Beanies, I need assistance. What are some of the different names/terms for the traditional Asian drama female lead, the one who is usually long-suffering and constantly taken advantage of and can never seem to leave whatever situation is hurting them yet after eons of undeserved trauma, still ends up getting a happily ever after? I know there’s the Candy which is kind of treated as a catch-all term, but that doesn’t really describe the different variations of this type of female lead, in my opinion. I’m probably in the minority on this, but I actually think this type of female lead has a slightly wider and more diverse spectrum then it gets credit for. I just can’t, for the life of me, think of any terms/names/tropes other than the Candy. Am I wrong and that’s really it, or are there more trope descriptors our there I just haven’t come across yet?
Hope there’s actually someone awake at this hour to answer this, lol.
This is unrelated to your original post, @ohsoenthusiastic, but I just wanted to come to your wall to let you know how much I enjoy your reviews! Thank you for the time and effort you put into writing them, and they are already helping me with making better choices!😁
I also liked the question you posed here on your wall, 3 years ago now! Like zoeraindasherbenji below, I’d be interested to read your thoughts on the different notches on this spectrum because I agree that there’s a bit more going on there. What are your thoughts, 3 years on?
Thank you! I’m pretty active on MyDramaList writing reviews, and I figured I should copy and paste them to Dramabeans as well. I don’t have any IRL friends who watch dramas, so reviews are my opportunity to verbal diarrhea my thoughts and feelings. Which usually involves me getting lost in the weeds, lol.
I asked the above question, because I was working on a guest post for Dramabeans: https://www.dramabeans.com/2019/09/hey-thats-me-in-defense-of/ I haven’t really spent much time trying to nail down the differences between all these different types of female leads, but it is something I think about a lot. I still really love these kinds of characters, despite modern attitudes about them, and I think it’s unfair to cast them aside as ‘harmful’ or ‘bad representation’ or some other critique I see all the time. But again, I haven’t dug much deeper than that.
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OhSoEnthusiastic
September 11, 2019 at 9:51 PM
Beanies, I need assistance. What are some of the different names/terms for the traditional Asian drama female lead, the one who is usually long-suffering and constantly taken advantage of and can never seem to leave whatever situation is hurting them yet after eons of undeserved trauma, still ends up getting a happily ever after? I know there’s the Candy which is kind of treated as a catch-all term, but that doesn’t really describe the different variations of this type of female lead, in my opinion. I’m probably in the minority on this, but I actually think this type of female lead has a slightly wider and more diverse spectrum then it gets credit for. I just can’t, for the life of me, think of any terms/names/tropes other than the Candy. Am I wrong and that’s really it, or are there more trope descriptors our there I just haven’t come across yet?
Hope there’s actually someone awake at this hour to answer this, lol.
LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
September 12, 2019 at 3:08 AM
As far as I’m aware the only word is Candy. Although if the Candy lacks agency, I use the term pot plant.
zoeraindasherbenji
October 9, 2019 at 11:00 PM
“… I actually think this type of female lead has a slightly wider and more diverse spectrum then it gets credit for”
Can you elaborate?
dramadillo
November 16, 2022 at 12:39 AM
This is unrelated to your original post, @ohsoenthusiastic, but I just wanted to come to your wall to let you know how much I enjoy your reviews! Thank you for the time and effort you put into writing them, and they are already helping me with making better choices!😁
I also liked the question you posed here on your wall, 3 years ago now! Like zoeraindasherbenji below, I’d be interested to read your thoughts on the different notches on this spectrum because I agree that there’s a bit more going on there. What are your thoughts, 3 years on?
OhSoEnthusiastic
November 16, 2022 at 11:14 AM
Thank you! I’m pretty active on MyDramaList writing reviews, and I figured I should copy and paste them to Dramabeans as well. I don’t have any IRL friends who watch dramas, so reviews are my opportunity to verbal diarrhea my thoughts and feelings. Which usually involves me getting lost in the weeds, lol.
I asked the above question, because I was working on a guest post for Dramabeans: https://www.dramabeans.com/2019/09/hey-thats-me-in-defense-of/ I haven’t really spent much time trying to nail down the differences between all these different types of female leads, but it is something I think about a lot. I still really love these kinds of characters, despite modern attitudes about them, and I think it’s unfair to cast them aside as ‘harmful’ or ‘bad representation’ or some other critique I see all the time. But again, I haven’t dug much deeper than that.