So are you saying that in today's society, boys are too "man" enough and that it would be shameful for them to watch a show with a chick in it and that this shouldn't be the case? Or are you saying that female characters nowadays are marketed and targeted exclusively to girls/women and that this shouldn't be the case? Or both?
I have and currently watch shows starring lead chicks.
Both.
Yeah, guys do watch shows with female leads, but that's a minority of the cases. In most cases, shows with male leads are for both genders, while shows with female leads are for exclusively women. And I'm not talking about all shows with female stars. Star Trek Voyager had a female captain, but there were plenty of male main characters, too. But when the majority of the plot centers around women, then its marketed towards women. While if the majority of the plot centers around men (or both men and women) then its usually marketed towards everyone.
Shows with a male target demographic often throw in a token female character to appeal to women. While the reverse is usually not true. There is no male Bratz or Barbie star (Excluding their love interests, which aren't really in a starring role in the series).
DC Super Hero Girls is a perfect example. How do you get women into superheroes? By getting rid of all those male superheroes! They think girls will instantly be more attracted to superheroes because its starring nothing but women. They are also excluding men from the target audience, because the cast is nothing but women. Meanwhile, Young Justice was specifically targeting men, and a large portion of its cast were token women, added to appease the women watching the show. But when this worked, and a majority of the viewers were women, the show was cancelled because it failed with its target demographic of men.
In short, shows with a male target demographic are marketed towards both genders, even if the producers don't want women watching. But shows with a female lead are marketed towards only women.
I've seen it described in relationship to gamergate as women invading masculine, male-dominated spaces and demanding that it be more women-friendly, to the dismay of mostly men, but also some women, who enjoyed the masculine version that already existed. But the inverse is not true. Men aren't allowed to enter female dominated spaces and demand that it be more guy friendly. And you can see this happening in comics, where SJW's demand women be portrayed a certain way and demonize anyone who disagrees. You can see it in gaming, where women complain about the violence and competition in videogames, that guys (and some girls) love. And you can see it in the token female characters that always show up in series with a male demographic, but the inverse of a token male in a female demographic series is virtually unheard of. Because men watching a female series is unheard of. But, really, the only area I can think of with a women target demographic that guys "invaded" is My Little Pony. And that's a very recent development, and Bronies have received heck for watching the show (Honestly, though, the show doesn't look THAT amazing, like everyone says. But this is coming from someone who hasn't actually watched the show.)
But the result is that shows that used to be for everyone, are now for exclusively women. While shows that are exclusively for men, no longer really exist.
[End long, confusing rant]
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