Why are so many women into the turtles
 

I really hope I won't be destroyed for asking this question, but I've noticed that there is an unusually high number of females on this forum. Compare it to sites like comic vine, comic book resources etc which are hugely male-dominated.

I'm happy about this, as the more the merrier, and the wider variety of people the merrier, but I was wondering why this is. Some people might say it's because the turtles are seen as more 'kiddy' than Marvel or DC, but I find that hugely demeaning and intellectually insulting towards women. Some of the most intelligent posters on the forum seem to be women, particularly academically speaking. There are a few women on this forum who seem to have a major academic background. I won't name them but it's pretty obvious who one or two of them are.

So what's the reason(s)? Why do the turtles attract more females than Batman or the Avengers etc?

I feel like I probably like it for a lot of the same reasons most guys do. Why do you like it?

I'd have to write an essay longer than my uni dissertation to explain properly - and I just can't be bothered at this moment in time since it's only 7 am.

Most of it boils down to the family themes, as well as my love for clandestine ninja clans and street level battles. I love Daredevil as well.

Lol, that's what I figured. It's a big question to ask, but I feel like the answers would be basically the same for anyone from anyone.
There's action, drama, emphasis on family, dealing with being outcast, relatable personalities... TMNT is full of universally appealing themes.

It's not the only fandom I'm into, but at the moment it's my favorite. I'm a long-time fan of X-Men for a lot of the same reasons.

That's true, it has a very wide set of qualities which appeal to a wide variety of people. But the same can be said of other franchises which are male dominated.

I suppose we could extend this to ask why anime is so popular with girls and women? In fact, it seems that the majority of anime viewers are female.

I wouldn't be able to answer that. I'm not a fan of anime.
Perhaps the nature of the TMNT fandom is more accepting to women? Perhaps it was popularized by a cartoon which took the world by storm, basically turning the characters into household names so it was simple to ease into.
I guess I'm the wrong person to ask, because I'm involved in a lot of fandoms/communities that are male-dominated like the FGC, MtG, Kaiju, etc. And I find them just as appealing.

I kinda just like well-written, fun characters....and big stompy monsters.

Fair enough. I can understand why women care for the property, it's just a nice departure to see a forum which seems almost 50/50 split in terms of gender.

I don't know what any of those acronyms stand for though.

I am in a minority in some fandoms myself - I'm a male who watches Once Upon A Time. And I really enjoy it too, and make no apologies.

A few of them are in it for the more bizarre reasons, like pairing the Turtles up with their brothers. Don't go to deviantart whatever you do, you don't want to see drawings of Leo kissing Raph or nonsense like that.

*shudders*

As soon as I saw you had posted I knew that laughs were imminent.

You know, I didn't even know that was a thing until I made the horrific mistake of googling "TMNT Slash Fanart" trying to find a cool IDW Slash-themed wallpaper...
Yea... I'll have to live without a beefy Slash wallpaper.

Google "The Slut from Channel Six".

I'm good....

I also notice most female fans don't like April, and I'm talking any incarnation of her. 80's April, 4kids April, Nick April...I remember talking with them when those shows were airing.

Their opinion on April was always, "Eh" or "I don't like her much."

Kinda odd since April is supposed to be aimed at female fans in every incarnation, yet female fans don't care for her.

:):):):):):):):):):)

To add to that area, I discovered another reason why a few women would be infatuated with the Turtles also. :lol:

I dunno, it's kind of like answering that question for why I like anything else that I do. I just do? I agree it's probably for a lot of the same reasons. Without that human man/woman part in the way as a factor to relate to we're just free to see them for their varying personalities, how they live their lives together, and relate to them on those deeper levels.

Granted I'm probably not the best to be able to make comparisons since I was never really into any other 'superhero' stuff.

It's just funny to me though that I relate a billion times more to a mutated male talking turtle than I ever would to any superhero woman with superpowers. These guys are just special like that. :D

And no, I don't think because it's "kiddieish." I was a kid when I first got hooked on them, they were fun kid stuff back then. But my like of them is a different perspective and level of respect now. The Turtles themselves have continued to grow over the years as admirable characters worthy of more respect than they tend to get from the general public.




And the one who brings that creepy stuff and those sites up the most around here is...

Deviantart is not a bad site, in fact there are a lot of awesomely talented people on there....you just have to avoid looking for stuff you don't want to see.

Well then your view on that may be just as mistaken as the creator's. People who think "how do we attract female viewers - just stuck a woman into the mix" are not trying hard enough. Maybe I know enough real like women and have spent a lifetime as one that I don't really need a fictional one to try to relate to. I don't dislike her, but she's never been interesting to me and don't relate to her personality. Perhaps had there been more woman around all the time there might have been one I related to more.

Because it's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

:lol: Had no idea that turtles were hung like horses.

Good post. I'd love to add to it, but I'm seriously flagging in terms of tiredness.

Brief and 100% accurate. I like it :)

Well naturally the TMNT are the stars, but April is there for female fans to identify themselves with.

Which is why I find it bizarre so many females don't care for her. And I'm talking about all the different versions of her, 80's, 4kids, Nick, Mirage, etc.

I can understand not liking one version of April but to not like any of them?

It's pretty simplistic to assume that a female is in the show simply for women to identify with. That's not the primary purpose of female characters in fiction, & it's pretty patronising to suggest that it is.

I'd bet that women identify far more with the guys than April - see the personalities of the likes of IndigoErth and Warhorse, who feel that Leo and Raph respectively are kindred spirits. Two people being the same gender doesn't necessariy mean that they share anything in common.