What exactly is "Light Feminine And Dark Feminine" about?

Light Feminine and Dark Feminine

This image pickin' thread involved several different interpretations of the trope. Some official word on what exactly it's about might be worthwhile.

Well IMO it is the Girly counterpart to the Tomboy and Girly Girl trope two friends on opposite ends of the Girly scale such as a Yamato Nadeshiko type friends with a Lovable Sex Maniac Slutty type.

They are still "Feminine" and not a Tom Boy but in completely opposite ways. If these friends get involved in a Love Triangle and become Rivals then they could be a Betty and Veronica. (Which is broader in any polar opposite love triangle type thing.)

The entire point of Two Broke Girls series.

That is exactly what the description says and what the examples cover... (except for that tangled example which seems to be a bad shoehorn of a mother and child, which should be deleted off the page... And the pics presented in the thread do not show the trope at all as well.) everyone is trying to shoehorn controlling dominating type behavior, color requirements and alot of other crap in the thread.

edited 13th Nov '11 1:03:51 PM by Raso

That is pretty close to the impression I got, though I thought the dark feminine was just plain skanky rather than necessarily a lovable sex maniac. (They often coincide, but not always.) Still though, I am waiting on some mod or admin or someone otherwise qualified to give the official word on the trope to do so.

edited 13th Nov '11 5:04:33 PM by HiddenFacedMatt

Light Feminine: Pure, virginal, submissive, obedient. The definition of a "good woman" in traditional Western society for centuries. They tend to have the beauty of a delicate flower, and usually espouse traditional, conservative values concerning sex, family, and gender roles. Are very innocent in their sexuality. Some people consider this woman ideal, as they tend to be caring, nurturing, and above all, loyal. Others would consider this woman boring, as they are incredibly submissive, and lack a certain spice and allure that many find attractive.

Dark Feminine: Fiery, with an assertive, dominant, possibly rebellious personality. Traditionally discouraged, but is becoming more acceptable in modern society. They have a sultry, dark beauty, and tend toward being hedonistic and holding liberalized values concerning sex, family, and gender roles. Are in-your-face with their raw sexuality, and lean toward the exhibitionistic side concerning that aspect of themselves. On the flipside, often tend to be selfish (not necessarily, though), untrustworthy, and dangerous, though there are many who do not fit those criteria.

That seems to be about a lot of separate things at the same time, though.

Well, Light Feminine would be traditionally feminine characters , Dark Feminine would be the opposite of that, strictly speaking. An extreme "dark feminine" character would be a hypersexualized, driven, self-focused Femme Fatale, an extreme "light feminine" would be a conservative, submissive, other-focused Extreme Doormat (the extreme dark feminine is more likely to show up than the extreme light feminine these days, to avoid Unfortunate Implications). Or, a dark feminine character would be The Vamp or The Baroness, a light feminine character would be a Yamato Nadeshiko.

edited 17th Nov '11 9:49:46 AM by tropetown

Or a Light Feminine would be a Pollyanna, and the dark feminine a Defrosting Ice Queen?

I dunno, this is a character contrast trope but it may just be trying to do too much...

You can have a dark feminine Pollyanna, and you can have a light feminine ice queen.

A dark feminine character who is always of sunny disposition? That doesn't work for me.

I get a light feminine Ice Queen though.

Eddie just rewrote it I believe, so make sure you check it out.