We've all been there as a child. You're watching one of your favorite cartoons when suddenly there's a new character. However, something isn't quite right about this character, they seem oddly familiar. This is probably because this "new" character is just a male character already established within the show, except he's wearing a bow and has a higher pitched voice.
This is what's know as the Ms. Male character, a female character who's entire identity is based upon that of a preexisting male character. It doesn't matter if the character is imitating personality or looks, the Ms. Male character never fails to be little more than a carbon copy of the male lead. Usually only implemented for the sake of being feminine, and "diversifying" an already probably male dominant cast of characters. Whether it's Minnie mouse with her pink bow and high heels, or Smurfette with her white dress and long eye lashes, all Ms. Male characters tend to have a few things in common. They're all preexisting male characters with stereotypically gendered items attached. Most common are bows, high heels, long eye lashes, dresses, lipstick, and of course the color pink. I mean, all girls love pink, right?
Ms. Male characters are often implemented out of laziness due to writers not wanting to fully flesh out a unique design and personality for a new female character. It's simply easier to make female characters if you just take an already established male characters and put bows on them. For the longest time complaints of the overuse of the character type have been few and far between. We've been through seemingly endless Ms. Male counterparts, Super Girl, Bat Girl, Ms. Pac-Man, Lola Bunny, Daisy Duck, the list goes on.
However, this isn't a call to completely eliminate the Ms. Male character type, but rather for writers to simply fall back upon it less. This is a call for writers to take on the challenge create unique stand-alone female characters rather than basing ninety percent of their personality off of a preexisting male counterpart. To have a cast that is actually diverse rather than feigning the appearance of diversity by throwing a bow an a couple guys. For there to be more Cat Women and Black Widows, and less Super Girls. Most people would rather watch a show about Harley Quinn than Bat Girl any day.
The female character has gone through a large number of changes and improvements throughout the years. From being portrayed as little more than one dimensional housewives in sitcoms such as I Love Lucy, to more modern tales such as Harry Potter. Featuring female characters such as the brilliant and resourceful Hermione Granger who proves multiple times that you shouldn't underestimate a witch. It has been shown time and time again that people prefer fully fleshed out female characters to, to rushed Ms. Male character wannabes. So why write the next Pac-Man when we can write the next Wonder Woman.
