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Is it sexist to not watch anime with a female MC?

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May 25, 2016 11:47 AM
#1

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I can't watch anime with a female mc.. When I first got into anime I watched a few I enjoyed but later on I just lost all interest in any anime with a female mc. I have told this to a few people and they tell me it's sexist but I don't think it is?

I just feel like I can't relate on any level. Sure who can relate to even the male mc's in anime sometimes.. That's true, but it's not just relation. If I see a badass female MC kicking ass I just feel 0 hype from it lol. Where as if it's a guy kicking ass and doing cool stuff I feel the hype.

I don't think I'm sexist? I grew up around women, 90% of my family i grew up around and extended family are all women - cousins, sisters, I see aunts more than uncles, etc. I love and respect them all - but I just can't do the female MC life.
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May 25, 2016 11:49 AM
#2

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You can be sexist just by being white and male, so i wouldn't be surprised if this count as sexist too.
May 25, 2016 11:51 AM
#3

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nomanz said:
I don't think I'm sexist? I grew up around women, 90% of my family i grew up around and extended family are all women - cousins, sisters, I see aunts more than uncles, etc. I love and respect them all - but I just can't do the female MC life.
If anything, that makes your preference of male characters to have more sense then from my pov at least, as i'm the opposite.. no girls in my life and avoid male heavy shows
May 25, 2016 11:52 AM
#4

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No, not at all. Better be careful tho you don't wanna upset the feminist of MAL ;)
May 25, 2016 11:52 AM
#5

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It all depends on the reason for not watching it.
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May 25, 2016 11:52 AM
#6

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Of course not, Just because you don't enjoy an Anime with a female MC doesn't make you a sexiest.
May 25, 2016 11:55 AM
#7

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It makes no sense, most female characters don't delve too much into female-only issues like menstruation and whatnot. Most drama, character development, psychological issues and personalities are fairly independent from gender and implying that you can't appreciate these basic human things just based on the gender of the character attached to them is very much sexism. There's no logical reason for you to feel that way and the only defining factor between great and unwatchable seems to be the sex of the character, so I'm not sure what else you want to call it. Especially if you universalize it just based on encountering a few you didn't like.

And saying you don't want to see females be badass/strong just screams subconscious insecurity.

I can't tell you what to do but imo there are some issues to be overcome there.
I probably regret this post by now.
May 25, 2016 11:56 AM
#8
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No, I don't think so but it depends on the anime and the person watching the anime.
May 25, 2016 11:58 AM
#9

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You just might be uncomfortable.

Some people feel umcomfortable playing with a female character on an MMORPG or a game, and maybe it's a similar issue.

Maybe is because you have solid expectatives of females. Because you are surrounded by females, you are so used to how they behave that "you have an idea of how female act" that seeing a female lead doing something different from your expectatives feels weird (like kicking ass as you say)

I, of course, don't know your relatives and thus I have no proof for my theory. If you feels it fits you, cool, if not, trash it as the useless speculation it is.

ALSO, ITT: People psychoanalyze a fellow anime fan
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; What is essential is invisible to the eye.

But does the heart have the right perspective?
May 25, 2016 11:58 AM

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lol , just watch what you enjoy and avoid what you dont
i hate shoujo anime btw :p
May 25, 2016 11:59 AM

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This actually might be sexist. Whether you really need to worry about a bias you have no control over is up to you. (and random people projecting on the internet)
May 25, 2016 11:59 AM

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It seems like a waste to miss some great anime just because they have a female lead.
But if that's your preference there's nothing wrong or sexist about it.
May 25, 2016 12:00 PM

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then you want me to say
"no! you must watch anime with a female MC?"

just watch whatever you want m8 :)
if you don't like it then avoid it. but it's a different matter if you want to overcome it.
YizelTroMay 25, 2016 12:03 PM
May 25, 2016 12:00 PM

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I mean kind of, if a show has great everything but you find yourself asking "this would be a 10/10 show, if it had a male MC" it's a little sexist. I would say though it comes on a case by case basis, if it was the extreme like I mentioned above it could fall under that. But if it's a case where the show is heavily geared towards female audiences it could lose the appeal to a male demographic just by design.
Just a note though, the whole "I live around a lot of females so I can't be sexist" sounds a lot like the classic "I have black friends so I can't be racist argument" it just comes off as so forced it makes you look more sexist.
May 25, 2016 12:00 PM

