PowerPuff Girls

The PowerPuff Girls (PPGs) quite obviously do not validate the Smurfette Principle. The three main characters are female, and are actually supplemented by a solitary, stereotypically defined male: their scientist father-figure/creator, Professor Utonium. Indeed, the PowerPuff Girls actually seem to adhere to a mirror image of the Smurfette Principle.

It is certainly positive to see three strong, developed female characters carrying a wildly successful children’s TV show, and for the purposes of this Web site, I could probably stop my observations there.

 
But I won’t. The PPGs, for all they have done to empower little girls, do raise some important questions about our views of female heroes. First, the PPGs are not really feminine heroes, exactly; although they are saturated with pink, sparkles and cuteness, their means for fighting crime are entirely masculine—they fight physically, they yell, they get mad (although I suppose strong emotions could be construed as feminine). Second, the fact that they are so thoroughly drenched in feminine cuteness leads some critics to believe the only way our society can handle aggressive women is if they are overly feminized (or sexualized) in all other aspects of their characters (Havrilesky 1). But I guess the real question is, does any of that matter? Is it worth overlooking a few not-so-positive characteristics to see three completely unsexualized girls carrying their own action show?  

Yeah, I think so. At the very least, of course, the show does not in any way validate the Smurfette Principle, which is what we're really here to talk about.

Blossom

 Blossom is the leader of the trio (because if there's anything we've learned about women, it's that redheads are spunky, right?). She can have a pretty mean temper, but for the most part she is the most level-headed of the three.
Buttercup

 Buttercup is the loose cannon of the group (because we also know from our James Bond lore that brunettes are evil). She's pretty mean, and when she gets angry she has an endless capacity for violence.
Bubbles

 Bubbles is undoubtedly the most good-natured of the three PPGs, but she is also by far the least intelligent. As with the other two girls, the correlation between her hair color and her stereotypical personality traits irks me.

Professor Utonium

 The only regular male member of the cast, he is the girls' caretaker and yes, physical creator, although they don't share any DNA. He created them in his lab in pursuit of his quest to form "the perfect little girls." An icky concept, but the fact that they turned out with strong, distinct personalities completely unlike what he expected is satisfying.

 

Cartoons: 1950s -1990s Cartoons: present Discussion/Conclusions Home Works Cited