List of female stock characters



This is a list of stereotypical female characters. These stock characters play off of popular stereotypes of women (e. g. innocence, helplessness, etc.,) or, more recently, attempts to break these stereotypes (e. g. women's rights, feminism., etc.)


 * The California Girl: a usually blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl who only eats health food and loves the environment more than anything else. Dawn Schafer from The Baby-sitters Club series, Marzipan from Homestar Runner, and Melody Valentine from Josie and the Pussycats are examples of this character. This is in contrast to valley girls.
 * The Bad Girl/Rebel: often an antagonist, the female counterpart of the Bad Boy, the Bad Girl/Rebel is usually a troubled and rebellious adolescent or young adult, often the black sheep of the family and a sort of outcast in school. Her preferences in music, fashion or lifestyle are unconventional or non-mainstream. The Bad Girl/Rebel is loud or obnoxious, and is not afraid to stand out in a crowd, an individual who doesn't care much about what anyone else thinks. Examples include Alex Kelly and Hailey Nichol from The O.C., Margaret "Legs" Sadovsky in Foxfire, and Janis Ian in Mean Girls.
 * The Female Triad: A group of three girls who are mostly seen together. Often used in fantasy fiction as three women in magic (i.e.: witches, deities, etc.) or at least with different "special abilities", like Dylan, Alex and Natalie in Charlie's Angels, but may alternatively be three girls who have different tempers that play off each other. They are usually differentiated by distinct hair colours: blonde, brunette and redhead. The Three Fates and the Weird Sisters are examples of the former; the Plastics from Mean Girls, The Powerpuff Girls and Josie and the Pussycats are examples of the latter. Occasionally qualifies as both, as with the Halliwell Sisters from Charmed.
 * The Dumb Blonde or Bimbo: Often also a Ingenue or valley girl, but may be simply unintelligent but attractive.  Could also be just plain silly/comic relief-such as Brittany Taylor in Daria, Melody Valentine in Josie and the Pussycats, and Karen Smith in Mean Girls.  Occasionally the Dumb Blonde isn’t actually blonde, just dumb.  Marilyn Monroe portrayed this stereotype in a number of movies.  In very rare cases the Dumb blonde isn't dumb but acts in the fashion of the dumb blonde to avoid being classified as a Nerd Girl in her social circle.
 * The Popular Girl: a girl who is well-liked and appreciated at her school, but is often mean and prissy to less popular girls. She is usually very attractive and often has sidekicks following her everywhere. In recent times, this character type has gained the appellation Queen Bee. In many high school Cinderella stories, the Popular Girl is the initial love interest of the male lead character--until she reveals her "evil qualities," which is usually midway through the story or near the end. Examples include Phoebe Cates in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Stacy from the GirlTalk book series by L.E. Blair, Regina George from Mean Girls, Alana (later Bianca) from That's So Raven, Harmony Kendall, and Cordelia Chase of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
 * The Ugly Sidekick: a female character that isn't necessarily ugly, but is referred to as such for being inferior in looks to the Popular Girl. The Ugly Sidekick idolizes and emulates the Popular Girl in manner of speech, dress and attitude. Out of envy and with a goal to someday outrun The Popular Girl in the rat race, the Ugly Sidekick has a tendency to backstab her idol.
 * The Valley Girl: young, rich, and spoiled but usually sweet and not as mean as the Popular Girl, The "Val" is a typically blonde-haired (not necessarily a natural blonde), bright eyed Caucasian woman, although many other women of different nationalities are devoted to the trend. The typical style of dress was often garishly loud and colorful—a combination of pastel and neon colors, ruffles and lace. Tutus, leggings and bodysuits were more rare, but represented the extremes of the trend. The 21st century version typically carries such technologies as cell phones, iPods, etc. The Valley Girl has evolved as sociodemographics keep changing and the term is no longer just associated or restricted to blondes. A typical Valley Girl is usually considered to be attractive and sexually promiscuous. Examples includes Summer Roberts from The O.C., Cher Horowitz from Clueless and Gretchen Wieners from Mean Girls.
 * The Femme Fatale, the vamp, La belle dame sans merci, the Black Widowm, the Dragon Lady : the beautiful, seductive, but (traditionally) evil woman who leads the hero to his doom.  Examples include Poison Ivy from Batman, Delilah in the biblical narrative Samson and Delilah, Lady Macbeth, the Dragon Lady from Terry and the Pirates and many women in film noir. In more modern fiction, femme fatales aren't necessarily evil, but are simply women who use their looks and female charisma to get what they want. More often, they are protagonists, supporters of protagonists, antiheroes, or villains who switch sides, rather than all-out antagonists. Examples include, Gabrielle Solis and Edie Britt of Desperate Housewives, Julie Cooper and Kaitlin Cooper from The O.C., Catwoman, and Nami of One Piece.
 * The Girl next door: the archetype of wholesome, unassuming, or "average" femininity and female counterpart to the "boy next door". Her character is open and straightforward, and her intentions do not need to be concealed. She is seldom much richer or of much higher social status than the protagonist. The girl next door is most likely someone the protagonist has known for most of his (or her) life, but in the past could not appreciate the depth of her feelings because of his age. Examples: Mary Jane Watson from Spider-Man, Betty Cooper from Archie Comics, Judy from Rebel Without a Cause.
 * The Damsel in Distress: the young, beautiful, virginal woman and often a Girly girl who must be rescued from some cruel fate by the Hero à la Penelope Pitstop, Daphne Blake, Buttercup in The Princess Bride, Maid Marian in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Princess Peach, Rinoa Heartilly, and Gwendoline in The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak.  This archetype is now often subverted, with the damsel being secretly formidable and waiting for the right moment to strike back (such as Amy Rose or Princess Fiona), or learning to do it as the story advances and she leaves her initially passive attitude (such as Ninian the Dancer from Fire Emblem and Yuri Sakazaki from The King of Fighters).
