By SALLY BONIECKI – In the midst of an upswing of blockbuster movie and TV show success, there lies a small question: why do so many girls like the villains? From Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Loki to “Hannibal”’s Dr. Lecter, women are flocking together in support of these criminals.
While men’s blogs such as MTV’s “Guy Code” speculate that “girls just love bad boys,” or that “[women] want to fix them,” the answer is buried deeper within the subconscious of the average modern woman.
As a multitude of news articles have addressed, girls in the 21st century are still being raised on stereotypes: intelligent but weak-bodied, clever but deceptive and only attractive when thin and vogue.
On top of that, women are considered inferior to their male counterparts. On average, women make 70 percent of a man’s wage and only hold 16.9 percent of Fortune 500 board seats, according to the Center for American Progress.
Women are often considered “cheats” for their use of raw intelligence to achieve their life goals. Now, compare those characteristics to pop culture’s favorite felons.
Loki wholly fits the common chick criteria, especially considering the fact that he is shunned by Asgardians for his ‘womanly’ use of trickery and magic.
Dr. Lecter is a secret criminal with a flair for killing people with kitchen utensils. Also, he is not muscular like the bulk of the police force, sporting a fairly gaunt visage. Both men are undeniably snazzy and suave.
Thor, Loki’s main adversary, is the epitome of male power. He is a an mass of muscles that displays all of the traditional values of a male-led society: war-like, powerful and surprisingly obtuse.
FBI Agent Jack Crawford, the main investigator of Hannibal’s crimes, is a stocky man at the head of his department. This leadership role and the fact that his fighting ability is unmatched by any female character puts him in a revered position.
The truth of the matter is that women relate more closely to male villains, especially considering the lack of prominent women in fictional media. Only 30.9 percent of speaking characters in movies are female, according to the Huffington Post.
Male villains often get their ways by devising intricate schemes for destruction, a deceptive trait commonly associated with the archetypal woman. Women feel that their life experiences relate more to the male villains, allowing them to more easily identify with the characters’ struggles.
Whether they are a god or a cannibal, dashing male villains share an obvious similarity with stereotypical women in the modern age.