CON-QUEST ISSUE DETAILS:
Raksha's Rantings ... from Issue 25, Summer 1999

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Transformers have historically been and continue to be considered "boys' toys" by those who create and market the concept. In actual fact, fully half of the fandom is female (the only thing surprising about this, is that the "official sources" seem still not to have the slightest inkling of it) - and even more significantly, a good number of those female fans are Decepticon fans. There have been some strange insinuations tossed about by those who can't seem to grasp how anyone could be a Decepticon fan - for instance I have heard the notion that women perhaps are drawn to Decepticons as symbolic "protector" figures, as individuals who have the physical power and aggressive nature to keep the world at bay and thus represent an idealized mate. Another version is that women may have the compulsion to change and thereby "save" an "evil" individual. Now, while I can speak conclusively only for myself, I will take the liberty of dismissing that concept out of hand - after all, how much sense does it make to want to change the very qualities that drew one to a particular character in the first place? The true problem, as so often, is that there are people who simply cannot conceive of being honestly in synch with the Decepticon worldview and everything it represents. Their blind guess at an explanation then revolves about a cobbled-together concept which is at best amusing, and at worst considerably insulting to those it desperately attempts to categorize.

There are most certainly additional elements, above and beyond the identification of worldviews, that specifically draw female fans to the Decepticons (just as there are elements that specifically appeal to male fans, which do not in any way undermine the central issue, namely affinity for the overall Decepticon philosophy). But I will also dismiss the concept of "seeking a protector," at least in its most commonly-given form. With regard to the image that many Decepticon males are assumed to exude -- I will agree to this much, there's a good deal of the "ultra-male stimulus" about many of the prominent characters, both physically and psychologically; many of them have traits that do appeal to females of a social species of primate in a manner that goes way back into ancient evolutionary origins and speaks to timeless mate-selection choices. It will be noted, for instance, that dominant male primates tend to make themselves look bigger, tend to emphasize their shoulders, tend to display sharp teeth in threat. In parallel it can be noted that quite a number of truly impressive Decepticon males have some shoulder adornment or at least an extremely powerful-looking build - an effect I have never even noticed among Autobots, regardless of their size and bulk. (And incidentally, look at many military uniforms throughout the ages - lots of shoulder adornment to be found.) Myself, I've always considered sharp teeth to be one factor that makes a character especially visually appealing -and a nice set of fangs is of course very much a primordial signal of "dominance", the word being defined in this case as an individual who would make an advantageous mate. But ultimately the attractant I'm describing is not the image of a protector figure, nor even "the dominant male in a social species", but rather the egalitarian nature of the Decepticons as individuals.

Female Decepticon fans by their very definition are not weak and timid creatures who want to be locked in an ivory tower and be "protected". We would expect of our "symbolic idealized mates" that they respect us as fully capable individuals, not prizes to be sequestered away. And there, I believe, is the real answer to the particular appeal which Decepticons hold for female fans.

Consider the portrayal of female characters in the "official sources." They were rare, but they did pop up now and again. What's interesting to me is that there's a sharp dividing line between the "typical" female character's portrayal, and the type of female character who serves as a genuinely strong and admirable female role model. Appropriately enough, that dividing line runs right down the faction boundaries.

I still find it highly significant, and yes, I will say it again, that the first female robot who was shown on the series was a Decepticon, and it was the Decepticon leader, not the Autobot one, who was first shown to be capable of a romantic involvement. Even more significant is the way that Nightbird was accepted by the other Decepticons and how Megatron himself related to her. Megatron, as a warrior-leader, needed a warrior-mate -- no delicate hothouse flower for him, to be tucked away somewhere on Cybertron while he went out and conquered worlds. He wanted someone who was fully capable of fighting at his side, every step of the way. And he trusted Nightbird's abilities enough to want her in battle at his side. Saying to her "I'm afraid you're going to get hurt, so I don't want you coming on these dangerous missions," would have been nothing short of an insult.