 * The Ingénue: a sweet, beautiful, and virginal maiden, in mental or emotional rather than physical danger, usually a target of The Cad.  Usually a fawn-eyed innocent.  A prime example is Reese Witherspoon’s character in Cruel Intentions, as well as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera and Dr. Allison Cameron—as is once explicitly stated, in fact—in House, M.D..
 * The Adventuress: A female character who takes on an adventure-hero role, especially from periods (such as the Victorian and Edwardian eras) where such activities wouldn't be considered "ladylike". Examples include Kate Reed in Anno Dracula, Evelyn Carnahan in The Mummy, Elizabeth Swann of Pirates of the Caribbean and its sequels, Kim Possible, Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music, and Charley Pollard in Doctor Who.
 * Cinderella or The Pretty Ugly Girl: She is supposed to be somewhat plain-looking, yet is actually quite attractive—the most famous examples being Cinderella herself and Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island.  Usually, the girl's mother is either completely absent or is, of course, a Wicked Step-Mother. Her father is usually distant or uninvolved with her. Often this character is contrasted with someone considered to be the Beautiful or Popular Girl.
 * The Make Over Girl: A female stereotype who is the typical ugly duckling, usually initially ignored, unnoticed or downright ridiculed, at times on account of being homely, but later transforms into a lovely or elegant swan. Examples would be Laney Boggs in She's All That, Danielle de Barbarac in Ever After, Andie Walsh in Pretty In Pink, Josie Geller in Never Been Kissed, and Kathleen "Kiki" Harrison in America's Sweethearts.
 * The Nerd Girl: differs from the Pretty Ugly Girl by being less wholesomely mainstream.  She doesn’t dress fashionably and may be intensely interested in some specialized area or notable for her intelligence.  Deb in Napoleon Dynamite is a classic Nerd Girl (she wears her hair in an unusual way, dresses in loose, unfashionable clothing and is into photography).  Darla Simmons in Martin Mystery is another example, as is Gadget Hackwrench (Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers) and Diane Snyder in Ed (TV series). The Nerd Girl is often kind and goodhearted, and may be quite attractive, or have the potential to be so with some “tidying up” (like Hermione Granger in Harry Potter, and Ami Mizuno in Sailor Moon).  Like the Pretty Ugly Girl, she is explicitly contrasted with the beautiful but shallow popular girl.
 * The Nurse: typically a woman who finds the hero or villain injured, and nurses him back to health. She falls in love with him, but will never have her love returned because of his love for another or his plans for conquest. Examples include Michal Amagi from Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Pure and Hannah from The English Patient. Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings (at least in the film adaptation) also bears similarities to this character type towards Aragorn.
 * The Tomboy: a female character who is “one of the guys,” the Tomboy is generally "independent" and displays superior physical or athletic prowess and/or is able to relate more with males in terms of interests. Because of her attitude, interests or activities, the Tomboy is sometimes, though not always, a Pretty Ugly Girl. The Tomboy exhibits a deep-seated or transient envy of more feminine girls, usually when confronted by a boy she likes; others try to find a balance between their boyishness and some degree of femininity, with varying results. Examples include Holly Short in the Artemis Fowl series, Katarina "Kat" Stratford in 10 Things I Hate About You, Ashley Spinelli from Recess, Éowyn from The Lord of the Rings, Motoko Aoyama and Naru Narusegawa from Love Hina, Akane Tendo from Ranma 1/2, Makoto Kino from Sailor Moon, An Tachibana and Miyuki Chitose from Prince of Tennis, Pepper in Good Omens, Faris Scherwiz of Final Fantasy V, and Julie-Su from the Sonic the Hedgehog comics by Archie Comics. The character Tex in Red vs Blue could be considered an exaggeration of this archetype.
 * The Hooker With a Heart of Gold: Tart with a heart a young, attractive sex worker who, despite her lowly status in life, is a world-wise and compassionate person. Examples: Vivian Ward from Pretty Woman, Belle Watling in Gone with the Wind, Karen Kasumi from the X manga by CLAMP, Inara Serra from Firefly, and Nancy 'Sikes' from Oliver Twist.
 * The Warrior Heroine: A female hero who has many characteristics of traditional male heroic stock characters. The Warrior Heroine is sometimes prejudiced in her line of work by misogynist male characters, but always manages to come out on top. Many Warrior Heroines are Adventuresses. Some are also Femme Fatales or Tomboys, but do not necessarily have to be either. If the Warrior Heroine is of royalty, she is also a Warrior princess. One example is Shampoo from Ranma 1/2.
 * The Motor-mouth: A female character who just doesn't know when to shut up, hold her silence or keep a secret, regardless of whatever harm that could befall her or her companions. Either for truth be known, uncontrollable urge, wanting to gain the approval of a certain person or group, or simply because they want to, these women will not simply put a lid on it. Examples are Doreen Sears from Hard Rain, Taylor Townsend from The O.C. and Dodie Bishop in As Told By Ginger.
 * The Defensive Hopeless Romantic: As a lead character in a Romantic Comedy context, is usually an attractive female that supposedly does not believe in true love, usually from being left heartbroken many times. Some Defensive Hopeless Romantics are players, some are single, and some are just plain man-haters, as a means of defense against any more emotional pain associated with a relationship--that is, until they meet their match. Examples include Christina Walters in The Sweetest Thing, Katarina "Kat" Stratford in 10 Things I Hate About You, Andie Anderson in How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, and Katherine Minola in The Taming of the Shrew.

fr:Catégorie:Stéréotype féminin