Smurfette

Sets Stage for Symblism

 Giovanni Rosendo, associate editor

It seems that women have always been interpreted as being one of two extremes, either highly sensitive or offensive.

With the return of classic cartoons on DVD, I began thinking about how the female characters have been portrayed.  One in particular was Smurfette.

Smurfs are a blue people, mostly seen wearing white pants and matching hat, though Papa Smurf’s outfits are the exception.  Each Smurf had his or her own specialty that he or she was acknowledged for and named after.  For example, Brainy is a logical type of person who always takes things seriously, while Jokey makes a conscious effort to make pranks.

Then there is Smurfette.  Smurfette was originally made by Gargamel to wreak havoc in the Smurf village.  Due to Papa Smurf’s magic, however, Smurfette soon turned into a Smurf that the village grew to love.  Smurfette has long blonde hair, and wears a white dress with matching heels.  There is no need for blue eyes, since her entire body is that particular color.

Why is she blonde?  Is it natural?  Or does she have to go and get her roots done every two weeks?  Why does this matter?

Apparently it matters to society.  Some like to think that he or she is his or her own person, but that seems so far from the truth.

Society has a certain perception of women and how they should be portrayed.  Long flowing hair, short skirts, and high heels are among a handful of requirements to even be considered as a being “girly.” 

It’s quite a shame how much women have lowered themselves in our generation.

Women used to fight for equality.  We used to stand united as a whole to be recognized not just for our anatomy, but for our intellect as well.

We used to try and become women who would make a difference in a positive way, not just for our civil rights, but also for the rights of every creature on the planet.

Now, it seems that the only way women try to become famous is by becoming entertainers, actresses, singers, and dancers.

What happened to the intellect?  Even those women in power now are seen as either being sassy or slutty.  Somebody always thinks there is an ulterior motive to consider when a woman rises to a certain high position, as opposed to some men who acquire these positions mainly by exemplifying their amount of pumping testosterone. 

Contrary to popular belief, Smurfette isn’t the only girl Smurf.  The young Smurflings created Sassette to keep Smurfette company.  Sassette is portrayed as a young Smurf with red pigtails, pink overalls and a tomboy attitude.

Now we’re at the complete opposite end of the spectrum.

We went from long flowing blonde hair to red pigtails.

It seems that while being completely moody, we are also very butch, but must still wear the pink overalls. 

Symbolic?  Maybe.