Now consider Optimus Prime. The self-important patriarch of the Autobots. When his mate wished to come with him on his mission, he ordered her to stay home and mind the farm, with the excuse that "it's too dangerous." Apparently only big strong Autobot males could handle it. One might say that this heavy-handed chauvinism was meant to be protective, and was thus placing a lot of value on Elita's life by keeping her out of the firing line. But think about how extremely condescending that is. It says, in effect, "You're lesser than I am, and so it's my responsibility to protect you." It infantilizes Elita and creates not a situation among equals, but more of a wise-parent/clueless-child effect. How such an association can be considered a bond worth striving for, I will never understand. Yet by the time we get to the end of "Search for Alpha Trion," it's clear that Elita has bought into this mentality hook line and sinker, and is quite content to be told to stay home, barefoot and pregnant, as it were, while her oh-so-much-more-competent and stronger mate goes out and cleans up the galaxy. And this seems to be the accepted standard among the Autobots. What is there for a female fan to admire about such a character, who meekly does as told and stays home in an inferior social position?

The other female Autobots who were shown, were also immediately hooked up with males at the earliest opportunity, as though they weren't quite valid individuals all on their own. Even their colors reinforce this -- the vast majority were hued in tentative pastels, as though they hadn't quite the right to be fully present. It was their males who really defined them, not their own natures. When I hear people speak of Elita One, I dare say that the mental definition of the character is an immediate "That was Prime's girlfriend." When I hear people speak of Nightbird, the first thing that comes to mind - because this was the most significant thing about her - is "That was the ninja robot who kicked all the Autobots' butts." Only as an afterthought may come the addition, "Oh, and she was the one Megatron was in love with, too." Certainly that's an important part of her character, and a hugely important bit of characterization for Megatron. But it's not the defining trait that summarizes Nightbird. Elita is by default first and foremost "Prime's girlfriend;" Nightbird, though she's romantically associated with Megatron, is her own person first, and Megatron's mate second. Which is precisely why she's Megatron's mate. He'd not have settled for anything less.

While it may not be entirely fair to characterize the attitude of an entire species by the actions of its leader (there are surely Autobots who treat their mates well, just as there are surely Decepticons who treat their mates badly), it must none the less be remembered that the nature of a group takes on a good deal of the nature of its leader. It's clear, for instance, that Megatron is very much an equal-opportunity commander - and when you have a strong leader such as Megatron, then his personal attitudes are going to tend to propagate through the rest of his species, under the unspoken assumption that "this is the 'right' way to be, because that's how Megatron is." Megatron is in every sense of the word the personification of what it means to be a Decepticon - he is the model for all others to follow. Not only in battle and display of courage and strength of will, but in social attitudes as well.

So now we have a popular entertainment medium which holds up as "heroes" those males who coddle and patronize their mates, and holds up as "villains" those males who hold their mates in high enough regard to insist they have the same opportunities as any other member of the species. The most positive portrayal of females, and the most egalitarian treatment of them by their team-mates, was shown exclusively on the side that's repeatedly slandered as being the "evil side." One could almost suspect insidious social forces at work. Yet more reason not to support the Autobots and everything they stand for.

Brief mention must be made at this point of the portrayal of females in Beast Wars. Airazor was a bland and uninteresting nobody in the tradition of the old female Autobots - nothing new there. It's with BlackArachnia, however, that a true celebration of misogyny comes into play. BlackArachnia more so than any other character in the series went from someone with vague potential (as much potential as was ever allowed the Decepticon characters, in any case), to someone so loathsome and contemptible, so cowardly, traitorous, and empty-headed, a simpering bimbo of such a degree, that she can only stand as an insult to strong, independent females everywhere. BlackArachnia wasn't considered "good" until she'd thrown away her every shred of self-respect at the behest of some male - on the enemy side, no less! The hidden message here is that a woman's own dreams, ideals, and original loyalties are less important than being considered "good" and fitting in with society's expectations. Had BlackArachnia been portrayed correctly, she would have decapitated a pathetic loser like Silverbolt without a moment's hesitation, for even insinuating that she should be someone other than who she is. But as it stands ... we've come a long way from the days of Nightbird. A long way down.

Still, as long as there are role models such as the Decepticons to look to, there will always be those of us who hold our own, who forge our own path, regardless of what the social climate of the time may be. Think about who you want to emulate, in your interpersonal relationships. Nightbird, or Elita? Megatron, or Prime? I should hope the choice is an easy one.

The End