Le stérotype de la « fille sexy née de la dernière pluie », une réactualisation du fantasme de la vierge totalement soumise aux pouvoir masculin
This is such an interesting dissection of a very common trope in writing female characters that I never really thought about before, but it’s so prevalent and so obvious and so fucking disgusting.
this is such an important video. for those who can’t watch: the ‘born sexy yesterday’ trope features heavily in science fiction, referring to a character who is typically an alien, a mermaid, an android, or some other non-human presented as a sexy woman, who
has no understand of basic human society, and often a childlike naïveté
is not ashamed or even really conceptually aware of her own nudity
is totally inexperienced with sex and sexuality
is often preternaturally skilled at something the male protagonist respects, such as combat
as the narrator points out, none of these character traits are problematic in and of themselves. they become problematic when the ‘born sexy yesterday’ character develops a relationship with a male protagonist. here’s how:
her cutesy naïveté and lack of understanding in her new environment positions the male protagonist (MP) as an experienced and admirable protector, showing her the ropes for everything from eating a sandwich to sex. this is the ultimate student-teacher fetish. it sexualizes inexperience and innocence.
though the MP may be average in literally every way, her alien-ness and lack of familiarity with human society means she has nothing to compare him to, and he becomes her “dream guy” by default. this creates female characters who exist to assuage male fears of inadequacy and rejection.
her unabashed nudity gives the director plenty of excuses to film nude or partially nude scenes, with the female character freely dancing and prancing around. she is overtly sexual, but has no sexual desires or thoughts of her own. because remember, she is the born sexy yesterday trope.
her inexperience with sex and sexuality satisfies the male desire for a “pure, unspoiled” woman who has never been corrupted by the touch of a man, and will not reject him because she literally doesn’t know any better. as her relationship with the MP progresses and inevitably becomes sexual, he shows her everything from kissing to penetration, deflowering her and reinforcing his role as the teacher, hers as the innocent… dare i say child?
in many ways it’s the ultimate male power fantasy. a completely unremarkable man stumbles upon a gorgeous woman who is totally ignorant and in a strange environment. the MP has 100% of the power in their relationship, which he will exercise to his sexual fulfillment.
another point the narrator makes which i think is incredibly important is that this trope started in colonialist dramas. a european male would go off to a foreign land, meet a totally-sexy-and-totally-unaware-of-it indigenous woman who lives an ignorant life among her tribe. he would “enlighten” her and show her the ways of the “modern world,” and in her gratitude and wonder she would fall for him. his reward was to enlighten her once more and show her the ways of intercourse.
it has since transformed and the born sexy yesterday character is now more acceptable as a literal non-human, rather than a “naked and ignorant” native.