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No,but at least it's stupid to exclude an anime for this reason.
May 25, 2016 12:01 PM

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Pullman said:
It makes no sense, most female characters don't delve too much into female-only issues like menstruation and whatnot. Most drama, character development, psychological issues and personalities are fairly independent from gender and implying that you can't appreciate these basic human things just based on the gender of the character attached to them is very much sexism. There's no logical reason for you to feel that way and the only defining factor between great and unwatchable seems to be the sex of the character, so I'm not sure what else you want to call it. Especially if you universalize it just based on encountering a few you didn't like.

And saying you don't want to see females be badass/strong just screams subconscious insecurity.

I can't tell you what to do but imo there are some issues to be overcome there.


I never said I didn't want to see them be strong, I said it doesn't give me the same level as hype as when I see a male MC who's kicking ass. I see you really liked hxh and bepop, tell me something. Would you really enjoy those two anime as much as you did if the MC's were female? What if gon and killua were 2 girls. If not, does that make you sexist?
May 25, 2016 12:03 PM

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GamerDLM said:
Just a note though, the whole "I live around a lot of females so I can't be sexist" sounds a lot like the classic "I have black friends so I can't be racist argument" it just comes off as so forced it makes you look more sexist.


Living around so many women might be a reason for this 'sexism.'
May 25, 2016 12:05 PM

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cwtgcheese said:
GamerDLM said:
Just a note though, the whole "I live around a lot of females so I can't be sexist" sounds a lot like the classic "I have black friends so I can't be racist argument" it just comes off as so forced it makes you look more sexist.


Living around so many women might be a reason for this 'sexism.'


Maybe? If me having really close relationship to my sisters, mothers, aunts and female cousins would some how lead me to be sexist then maybe I am sexist. And just unaware of it? Hmm..
May 25, 2016 12:09 PM
*hug noises*

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This sounds a lot like the ongoing Ghostbusters drama lol

Idk if I'd call it sexist, but it's sure pretty narrow-minded at least. You're bound to miss out on a lot of good shows with that mindset
May 25, 2016 12:09 PM

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It's just your preference.

But this...
Praland said:
You can be sexist just by being white and male, so i wouldn't be surprised if this count as sexist too.
May 25, 2016 12:09 PM

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nomanz said:
Maybe? If me having really close relationship to my sisters, mothers, aunts and female cousins would some how lead me to be sexist then maybe I am sexist. And just unaware of it? Hmm..


You included that little bit of information for a reason, right? Just going off what I have at my disposal.
May 25, 2016 12:10 PM

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Maybe you're not sexist, but you ARE stupid. You won't watch Kill La Kill, Nanoha, Madoka and lots of great shows.
May 25, 2016 12:11 PM

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Anime characters aren't real people, so calling it sexist just devalues real sexism that affects real people. Nobody's affected by what you choose to watch. All this is is your personal preference. Some people only watch action flicks, some people only watch sappy love stories, and you apparently dislike an entire gender.

I mean, I find it strange, but to each their own. I wouldn't call it sexist though. That's just taking the piss out of real sexism, as far as I'm concerned.
It's an entirely different kind of flying, altogether!
It's an entirely different kind of flying.
May 25, 2016 12:20 PM

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DmonHiro said:
Maybe you're not sexist, but you ARE stupid. You won't watch Kill La Kill, Nanoha, Madoka and lots of great shows.


Stupid because I don't enjoy shows that IN YOUR OPINION are "great shows". Now that's real stupidity.

Look at what I watch.. Most of what I enjoy are ecchi/harem/romcom/action/romance. My favorite probably being romance that actually advances. If you think my taste in anime is shit that's fine, but saying I'm stupid for not enjoying something is ridiculous lol.
May 25, 2016 12:24 PM

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No thats not sexist, thats just retarded...
May 25, 2016 12:24 PM

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Pullman said:
Most drama, character development, psychological issues and personalities are fairly independent from gender and implying that you can't appreciate these basic human things just based on the gender of the character attached to them is very much sexism. There's no logical reason for you to feel that way and the only defining factor between great and unwatchable seems to be the sex of the character, so I'm not sure what else you want to call it. Especially if you universalize it just based on encountering a few you didn't like.

