places to start looking.

Uh, Gold Digger?

Found it! You want Black Bra and Panties.

edited 12th Dec '10 1:02:29 PM by Ultrayellow

A lot of people will call UI on it, regardless. Ignore them - as long as it's not over the top, you're good to go.

If the men in your story who behave in a similar way are also portrayed negatively, it's not UI. That's the thing that really bugs people - men are congratulated for the same behaviour that women are despised for.

Do what I usually do in that situation... have one sexually promiscuous woman who's doing it to be a bitch and is therefore portrayed negatively, and another one who's an Ethical Slut just doing it to have fun, and is therefore portrayed positively. Conversely, have a female virgin who is a bitch of an entirely different stripe show that it's not just promiscuous women who are prone to negative personality quirks.

Also, what Loni Jay said is very important... if you're going to criticize the promiscuity specifically rather than the reasoning behind it or the way she treats the other characters, be fair about it and show how maybe it's not such a good thing when men do it either.

That seems very silly Pinata. A story doesn't need to strike up a balance of each viewpoint to contrast them. A combat monster doesn't need a pacifist foil. A luddite character doesn't necessitate a tech junkie. A doormat doesn't need to be contrasted with an assertive person.

^Well in touchy cases like this, it helps.

Unless the author is deliberately using the characters to make a point it just seems like they were shoehorned in to dodge Unfortunate Implications chatter.

Hehe...new scene in mind...

The heroine goes to talk with one of her science minded friends and just before she enters the door an Eldritch Abomination squeezes out of the room looking embarrassed. Entering the room, the heroine sees her friend in bed with her lover.

Friend: Test subject...reluctant...

Friend's lover: At least the cleaner bots are working...

Heroine looks around to see some cleaner bots cleaning some white gunk off the walls.

I would so totally read your book, Josieph.