I am sure we have indirectly discussed this a long time ago, it just seems we are getting more female transformers and fictional appearances so it seems a good time to discuss this.

I imagine given that this franchises is aimed at a predominantly young boy demographic attempting to do this could be extremely difficult given any miss-step could be read as deeply condescending or even sexist, some could even accuse not attempting in the first place is also dubious so I was wondering if they was to really go out of there way to make this franchise to be aimed more at both genders, how could they do this?

It seems the franchises first attempt was going with the toy industry default setting of girls toy = pink toy and boys toy = primary coloured toy and we got the G1 Elita1, Arcee and some other characters which in hindsight felt a little like tokenism with paper-thin characterisation in both cartoon and comic. Alao non of the characters ever got toys at the time so it kind of seems like an attempt that received a bit of a backlash so they quickly decided to back out of it and stick to what they knew.

I would say in the fiction the portrayal of what is perceived to be women has gradually improved with beast wars blackarachnia being a reasonably well developed character. I would say the fiction has also done some good with characters like Strika in beast machines and how in animated it doesn't seem to be a big deal about the perceived gender of the characters. Arcee was also arguably the most developed and leading character in transformers prime. After a shaky start the IDW comics are also bringing in more female characters with the adorable Nautica being my favourite. The Toys of female transformers have also steadily improved in number and quality.

Is further improvements in the quality in female transformers as both relatable characters and great toys alone enough to help this franchise bridge a divide? or is the fact that this is likely to remain science fiction action franchise for the foreseeable future going to always be a too great a barrier in gender norms to the extent that it affects some parents decisions to introduce it to girls or some girls themselves in seeking it out?

Your thoughts?

 

Well there was a Facebook survey done which worked out that approximately 40% of the fandom is female so there is that.

Honestly what they have been doing this year is what they need to keep doing. More fembots in the comics, more fembot toys (three in a year is a low bar to meet and should be exceeded or at least matched every year), more fembots in the cartoon (Strongarm is GREAT not just because she is a fembot, but there needs to be more than one) and get some damned fembots in the films and don't kill them off for no reason other than pissing off fans (fuck you Bay).

Also using more inclusive language when talking about the franchise, they have also been doing this since the Botcon awkwardness of talking to a room with a lot of female fans about how the franchise was aimed at boys.

Hasbro are really doing well at the moment and so long as they keep building on that they should be fine.

 

Well, in my opinion, as long as the characters aren't stereotyped, and have "character", then I don't really mind their existence.

But, if they only appears for about one episode (i.e. Elita 1) simply to make an "attempt" to get fan girl appeal, than that raises issues. in my opinion, the transformers(uh, cybertronians, rather) are a race, and while they can't reproduce, and the males might seem like they're "superior", every race has gender.

 

Wow, thanks for the information, I wasn't aware of that.

I forgot about him, I got side-tracked thinking of female transformers. His portrayal of human women has been absolutely appalling, enough to make Frank Miller look like the writer of a feminist manifesto in comparison. As you said, up the count from three toys a year and replace that misogynistic Holly wood relic couldn't hurt.

 

more heavily market the brand towards females. However, as the brand has been pitched as a "boys" brand for nearly 30 years, that's going to be more difficult now.

 

Oh and things like having girls playing with the toys in advertisement material as well as boys.

 

Transformers: Rebelle

 

you mean like the Nerf brand of the same name? a show dedicated to females? I think the comic does that well enough...

 

More Thunderblast

 

oooh, yes. I like that idea....she was girlier than all the others...


Oh, a good way to do this: Stop the "she's a man in Japan" trait. We don't like transgender transformers, people. That's not cool.

 

As a female fan I have to say I'm not really a big fan of any particular fembot. This is mostly because there seems to be limited appearances of these characters. Or, their traits are simply unappealing to me. That doesn't mean they're bad designs, it just doesn't appeal to me personally.

I'll be honest and admit I know little to nothing about most of the fembots. What I have seen so far was not impressive. I hated the pink version of Arcee (I don't like that color anyway). Also, I don't like the idea of a really tough fembot to where she seems masculine. For me to be interested, I'd want a strong female character who is still feminine. She still needs to look and act like a lady while being able to kick some tailpipe when needed. Something in between would be nice. I guess this is why the "male" characters have much more appeal to me. Most seem masculine and have the right qualities I'd expect to see. I hope that makes sense.

