Females in Chinese Animation “Herstory”

Intro

Although I love Chinese animation very much, I have to say that the number of women in Chinese animation is relatively low and the number of main female characters is even lower (RUC Journalist, 2020). Since I want to create a fairer environment in the virtual world, I chose this theme to explore the future of female characters in Chinese animation.

The following content includes female characters’ appearance, personality, identity, position, nature and gender of creator from 1978 to 2024 in popular animation.

1978-1986

The purpose of animation at this time was to educate children, which means they often told a “great” story. Female characters were young, kind, beautiful, skinny, weak and generous, and they were often portrayed as wives. They were ordinary people and were oppressed by feudal ethics(Chen Yao, 2023).

The characters with the strongest motivation were two villains, “Humu” and “Hunv” in The Legend of Sealed Book made in 1983, who were fox and kill people to empower themselves (Hao Yiren, 2017). Most good female characters didn’t have strong motivation, perhaps because they weren’t main characters.

1987-1999

As a large number of foreign animations entered China, the production of Chinese animation decreased. Female characters didn’t change a lot, but more and more female directors emerged(Chen Yao, 2023).

2000-2011

During that time our government gave plenty of money to animation industry(Chen Yao, 2023). So many beautiful works were created. Female characters were still young, kind and beautiful. But they clearly have more power and motivation. They were students, policewomen, boss, godess and warriors instead of wife and princess. Not only evil women had ambition, good women also did. They wanted to save the world from demons or pursue their own dreams. However, female characters were more likely to sacrifice themselves than male characters.

I was born in 2002, so this was my childhood. My favourite female character is Mona in Mona the Vampire. What a pity, it’s from Canada. I thought it was a Chinese animation because Mona had black hair and eyes. She made all my childhood fantasies about a girl come true. My second favorite female character is Xiaolan from Shaolin Wuzang (2006), which was co-produced by China and France. Xiaolan was a normal girl, but she was interested in Kongfu and really talented. So she was chosen by a Kongfu master and her two friends. She and her two friends began to fight against the Dark Lord. In this story she turns to a fighter from a little weak girl. Many animators in this work were female.

2012-2024

Most animations were made during this time. A great development is that more and more female directors and screenwriters have become involved in animation(RUC Journalist, 2020). In 28 popular animation film, 10 of them were made by female directors(Chen Yao, 2023). Female characters showed more diversity. Although most of them were still young, some older female characters appeared. They not only want to save the world, but also have their own ambition, from wanting to attend a good university to becoming an alien professor. Different body shape were shown on big screen, instead of skinny good women and bad women or chubby normal women (often mom).

End

I can see impressive improvements in both the quantity and quality of female characters in Chinese animation. They were kind young weak girls at the beginning and they became powerful women at the end. However, I still don’t think the diversity of female character is enough. Compared to the many ordinary male main characters, female main character usually have great personality or ability. Seldom story tell a normal girls world. What’s more, evil female characters are often portrayed as sexual symbols in films, while female protagonists are usually depicted as morally flawless saints. Female characters are often driven by the desire to save the world or achieve their dreams, but they rarely have the motivation to fight against injustice or resist their fate. As the weaker group in cultural narratives, constantly saving others is not necessarily a good thing. Rather than focusing on others, I hope they become more aware of their own circumstances and strive to change the fate of their fellow women.

Reference