Due to confusion with continuities and series, I've added a disclaimer to my long-winded posts.... for the few who may read these in the future:
Disclaimer:I probably should have clarified that my theories/posts
do not refer to previous Transformers fandom, especially G1. It's a kiddy cartoon show created by a company that wanted to sell toys. The aren't out to create some sort of in-depth psychoanalytical television program. Since little kids can relate to the concept of separate males and females then the show would represent that because, quite frankly, it's the easiest thing to do.... or they just didn't want to be so creative.
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Uhg.... this is really long cause I haven't been on for a couple days. I might have to separate these. I'm not a fan of really huge posts so I hate when I do this too.....
This thread basically went from “How Female Transformers Work” to “Why Not Have One In the Movie?”
Dark Zarak wrote:Well, our culture may just be assigning them genders because that is our way, but
I still say all those TF's who downloaded their info chose to be guys because it made the most sense to them.
Question: What did they download? Is there some sort of magical website out there that allows aliens from another planet to download “Man Software:”? So are you also suggesting that they didn't “download women software” because TF woman can't pick up a blaster rifle and frag any Decepticon getting in their way? I can see it now:
Man Software: Kick ass the man way because women are only meant to be in the kitchen and have babies. (Say that line in a schwarzenegger accent, it's kinda funny.)
Ironhide: Check this out guys! A Shareware version!
And because I can't get enough of quoting Dark Zarak......
Dark Zarak wrote:Yes, except that every "male" TF is referred to as He, and it is accepted and not only considered normal, but expected. Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, Starscream, they're all guys. They act like guys without even trying. They downloaded guy personalities from the world wide web. They actually are dudes.
1.Ah, yes, there is that talk of the magical man software floating around on the internet again. I would like to think that they all had their own personalities before coming to Earth and didn't have to download anything from the human internet. B4 you bring up Jazz, I doubt that he downloaded the “Hip Hop Talk for Dummies” expansion set from the Mans Software Inc. either. He probably took an interest in this particular Earth Language and adopted it, kinda like how people think it's cool to have their pants hanging half way down their @$$'s to copy rap artists that they like.
2.They are referring to each other as “he” because they are speaking in a human language. Thus they have to refer to each other as “he” or “she” because that is how our culture is set up. I do talk about this in my other posts so I won't repeat myself here. Now if they were speaking their native language they would have a different word to replace “he” or “she”, one that we would call non-gender specific, because they don't have male or females in their culture so such pronouns would not exist.
3.) I'm still sad that you think of TF's as computers who have to download their personalities from a foreign culture. I personally think that they develop their personalities the more they interact with the world around them, but if you want to think of them as nothing but glorified computers then that is your thing.
Evil_the_Nub wrote:I think we're looking too deeply into this.
Of course we are looking too deeply into this, but that is all part of the fun!!! It's like when writing something, the best stories [for the most part] are those where the creator has given a lot of depth and insight to the characters and worlds they create. (Like Lord of the Rings, or even Star Wars). Here we are just trying to give more depth to Transformers, a topic that we all care for in one way or another. Cause lets face if, if they have no stories then they are just pieces of plastic sitting on the shelf.
Evil_the_Nub wrote: Transformers may not be organic, but they do share a lot of the same features as organic lifeforms. Such as hands, eyes, mouths, and even emotions.
I would argue against this for two main reasons:
1.) They may "share a lot of the same features as organic lifeforms" and we can compare some of these aspects of their appearance to human appearance (having two arms and human-like facial features), but transformers are by no means human, and
can not be classified as such in any way, shape, or form. It's the same with any alien species in fantasy/science fiction. For all the Star Trek fans out there take Klingons. Klingons are aliens that have very similar humanoid appearances, but they ARE NOT humans, and would probably rip off your arms if you suggested such a thing.
2.) The entire idea that Transformers share human characteristics is, in some aspects,
FALSE, and this is why. Transformers are
older than the human race according to the lore and time line presented in their universe. In this sense
it is not THEY that share some features of organic lifeforms, but
us organic lifeforms that share the same features as these non-organic entities.
Evil_the_Nub wrote: So if one looks and sounds like a girl would that really be so hard to understand?
Based on the argument that I have presented (that there are no genders in cybertronian culture, thus no female OR male transformers exist) then, yes, the concept can be hard to understand from both human and cybertronian viewpoints.
For humans it's important to give something a gender label. The main reason is for procreation, but the other is just for simple identification. Think of a time when you met someone and could not tell if they were a man or a woman. You normally feel uncomfortable because you don't know how to address that person because we have no concept, no word for how to address something we can't identify. The closest word we have is "it", but to use that is to imply that something is "different" or "not normal". Basically it's a negative word so we try to avoid it.
Now we don't want to call Optimus or any transformer an “it” because they are clearly beings that have emotions and feelings. However, since we have no scientific way of identifying whether or not a transformer is “male” or “female” (and they can't tell us because genders don't exist) we would go off of our societal standards or, as I would call them,
stereotypes. Seriously, isn't that how we have been identifying this issue the entire time? If it's a pink transformer with a high voice then it must be a chick? Pffft. (And for the record, I think CGI Arcee looks like a chicken.)
Have you ever tried explaining a custom of a country to someone who has never been there? Example: After WWII Germans stopped waving their flag because that meant being patriotic. Patriotism was a symbol of nationalism which was equated to the time when Germans were blindly devoted to their ruler, Hitler. Here in America, where we can't help but show off every incarnation of the American flag, would find this hard to believe. (And if you still do, check out this
New York Times Article
Now go up to Optimus and talk about “female autobots”. In our culture if you saw a person wearing
pink and spoke in a high voice you would probably think "Female". If you told Optimus that Arcee was a female based on the same standards he probably would not understand. Why would the color pink make a person a female? What about human females wearing a blue shirt? Would that mean that blue is also a color associated with women? And does that mean that homosexual men are really women because they speak in high voices. (NOTE: I am generalizing to make a point here and I am very well aware that not all gay men speak in a high voice. plz no flames.)
Explaining social standards is hard enough, but applying it to a foreign culture just doesn't work.
So, no, just because an autobot runs around acting and sounding like a female humans DOES NOT make them a female transformer.
Why is my life in danger?! 
" on AMAZON](/images/products/tmb/76ce8e24b09a30c8158cbde7d36bb274.jpg)