 

I think that with the exception of the sexist cr@p that Bay peddles, things are getting better in the TF world as a whole.
I think Windblade is a great example of this.
I remember watching TFTM back when it came out and squeeing when I saw Arcee (sorry for liking Pink things), only to be quite disappointed when there was no toy of her, I think 30 years is a bit long to wait (C'mon Hasbro, nearly there!).
More strong representations of female TF characters, and more fembot toys is very welcome, and I hope it continues.
I always thought Shockwave would make a great fembot, but I'm not really a fan of retconning previously male characters as "now female".
Maybe a fembot combiner team? I dunno...

 

@Cliffjumper Nautica in MTMTE might match what you are after, she is feminine without being a Strong Female Character Who Hits Things. Personally I think all the new fembots are great, Windblade as leader, Chromia as badass and Nautica as the intellectual.

Vanessa, I've thought the same about Shockwave, I also really, really want a female combiner team, that would be great. Good way of getting five new fembots into teh franchise at once too.
Your sig pic is the greatest thing I've ever seen by the way.

 

I'll have to check that out. I appreciate characters that have admirable and/or heroic qualities. However, I still need to relate to them on some level. This is precisely what puts Cliff at the top of my list for the male characters. He displays exactly what I'd like to see in a hero.

I do like Windblade's design and think it was done very well. She has a nice variety of colors that are appealing. Still becoming familiar with her characteristics at this point.

And to Vanessa, I also like your sig. Not sure if it was meat to be funny but it always makes me smile! Now, that would make a great TF play set.

 

This actually raises another important thing for Hasbro to do: talk to female fans. Like, lots of them. At Botcon and SDCC and etc. make an effort to talk to as many as possible and find out what they want to see, get as broad a picture as possible. Because like guys women are different and have different interests and priorities and falling into a 'women like...' trap is bad.

Windblade is pretty great in my opinion, some people don't like her but generally the reviews are extremely positive. I think she is a really good female character, a lot of depth which seems to get ignored and lot of potential. I'd really recommend checking the series out, the trade paperback is coming out soon I think its an economical way of getting it. It's a beautiful, beautiful toy too, moreso in robot mode.

 

Lets see.

First, I wouldn't think some poll on facebook is any real indication of how large the current female fan base is.

As to creating a TF like show aimed at girls.

There are about three types....

1. those who are into girly things
2. those who are into boys stuff
3. those who seem to like both in varried degrees

Group 2, they don't need any kind of change.

Groups 1 & 3 would need their own kind of series. Something lighter, more colorful, with female focused characters. From what I understand... girls seem to gravitate more towards fantasy than they do Sci Fi. So something with a more magical feel. Perhaps mythical creatures or knights for robot modes. Also there should be cute transformers.

Story wise it would also have to be lighter.... not being so much about war. There could still be conflict, but it would take a back seat to character interaction and drama.

With so much change in tone, imo it would be best to create a whole new brand rather than just lumping it in under the Transformers name. That would also free up the creative process, and avoid Transfomer fan backlash.

On a personal note.... I've thought about such a series many times before. I'd love to see how it would turn out and how well it could do.

 

It wasn't a poll, it was a survey of people who listed Transformers as an interest.

I don't think a focus on character interaction is a change of tone though, look at MTMTE, it's extensively character driven and it's regarded as the crown jewel of the TF franchise in terms of quality.
Having a new brand would defeat the whole purpose, that's an absurd suggestion. Women are a big proportion of the Transformers fandom and trying to shuffle them off into some kind of alternate brand because a few misogynist fanboys might get scared that girls are invading their patch is just a ridiculous idea.

Edit: This is what I meant when I said it was really, really important for Hasbro to get a wide variety of female opinions and not just 'what some guy things women want' because that is a recipe for disaster.

 

I'd be up for a femme combiner team. so long as the team's theme is something we haven't seen before. (like boats and other watercraft, or medieval siege weapons)

also, i'm going to mention them because no one else has: Blackarachnia and Airachnid, possibly Scylla

 

That's only a small point, a bonus.

Think of it more this way. Transformers is a brand that has been going after boys for 30 years. It would be an uphill battle to change that perspective even with drastic changes, to get large scale acceptance as a property aimed at young girls. Not impossible, it would just be easier to start fresh and not be tied to old ideas.

It is in no way trying to get women 'shuffled off'.... it's about creating something like transformers for young girls.