This episode is brought to you by eBay. We all have that piece.
The one that's so you, you've basically become known for it.
And if you don't yet, Fashionistas, you'll find it on eBay.
That Miu Miu red leather bomber. The Cousteau Barcelona cowboy top. or that Patagonia fleece in the 2017 colorway.
All these finds are all on eBay. along with millions of more main character pieces backed by authenticity guarantee. eBay is the place for preloved and vintage fashion. eBay.
Things people love. Amazon presents Yancy vs. Dorm Hall Bathroom.
Some bathrooms offer quaint amenities. Hall bathroom offers a level 7 airborne virus for your feet.
But Yancy shopped on Amazon and saved on shower sandals oversized bath towels, and antibacterial body soap.
His opponent played dirty, but Yancy kept it clean.
Save the everyday with College Deals on Amazon.
What is the Smurfette Principle? Thanks for asking.
I must find their weakness. Let's see. Color blue.
Three apples high. Big hearts. Big hearts.
That's it. I'll get them through their hearts.
Does that ring a bell? How many of you spent hours watching the Smurfs as kids?
We're sure you remember the smiley little girl with blonde hair, a white dress and high heels.
I will send them a Smurfette! The Smurfette will be their downfall!
In case your memory has faded, in the wonderful world of the Smurfs, Smurfette is created by the evil wizard Gargamel to sow discord.
How curious that the role of Agitator is reserved for a female character, don't you think?
A beautiful but evil Smurf to lead all the others straight to me.
Add to that the fact that the Smurfville population is exclusively male until the arrival of the lone Smurfette.
That's where the idea of the Smurfette principle comes from. mainly to do with the over-representation of male figures as protagonists in works of to the detriment of female characters.
How can you base a whole theory on a single cartoon?
Well, for starters, it's not my theory. It's that of American essayist Katha Pollitt.
In 1991, she coined the term Smurfette principle in a New York Times article.
It wasn't so much with the fact that the Smurfette is a troublemaker that she took issue, It was more that she was the only female character in an otherwise 100% male world.
As a result, each male Smurf has their own personality.
You've got the joker, the stylish one, the tough guy, the food lover, the musician or the handyman.
But on the other hand, the Smurfette's character is totally erased so that the viewer only identifies her in one way.
Through her gender, What's wrong with that?
It's fiction after all, and fiction can write its own rules, can't it?
By describing the Smurfette principle, Katha Pollitt was criticizing the manner in which cinema and particularly children's cartoons, consistently shows a single woman in the world of men, Other examples include Miss Piggy in The Muppets, April in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Kanga in Winnie the Pooh.
Meanwhile, the trend has also been noticed in Hollywood blockbusters, like Ocean's Eleven, Star Wars and The Matrix, where the posters featured a single female.
When there's only one female character in an exclusively male community, They tend to be a peripheral figure, represented in an ultra stereotypical way.
Let's see. A dash of sugar and spice, but nothing nice.
A dram of crocodile tears. a pack of lies, the chatter of a magpie, and the hardest stone for her heart.
It usually conforms to the most common and above all caricatural perception of what it means to be a woman.
She is the woman rather than a woman among others.
Having a single woman in a male-dominated story isn't diversity.
It's often just for show. Don't forget 50% of the world's population is female.
Not representing all those people means wanting to only tell a story from a single point of view.
There you have it. Now you know what the Smurfette Principle is.
In under three minutes, we answer your questions.
What would you like to know about? Use the comments section to ask your questions on the podcast platform.