And saying you don't want to see females be badass/strong just screams subconscious insecurity.

I can't tell you what to do but imo there are some issues to be overcome there.


I think you're blowing this out of proportion. There are loads of drama, character development, and psychological issues immediately aligned to gender. This is evident in dozens of series particularly in the shoujo demographic that involve a focus on romance, gender discrimination, and androphobia.

I don't see OP specifically stating he/she doesn't want to see 'females be badass/strong' but instead saying that they can't feel the hype from it. And then you continue to say there are issues to overcome there? The irony is incredible.
May 25, 2016 12:29 PM

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Maybe all of the females in your life have desensitized you to females and now you have a craving for testosterone. The only female in my nuclear family is my mom and a very high percentage of the anime I watch have female MCs.
May 25, 2016 12:29 PM

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It isn't a big deal, if you don't like smth.
Don't worry about it bro. ;P

May 25, 2016 12:35 PM

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zombie_pegasus said:
Maybe all of the females in your life have desensitized you to females and now you have a craving for testosterone. The only female in my nuclear family is my mom and a very high percentage of the anime I watch have female MCs.


Hm this is interesting. Someone else posted that they didn't grow up around many women either and they mostly watch anime with female mc's. I like this theory.
May 25, 2016 12:48 PM

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Not at all. As a female myself, I tend to avoid series with larger female casts or female protagonists. But in my case, I do not watch them because I cannot relate to the many stereotypical female characters out there. Not that a majority of the male figures isn't stereotypical in anime, but because I relate differently to men, it is easier for me to watch because I do not have to worry about self-reflection.

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May 25, 2016 1:00 PM
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Not really. If you aren't watching anime with female MCs because you just don't like girls in general, well, that's a little bit sexist. But if it's because you want to avoid the annoying, weak, and poorly written girl MCs, then I agree and I'm a girl.
May 25, 2016 1:22 PM

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Is as sexist as not watching animes with male protagonist, i.e. not at all.
May 25, 2016 1:24 PM

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nomanz said:
Pullman said:
It makes no sense, most female characters don't delve too much into female-only issues like menstruation and whatnot. Most drama, character development, psychological issues and personalities are fairly independent from gender and implying that you can't appreciate these basic human things just based on the gender of the character attached to them is very much sexism. There's no logical reason for you to feel that way and the only defining factor between great and unwatchable seems to be the sex of the character, so I'm not sure what else you want to call it. Especially if you universalize it just based on encountering a few you didn't like.

And saying you don't want to see females be badass/strong just screams subconscious insecurity.

I can't tell you what to do but imo there are some issues to be overcome there.


I never said I didn't want to see them be strong, I said it doesn't give me the same level as hype as when I see a male MC who's kicking ass. I see you really liked hxh and bepop, tell me something. Would you really enjoy those two anime as much as you did if the MC's were female? What if gon and killua were 2 girls. If not, does that make you sexist?


I know you didn't say that which is why I suggested there must be a subconscious reason because there's no reasonable argument to feel that drastically different just based on the sex. Because you didn't say less or depending on the circumstances/writing/etc, you said you can feel absolutely nothing/zero with a female MC period.

And talking about individual shows and genderswapping their cast has nothing to do with being unable to appreciate any show with a female MC in general like you said in your post.
First of all a show will obviously be worse if you swap out components after the fact, but that has nothing to do with the potential quality of a show that has a female MC from the start. Not wanting random stuff to be changed in an already existing series you love is pretty natural and has nothing to do with whether you give shows a chance no matter what gender their MC is. Don't mix up cause and effect.
Secondly I don't know about you but I can separate between enjoying a male MC in one show and being unable to enjoy a female MC in any other context. So no matter what my answers to your hypothetical questions about specific shows are they are irrelevant to the point of there being or not being ANY actual reasons to have a general aversion toward female MCs.

Plus Faye might have been the best character in Bebop anyway :>.

Chandela said:
Pullman said:
Most drama, character development, psychological issues and personalities are fairly independent from gender and implying that you can't appreciate these basic human things just based on the gender of the character attached to them is very much sexism. There's no logical reason for you to feel that way and the only defining factor between great and unwatchable seems to be the sex of the character, so I'm not sure what else you want to call it. Especially if you universalize it just based on encountering a few you didn't like.

