fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2819 ]

[ SECRET POST #2819 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2819 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Not to start Husky Wank V2, but:

Are most canines in media male because we're conditioned to think of "dog" traits like loyalty, bravery, companionship, and happy stupidity to be "male"?

I don't remember the last time I saw a movie with a female canine in it that displayed any of those traits. Unless it was something animated and they were the "cattier" female love interest of the male one.

I think maybe it's just a dog=male thing.

Why is dog = male, though?

Cat's don't have that problem.

Maybe because maleness is socially considered the "basic model"?

That's what I'm saying though. If "revert to the basic model" is the reason, why don't people assume cats are male? It should apply to every animal equally, but it doesn't.

I know a lot of people who do the dog = male and cat = female.

Which doesn't go against what I'm saying though. Why are dogs assumed male and cats assumed female? If cats are assumed female, the "male is default for animals" point goes out the window.

Dogs = obedient, happy, strong, will do everything for you

Cats = unpredictable, egoistic, weak, only uses you

/jk

Sadly I don't think that's far from the truth, at least as far as media portrayals go.

(no subject)

world_eater - 2014-09-21 20:46 (UTC) - Expand

Because dogs are man's best friend. Of course they mean man as in human. But the association is easy to see.

Cats are more associated with women because they have traits that many people would associate with women. Sneakiness, graceful, quiet, etc. Also, WITCHES! Cats = witch = women.

So you're saying it's the implication that a man's best friend must be male that's doing it?

No. It is that people say "Man's best friend." So people associate men with dogs. And dogs with men. So dogs are defaulted to men.

Dogs are also known for working with traditionally masculine things. Hunting, war, guarding/protection.

Media contributes to this because most famous dogs are male.

It realllllyyyy isn't that hard to see why dogs are defaulted to male.

Good point with the traditionally masculine jobs... though female dogs did that as well, it's not a logical jump I would make that "working with men" = "also male" but I can accept that other people might.

Aren't most famous fictional cats also male, though? Garfield, Hobbes, Oliver, Cheshire Cat, Salem, Puss in Boots, Sylvester... that doesn't seem to affect people assuming cats are female at all.

Cats were also used as hunters for pests. Why is that feminine?

Because of the words "pussy" and "pussycat" probably. Also, pet names that are usually used for women, such as kitten. Or phrases like saying she's a wildcat in bed. Or older women going after younger men being called cougars.

Basically a lot of the English language does the women=cat thing, and more than a few songs and movies have also done it. Whether cat=women came before or after that is hard to say. It's very chicken/egg.

Lassie was a female character, even though the dogs who played her were male.

That was the one fictional female canine I could think of by now, yea. Can you think of any others? I'm legit struggling.

Lady and Nymeria from GoT. Misses and Perdita from 101 Dalmatians. Little Ann from Where the Red Fern Grows. Lorelei from The Dogs of Babel. Mollie from John Dies at the End. Searchlight from The Stone Fox. Lady from Lady and the Tramp. Blue from Blue's Clues.

I wouldn't call most of those main characters on the level of Lassie, though.

Lorelei was there to support Paul, the main character. Searchlight was a dog who existed but the main characters were Willy and Stone Fox. And Lady from Lady and the Tramp is actually a prime example of what I said in the original comment, there to be the love interest. I could name Jenna from Balto as a canine character who is female, but that doesn't make Balto not the lead.

Blue counts for sure.

The TRAMP is the love interest in Lady and the Tramp. And you did not ask for main characters, you wanted female dogs. And of course the humans are going to be the focus 99% of the time. And not being the lead doesn't negate the character. Walter White is the lead in Breaking Bad, doesn't make Skyler any less awesome or important.

THANK YOU. Lady and the Tramp was Lady's story, not Tramp's. :\

Sam from "I am Legend", and Fly from "Babe."

I love how Sam's full name is Samantha, and you don't necessarily know if the dog is male or female until he calls her that in the middle of the movie.

Rita from Oliver and Company.

The Disreputable Dog from Garth Nix's Old Kingdom trilogy. "Or the Disreputable bitch, if you want to get technical".

Also comes with sneaky bitchy male cat counterpart, for double trope inversion.

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