# Female Animal Cartoon Characters or lack thereof
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [April 11, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810 "2005-04-11T16:52:33Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/1 "2005-04-11T16:52:33Z")
I’m not usually a fan of Berke Breathed’s Sunday-only strip _Opus_, but yesterday’s installment brought up an interesting point. Breathed has decided not to post most of his _Opus_ strips online until it runs in a sizeable number of papers. I agree with his descision and will thus semi-describe the strip as follows:
The titular penguin and a young child are reading the Sunday funnies, and the child points out that there has never been a single female animal character in cartoons or comics. Opus is quick to point out Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck, but the child remarks that adjunct girlfriends don’t count. This then leads to the child encouraging us to “take a look,” which introduces a large panel of famous cartoon characters- Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Snoopy, Pogo, SpongeBob, Felix, and others, all male. What keeps the gals away, he wonders? Opus, clad in a fruit hat and tighty-whities, gives his opinion: “That’s it! It’s the awful clothes!”
Regardless of what Opus thinks, it’s a good question: Has there ever been a stand-alone female animal cartoon character (again, adjunct girlfriends don’t count- after all, Minnie Mouse is basically Mickey in a dress)?
And regarding the child’s comment that girls also shy away from political punditry: What about Ann Coulter?
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### Author:  [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/2 "2005-04-11T17:08:33Z")
The Animaniacs had The Warner Brothers and the Warner Sister Dot. She was a part of the core.
They also had Slappy Squirrel. And Rita from Rita and Runt. And Minerva Mink.
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### Author:  [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/3 "2005-04-11T17:12:01Z")
Well, ever is a pretty strong word. Beetlejuice:TAS had Lydia. However, saturday morning in the 80s is hardy the era discussed here.
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### Author:  [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/4 "2005-04-11T17:23:43Z")
> [@Scott\_plaid](#):
>
> Well, ever is a pretty strong word. Beetlejuice:TAS had Lydia. However, saturday morning in the 80s is hardy the era discussed here.
Who wasn’t a cartoon _animal_, as specified in the comic strip.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/5 "2005-04-11T17:26:21Z")
This was a topic in our household a long time ago. Apart from modern additions to the comic world, like Jessica Rabbit and the aforementioned Dot Warner and such, and subsidiary female characters like Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, and Petunia Pig, the only major _female_ character in cartoons seems to have been **Betty Boop**. And before you start saying that she wasn’t an animal, allow me to point out that _she started out as a dog_. See Leslie Cabarga’s book **The Fleischer Story** for details. Or a Betty Boop website.
I hasten to point out that there were strong female characters in comic _strips_ – Blondie was as important or more so than Dagwood (and gave her name to the strip), Olive Oyl was actually the lead character in E.C. Segar’s **Thimble Theater** (along with her family) until Popeye came along and eclipsed everyone. In Britain **Jane** starred in her own strip , even before she developed her penchant for losing her clothes. Betty Boop had her own strip, too (even if it _was_ awful).
I can make the case that **Lois Lane** wasn’t exactly a minor character in the Superman cartoons, nor **Olive Oyl** in the Popeye ones, but they never did carry cartoons on their own.
So, yeah, cartoons have been pretty sexist, but females weren’t completely absent, and the strips were less sexually polarized than the cartoons.
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### Author:  [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/6 "2005-04-11T17:32:25Z")
I remember reading **Brenda Starr, Reporter** when I was a kid. I think Dale Messick, the original comic strip artist, passed away recently.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/7 "2005-04-11T17:32:51Z")
To see the canine Betty Boop go here and select History/biography, and see the first picture:
> **[Betty Boop](https://www.bettyboop.com/)**
>
> Join us in celebrating Betty Boop's evolution into an international icon with this feature story on FleischerStudios.com !
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### Author:  [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/8 "2005-04-11T17:34:05Z")
It seems Opus neglected to mention _Bloom County_’s own [Rosebud](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosebud_the_Basselope).
