The Smurfette Principle/Lone Female Theory

The Smurfette Principle, otherwise known as The Lone Female Theory, describes the common trope in media for the central characters to have a token female character amongst an otherwise male ensemble. In this male-dominated narrative, this token woman is a love interest, a tool to nurture the testosterone she’s surrounded by, or a badass that isn’t stronger than the men. 

The term was first spoken by Katha Pollitt in 1991. She said that the message of this practice was clear: “Boys are the norm, girls the variation; boys are central, girls peripheral; boys are individuals, girls types. Boys define the group, its story and its code of values. Girls exist only in relation to boys.” As such, the men lead the story and its heroics, while the girl can only assist. 

There are countless examples of this in classic media; Marvel, DC, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Toy Story. The prime example for the term is of course the only female smurf, Smurfette, whose main character trait is the variety she brings from being a girl. 

The original Avengers line-up has Black Widow as its sole woman amongst five men. She’s first introduced in Iron Man 2, in a skintight leather suit and smoky makeup. Her presence allows romantic tension between the Avengers – from her chemistry with Captain America to the half-baked romance with Bruce Banner in Avengers: Age of Ultron. She is also the only person able to calm The Hulk down — even as an assassin, she is still bound by the stereotype of the nurturing woman. The male-gaze badass in the skin-tight suit is also evident in the recent Jumanji films, through Karen Gillian’s character. 

When the central group of the story is a trio of two boys and one girl, there is often a love interest, or love triangle, between them. In Star Wars, both Luke and Han express immediate interest in Leia. The woman’s existence invites romantic interest, and often conflict. By there being only one woman in the group, the men are able to fight over her. More than one woman derails this potential and invites platonic female relationships over heterosexual romance. A more recent example would be Stranger Things – Eleven is the token girl in the group, until Max takes her place and they are pitted against each other until season 3. Perhaps this can be put down to male writers not understanding the fundamental importance of female friendships. Or that female characters are much more palatable to predominantly male audiences of fantasy, superhero or science fiction when there are as few of them as possible. The inclusion of a token woman, especially one that isn’t of much importance to the story, often feels like a performative and slightly insulting effort for the creator to not be accused of excluding women altogether. The Smurfette Principle is embedded into countless classic stories – when you notice it once, it’s hard to stop.

Written by, Rosie James