And saying you don't want to see females be badass/strong just screams subconscious insecurity.

I can't tell you what to do but imo there are some issues to be overcome there.


I think you're blowing this out of proportion. There are loads of drama, character development, and psychological issues immediately aligned to gender. This is evident in dozens of series particularly in the shoujo demographic that involve a focus on romance, gender discrimination, and androphobia.

I don't see OP specifically stating he/she doesn't want to see 'females be badass/strong' but instead saying that they can't feel the hype from it. And then you continue to say there are issues to overcome there? The irony is incredible.


The one blowing things out of proportion is the OP. He's seen a few shows with female MCs that bored him and somehow came to the conclusion that that means no shows with female MCs are worth watching and now wants the community to tell him that this isn't an inredibly stupid leap of logic when you jump from having a few negative experiences to holding a sexist opinion about what a whole 50% of humanity can bring to the table in a narrative context in general.
And sadly the community obliges.
AlcoholicideMay 25, 2016 1:28 PM
I probably regret this post by now.
May 25, 2016 1:49 PM

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I think it's because you can't picture yourself as them not because you can't relate, thus you get less excitement. I don't think your real life experience is relevant to this.

I think you will be missing out if you avoid some anime just because of the gender of the main character but watch what you want to watch I guess.
May 25, 2016 1:59 PM

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@ultravigo @AltoRoark

You're not summoning anyone. Thread cleaned.

Stop @ing people for no reason. I know what your intentions are of doing so.
May 25, 2016 2:01 PM

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Tyrel said:
@ultravigo @AltoRoark

You're not summoning anyone. Thread cleaned.

Stop @ing people for no reason. I know what your intentions are of doing so.

oh common on bruh no fun allowed :( :(
May 25, 2016 2:04 PM

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errrmm.... but whats soo bad about Female MC....nothing wrong with it...infact many ppl prefer Female MC than Male MC.....and it kind of depends :/
May 25, 2016 2:08 PM

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Pullman said:
The one blowing things out of proportion is the OP. He's seen a few shows with female MCs that bored him and somehow came to the conclusion that that means no shows with female MCs are worth watching and now wants the community to tell him that this isn't an inredibly stupid leap of logic when you jump from having a few negative experiences to holding a sexist opinion about what a whole 50% of humanity can bring to the table in a narrative context in general.
And sadly the community obliges.


While I don't disagree with your first sentence completely I still think you are blowing it out of proportion. I don't see OP telling people to affirm that his view isn't sexist; I see OP asking the forum (and even himself) if his viewpoint is inherently sexist. There is a big difference between the two. That is clear from the last paragraph in his post and even more so in the later comments to follow.

If you check his anime list you'll note there are a number of shows he has positively rated with female main characters. I don't think he dislikes/gets bored of a series because of the specific gender of a character but rather the elements or focus of a series that aligns with their gender. Is a male who doesn't inherently enjoy a shoujo series sexist? No, that'd be ridiculous. It's not his intended demographic. Should he throw away a series just because it has a female lead? Probably not.
May 25, 2016 2:09 PM

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AnimeAddict117 said:
errrmm.... but whats soo bad about Female MC....nothing wrong with it...infact many ppl prefer Female MC than Male MC.....and it kind of depends :/


There's nothing particularly wrong with that. Just OP sharing his thougth.
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; What is essential is invisible to the eye.

But does the heart have the right perspective?
May 25, 2016 2:15 PM

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Well, you're missing out the three best anime of all time, Kill la Kill, Utena and Neon Genesis Evangelion.
May 25, 2016 2:15 PM

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I only usually tend to avoid stuff that is written by females. For example I never liked western fantasy novlels written by females. Often they felt generic and boring and like "only for children". Some anime have the same problem (lots of shoujo made by females for other females are boring for me). But there are exceptions (pretty good stuff even) of course.

For the main chars I don't care. Usually I think most of the main chars are boring or annoying and I prefer side chars most of the time. Even males are annoying. But I usually prefer males cause I am a male myself and most females that are often liked by tons of people are just "waifus" (they look nice or have boring personality). They are - of course - also exceptions. Females llike Akane Tsunemori are just great.