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### Author:  [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/9 "2005-04-11T17:44:12Z")
Come on guys – the problem isn’t lead female characters, it is female animal characters – Along with Betty Boop, there’s
Little Audry
Lil Lotta
Dot
Wendy the good little witch
Sabrina the Teenaged witch
There are probably a few animal female characters that have led books, but it is rare – and usually icky sex-oriented stuff, to use the technical description.
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### Author:  [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/10 "2005-04-11T17:57:36Z")
**Clarabelle Cow** from the early Disney shorts.
**Duchess** & **Marie** from _The Aristocats_.
**Miss Bianca** from _The Rescuers_
More recently:
**Brandy** from _Brandy & Mr. Whiskers_.
**Cow** from _Cow & Chicken_.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/11 "2005-04-11T18:10:04Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Come on guys – the problem isn’t lead female characters, it is female animal characters – Along with Betty Boop, there’s
>
> Little Audry
> Lil Lotta
> Dot
> Wendy the good little witch
> Sabrina the Teenaged witch
>
> There are probably a few animal female characters that have led books, but it is rare – and usually icky sex-oriented stuff, to use the technical description.
See my above notes on Betty Boop regarding the anima character thing.
You note Little Audrey, but you should also know that Audrey was probably invented to get around the copyright for another female character they tried out – **Little Lulu** , who’s obviously much older (and is still around today). Again, not a female animal character, but hey…
I think Clarabelle Cow falls into the same pit as Daisy Duck and the other female animal characters of that era – not really a major character with her own cartoons. Betty Boop was surrounded by a stable of female (and male) animal characters that similarly never made the grade.
If you don’t restrict yourself to recurring characters, there _were_ female cartoon characters that were major characters in their own cartoons. Again, there were more human than animal characters, like Ub Iwerks’ **Little Match Girl**.
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/12 "2005-04-11T18:54:24Z")
Google for Sabrina Online.
Or Dela The Hooda.
Online funnies rule!
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### Author:  [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/13 "2005-04-11T19:41:58Z")
[Gertie the Dinosaur](http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/wild/images/stills/gertie_01.jpg) and [Krazy Kat](http://www.comune.modena.it/glamazonia/articoli/krazy/krazy7.jpg) . Two of the earliest. Gertie’s not particularly feminine and Krazy is sometimes referred to as a “he,” but I think they belong in the canon.
[Mam’selle Hepzibah](http://home.wlu.edu/~blackmerh/mouffette/hepzibah.gif) --I guess she’s a derivative of Pogo, but damn she’s cute!
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/14 "2005-04-11T19:55:14Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#):
>
> Google for Sabrina Online.
> Or Dela The Hooda.
Or Misty the Mouse.
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### Author:  [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/15 "2005-04-11T20:04:52Z")
There was that hen that showed up in Foghorn Leghorn cartoons. Of course since I can’t remember her name that doesn’t say much.
And the cat in Pepe Le Pew cartoons…who I don’t think even had a name and was best known for being a rape victem so…
There’s been some speculation the roadrunner is female…i’d like to think so 🙂 .
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### Author:  [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/16 "2005-04-11T20:06:57Z")
**Miss Prissy** , **Foghorn Leghorn’s** frequent mesalliance.
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### Author:  [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/17 "2005-04-11T20:29:33Z")
> [@Caprese](#):
>
> I remember reading **Brenda Starr, Reporter** when I was a kid. I think Dale Messick, the original comic strip artist, passed away recently.
Brenda Starr is not an animal.
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### Author:  [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/18 "2005-04-11T20:30:06Z")
Lady in Lady and the Tramp was the lead - unlike the others mentioned. But I think Kwazy is the best counterexample. I can’t believe Brethed forgot about her. (Or him 🙂 )
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### Author:  [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/19 "2005-04-11T20:33:43Z")
What about Miss Piggy in _Muppet Babies_? Nobody can say she’s an adjunct or a girlfriend.
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### Author:  [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-animal-cartoon-characters-or-lack-thereof/298810/20 "2005-04-11T20:38:16Z")
…and because I remembered just as I hit “post,” there’s also Gadget from _Rescue Rangers_.
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