Why can't programs with female lead characters be aimed at men/boys too?

[apartridgeinapeartree]

This one annoyed me today!

DS's new favourite thing is a DVD which DP got him: "Mona the Vampire".

It's a cartoon - Mona and her friends (one girl, one boy) fight ghouls, goblins, aliens etc. To an adult viewer, it's clear it's all in their imagination, it's nicely done IMO. It's good fun and DS loves it.

It's an American cartoon, but the British marketing which comes with it has an incentive to buy more Mona DVDs - makeup.

It didn't even occur to me that it was aimed specifically at girls! DS is too young to pick up on this, but a "makeup" offer might make older boys decide it's not for them. And even if it doen't, it's clear the company marketing it see it as a girls thing.

I'm fed up with male leads being the default but female leads being a special girls/women's thing - even in children's programs! CBeebies is sadly guilty of this too sometimes isn't it? (Thinking of Tree Fu Tom for example - all the main characters are male, except one token female).

I can think of very few programs / films where the lead is female but it's aimed at a mixed audience. Can you think of any?

The wonderful Fargo springs to mind, can you think of any more to cheer me up? This is depressing!

[TheDoctrineOfSnatch]

You are so right.

I've bought Jane and the Dragon for DS1. Recommended on
Amightygirl.com

We watch Nina and the Neurons, good as Nina is just "the scientist"

Also: Studio Ghibli films eg Kiki's Delivery Service.

Apologies if you know of these already.

[GetAllTheThings]

films that spring instantly to mind...

True Grit ( Cohen Bros version )
Salt ( Angelina Jolie )
The Secret Garden
Wizard of Oz ( ? )
Pixar's Brave
5 Alien films
4 resident Evil films
3 Underworld films
The Hunger Games
Colombiana
Hanna
Tomb Raider

Not sure how mixed the audience might be.

[TheDoctrineOfSnatch]

Salt is an interesting one, IIRC it was either written with a male or a gender non-specific lead (I.e. Salt)

[Pootles2010]

I'm not sure if it is aimed at girls or not, but - Peppa pig. My ds loves it, we were going to do Peppa Pig party for him (didn't in end due to costs) but one of dp's friends was suprised that we were doing him a 'girlie' party

[GetAllTheThings]

Yes Tom Cruise was pencilled in at one point.

I thought True Grit was outstanding.

[ParsingFancy]

Buffy, naturally.

[GetAllTheThings]

Charlie and Lola ?
Little Einsteins maybe ( although the 'leader is a boy )

[GetAllTheThings]

Million Dollar Baby
Silence of the Lambs
V for Vendetta
Monster

[ParsingFancy]

Oh and Dollhouse, also from Joss Whedon.

[fluffyanimal]

Resident Evil/Buffy/Tomb Raider: all appealing to male audiences because of a "sexy" female in long boots/leather/skimpy high school clothes flings her legs around and/or has a liking for big guns (phallic image). I don't see any of these as feminist role models I'm afraid.

[TheDoctrineOfSnatch]

Buffy is a bit of a different kettle of fish to Tomb Raider though. She's usually in standard teenager clothing, I think.

[TheDoctrineOfSnatch]

Ie not usually skimpy...

[fluffyanimal]

Do a google search for images of Buffy, see how many cleavage shots, cropped tops and short skirts there are.

[ParsingFancy]

Hmm, on the Fargo theme, several female cops/detectives:

Cagney & Lacey (but was that primarily aimed at women?)
any Miss Marple
Vera
Case Sensitive
PD James' Cordelia Gray series.

Which reminds me, the film Charlotte Gray.

I'm using the OP's criteria of female lead + general appeal, rather than female role-model.

[ParsingFancy]

female feminist role-model

[namechangeguy]

Claire Daines in Homeland, the best drama currently on UK TV. Her character, Carrie Mathison, is not without her issues, but that is what makes her so powerful. Her and Damian Lewis' characters are absolutely outstanding.

[namechangeguy]

Frances McDormand again in Burn After Reading.

[CaseyShraeger]

Look at a random selection of teenage girl, see how many cropped tops/short skirts there are. Altho

[CaseyShraeger]

Gah! Although maybe not at this time of year; in the summer when we are closer to a Californian climate.

Although did Buffy wear short skirts?

[CaseyShraeger]

Since you ask, Google image search for Buffy, first page of results - no cleavage shots, no cropped tops, one short (not tight) skirt.

[CaseyShraeger]

Second page of results (this is on mobile so fewer results to a page) - one cleavage shot, plus one wearing a jacket with nothing underneath - so combined cleavage + cropped, I suppose. But it's not an image from the series and not one I remember seeing in the publicity; it looks rather like an unrelated photo shoot Sarah Michelle Gellar did.

[GetAllTheThings]

I can't remember any gratuitous skimpiness in Buffy, she was a very strong female character.

Joss Whedon said "The very first mission statement of the show was the joy of female power: having it, using it, sharing it."

[TheDoctrineOfSnatch]

Google also ranks and reranks by popularity - I can believe that the more revealing images are clicked on out of proportion to their frequency inthe series.

[WrathdePan]

Googled Buffy = no cleavage/legs photos in first 7 pages. Gud because I am (still) trying to get dd into Buffy and she would not approve of salaciousness. At all.

[WrathdePan]

Claire Danes in "Stardust". Aimed at everyone!

Well anything with Claire Danes in it is fine by me.