I tried to make a 50/50 mix of males/females for my favourite characters in my profile.
May 25, 2016 2:16 PM
fanservice<3

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MAL has certainly gotten more unoriginal than the whiners like to claim the anime they for some reason keep watching are
May 25, 2016 2:17 PM

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Clebardman said:
Well, you're missing out the three best anime of all time, Kill la Kill, Utena and Neon Genesis Evangelion.
and don't forget the next best 3 - Haibane Renmei, Kino no Tabi and Nana
May 25, 2016 2:27 PM

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nomanz said:
DmonHiro said:
Maybe you're not sexist, but you ARE stupid. You won't watch Kill La Kill, Nanoha, Madoka and lots of great shows.


Stupid because I don't enjoy shows that IN YOUR OPINION are "great shows". Now that's real stupidity.

Look at what I watch.. Most of what I enjoy are ecchi/harem/romcom/action/romance. My favorite probably being romance that actually advances. If you think my taste in anime is shit that's fine, but saying I'm stupid for not enjoying something is ridiculous lol.


He finds it stupid, because you are disregarding good shows over a very minor reason. Not to mention that the characters in these shows are rather androgynous in their personalities, so the "I can't identify with female characters" doesn't really apply
It's okay to smirk

May 25, 2016 2:31 PM

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I must be the least sexist person on MAL then. So no.
May 25, 2016 2:36 PM

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addioo12 said:
nomanz said:


Stupid because I don't enjoy shows that IN YOUR OPINION are "great shows". Now that's real stupidity.

Look at what I watch.. Most of what I enjoy are ecchi/harem/romcom/action/romance. My favorite probably being romance that actually advances. If you think my taste in anime is shit that's fine, but saying I'm stupid for not enjoying something is ridiculous lol.


He finds it stupid, because you are disregarding good shows over a very minor reason. Not to mention that the characters in these shows are rather androgynous in their personalities, so the "I can't identify with female characters" doesn't really apply
I tend to avoid anime without females because I like cute girls. They don't have to be cute, for example I liked Serial Experiments Lain and the MC isn't really that attractive but I still prefer the MC to be female. This is one of the reasons why I was so reluctant to watch Berserk and part of the reason why I still haven't AoT or Tiger and Bunny. Even if I know they will be good I have to really be in the mood for a manly show while I am always willing to watch an anime with an all girls cast even if it's not that good. I actually dropped Zetman because of how long it was taking for the female members of the cast to show up (apparently it was a bad adaption, but I still would have continued watching if the girls were there earlier).
May 25, 2016 2:37 PM

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addioo12 said:
nomanz said:


Stupid because I don't enjoy shows that IN YOUR OPINION are "great shows". Now that's real stupidity.

Look at what I watch.. Most of what I enjoy are ecchi/harem/romcom/action/romance. My favorite probably being romance that actually advances. If you think my taste in anime is shit that's fine, but saying I'm stupid for not enjoying something is ridiculous lol.


He finds it stupid, because you are disregarding good shows over a very minor reason. Not to mention that the characters in these shows are rather androgynous in their personalities, so the "I can't identify with female characters" doesn't really apply

good shows for you is may just a piece of shit for him and vice versa
good characters for you is may just a shitty characters for him
why people found it hard to accept that not everyone will enjoy their favorites ...
May 25, 2016 2:54 PM

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OK, so my comment was deleted, fine, I'll give a more appropriate and direct answer.

NO OP, it is not sexists to not watch an anime with a female MC.

It is also not homophobic to not want to watch an anime with gays in it.

Everyone has a preference.

I remember when I first started watching anime, I only watched battle shounen anime like Bleach and Naruto.

I wasn't interested in ecchi or romcom or slice of life or any of the other anime.

Then my preferences changed.

But regardless, I'm not sexist, I'm not homophobic or any of these buzzwords.

I watch whatever gains my interest, that's it.
May 25, 2016 2:56 PM
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That's called taste. Watch what you want, it doesn't matter.
May 25, 2016 3:06 PM

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it's refference, and i don't see anything particulary wrong with that...
"If taking responsibility for a mistake that cannot be undone means death, it's not that hard to die. At least, not as hard as to live on."
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