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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think it would've killed the producers to make one of the principle Octonauts female?

117 replies

lookingforthecorkscrew · 26/09/2017 08:16

There ARE two female Octonauts but they're v much secondary characters, and does make me a bit miffed*. Thought we'd come a bit further than this.

*obvs I don't stay awake all night being angry about this, it just irritates me

OP posts:
Original poster
lookingforthecorkscrew · 26/09/2017 08:17

PRINCIPAL! Before anyone corrects...

OP posts:
Camomila · 26/09/2017 08:19

Of course YANBU, just like IANBU to be annoyed that all DSs toot toot emergency services vehicles have male voices. It wouldn't have killed them to have a female fire engine...

Nousernameforme · 26/09/2017 08:19

Are there any childrens actiony type shows like that go jetters, octonauts, paw patrol etc that have a female lead?

blackteasplease · 26/09/2017 08:19

I thought this OP. Why not one of the three that you see in the opening credits? And why are they the characters who do less than most of the others?

My dd was always adamant that Peso was female and to be fair ds' favourite is Dashi so she can't be that lame Grin

8isalotoflegsDayvid · 26/09/2017 08:22

Yup. See also: paw patrol, Thomas & friends

booksandwool · 26/09/2017 08:23

But Tweak builds all the gups! She's the only vital one!

Sirzy · 26/09/2017 08:24

I like the fact that the female one is the one who is able to build the machines, repair them etc.

One of the go Jetters is female too.

blackteasplease · 26/09/2017 08:26

Tweak IS a good role model in that she is the engineer etc so that is a positive step, and nothing wrong with Dashi either, but there should have been a main octonaut that was female too imo.

It would have been great if either Kwazi or Barnacles was female without changing anything else about them.

Nousernameforme · 26/09/2017 08:27

I had a google. Dora I suppose, she does sort of lead a team in the new dora. Doc mcstuffins and Sofia the princess not seen these so unsure how adventury they are

Believeitornot · 26/09/2017 08:29

The octonauts had been going for years so well before noise was being made about this sort of thing.

That doesn't excuse it, just trying to explain.

blackteasplease · 26/09/2017 08:30

I do love the Octonauts though. DD learnt alot from it. You can probably tell by the I'm so invested in this thread already!

Original poster
lookingforthecorkscrew · 26/09/2017 08:54

The show itself is lovely, and my 3yo loves it. I just wish there was a female in that lead trio. I grew up in the 80s longing to be a Ghostbuster and feeling like the only way I might one day be part of the action would be as one of their paramours.

OP posts:
Original poster
lookingforthecorkscrew · 26/09/2017 08:55

I don't think it's 'noise' Believeit..., it's a legitimate complaint.

OP posts:
Original poster
lookingforthecorkscrew · 26/09/2017 08:57

And if building all the gups isn't enough to get you in the principal cast booksandwool that's the glass ceiling right there!

OP posts:
booksandwool · 26/09/2017 09:33

It just happens to name those three in the titles. Shellington and Inkling matter too, they're still in the core crew.

Allthewaves · 26/09/2017 09:36

Paw patrol irritates me that there's only one female pup and they dress her in pink erghhh.

Birdsgottafly · 26/09/2017 09:44

"Paw patrol irritates me that there's only one female pup and they dress her in pink"

There's now Everest. I hate that the products featuring them are pink, but the blue/white/red stuff tends to only have the male pups on.

I had to get my GD a pink swimming pool to get all the pups on it.

Before anyone says that this is a new complaint. We didn't need this addressing when I was a child (70's), everything was in unisex colours.

We had Lady Penelope, Cat Woman, Bat Girl and Wonder Woman.

When you think what a successful show Wonder Woman was, I wonder if a female lead show would be as popular, as that was and Zena warrior princess. Without featuring a very pretty blonde, that is.

RatRolyPoly · 26/09/2017 09:55

YANBU! I've been strangely obsessed with this oversight by the Octonauts too lately.

Go Jetters has Xuli, the pilot and first in the credits, and Thomas and Friends has Emily in the credits. Although the thing with Emily is that "Emily really knows her stuff" whereas the boy engines get things like "Thomas, he's the cheeky one" and "James is vain but lots of fun". It appears to me that Emily has to be twice as good as all the boys to be considered alongside them. If you're a boy engine you can simply be cheeky or grumpy or vain (so nothing special) but Emily has to be exceptionally competent to get a look in. Sounds about right to me.

CuppaSarah · 26/09/2017 10:12

I think I would prefer it if professor inklington or whatever his name is was female. Then you'd have an almost exclusively female team managing and maintaining everything.

Go jetters would be fixed is grand master glitch was a woman. I relate so much to him and his quest for doing whatever the fuck he fancies half heartedly, he should be a lady.

TheLegendOfBeans · 26/09/2017 10:21

Come on man, Tweak is like the most important part of the set up! Sue she's not in the opening credits with Kwazii, Peso and the Captain but both that and Go Jetters definitely fulfils the "strong female role model" role.

As an aside I've only just started watching CBeebies and I'm throughly impressed. On the social equality side it seems really representative with lots of differences (colour, needs, background, culture, even dare I say it class) representation and all "normal".

No making a big deal out of any "difference". Just letting everyone get on.

I'm really impressed.

PotteringAlong · 26/09/2017 10:23

Are there any childrens actiony type shows like that go jetters, octonauts, paw patrol etc that have a female lead?

Isn't Xuli in the go jetters female?

SpaghettiAndMeatballs · 26/09/2017 10:26

The octonauts had been going for years so well before noise was being made about this sort of thing.

Yeah, it's only in the past couple of years that women have been discovered, so it's not surprising that in the past, pretty much all the characters were male.

Things are much better now, out of any given team of 5, one of them will be female, which seems like a fair representation to me, after all, I'm pretty sure that only one in 5 actual people is female.

RatRolyPoly · 26/09/2017 10:36

That's the nice thing about Xuli, in the that whole episodes can revolve around her as the protagonist. I watched one the other day where the team were supporting her in her trying to beat her own land speed record. Hooray! Glitch should totally be a woman though, good shout.

By comparison you can go through episode after episode of Octonauts and not see hide nor hair of the girls. Disappointing.

AlpacasPackOwls · 26/09/2017 10:41

It irritates me that when there is a female lead (like Xuli), there is only one. Why 3 male to one female? Why not 2 of each?

RatRolyPoly · 26/09/2017 10:45

I agree Alpacas. It's like a male majority is considered the norm but a female majority would suddenly make something a "girls' show". When actually it should be just as normal!