The "Born Sexy Yesterday" trope is a common science fiction convention where a female character, often a humanoid robot, alien, or magical being, is portrayed as having the mind of a naive child in the body of a mature, sexualized woman. This character is often the love interest of a male hero who must educate her about the world and, by extension, sex and romance. The trope relies on a power imbalance, with the male character holding the intellectual upper hand and the female character being innocent and inexperienced.
This trope is rooted in patriarchal ideas about female purity and virginity, where the female character's lack of past lovers and experiences makes her a blank slate for the male hero to shape and educate. The male hero is often portrayed as the most extraordinary man in the female character's life, and the trope avoids the possibility of him being compared or judged by the female character's past experiences.
The "Born Sexy Yesterday" trope is a male fantasy that stems from deep-seated insecurities around sex and masculinity. It fetishizes the power imbalance between a wiser, more experienced man and a naive, inexperienced woman, and is often used to create a fantasy where the male hero can escape the humiliation of rejection.
The article argues that this trope is problematic and that it would be more positive to portray relationships where men enthusiastically embrace women who are their equals in love, sex, and experience. It concludes by saying that innocence is not sexy, but knowledge and experience are, and encourages science fiction writers to create more nuanced and empowering female characters.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The "Born Sexy Yesterday" trope refers to a female character who is depicted as being extremely naive and inexperienced, often in a science fiction context.
2. This trope is often used to create a power imbalance between the female character and a male hero, with the male hero being more experienced and knowledgeable.
3. The female character is often portrayed as being innocent and pure, with no past lovers or sexual experiences.
4. The trope is often used to create a fantasy scenario where the male hero is the only man in the female character's life, and therefore the best by default.
5. This trope is rooted in patriarchal ideas about female purity and virginity.
6. The trope is not limited to science fiction, but is also found in anime and other forms of media.
7. The "Born Sexy Yesterday" trope is a variation of a much older media convention, where white adventurers discover indigenous women.
8. The trope is often used to fetishize the power imbalance between a wiser, more experienced man and a naive, inexperienced woman.
9. It is rare for the genders to be reversed in this trope, with a more experienced female character teaching a naive man about sex.
10. The trope is often used to create a male fantasy about escaping the humiliation of rejection.
11. The reality is that life experience is a plus, not a minus, in relationships.
12. Tron: Legacy's Quorra is an example of the "Born Sexy Yesterday" trope.
13. The Fifth Element's Leeloo is another example of this trope.
14. The trope has been around since the beginning of the science fiction genre, with examples such as Forbidden Planet (1956) and The Time Machine (1960).
15. Star Trek is famous for making frequent use of this trope.
16. The trope is not necessarily about the female characters themselves, but about the male heroes and their relationships with them.
17. The subtext of the trope is rooted in a deep-seated male insecurity around sex and sexuality.
18. The crux of the trope is a fixation on male superiority and a fixation with holding power over an innocent girl.