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| [[Image:ArceeManga1.jpg|right|300px|thumb| [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]], the most famous female Transformer, poses for the boys. Way to set an example there.]]
| | # REDIRECT [[Female Transformers]]<div id="wikia-credits"><br /><br /><small>From [http://transformers.wikia.com Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki], a [http://www.wikia.com Wikia] wiki.</small></div> |
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| Despite being robotic lifeforms with generally non-sexual methods of [[Reproduction | reproduction]], the [[Transformer]] species has almost always been shown to include both male and female gender analogues, at least mentally if not physically. '''Female Transformers''' are usually portrayed as comparatively rare, but are considered an official part of the Transformers franchise in pretty much every continuity.
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| Click here for a '''[[List of female Transformers]]''' from all continuities.
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| ==Appearance==
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| The appearance of female Transformers in most continuities would seem to suggest a level of "sexual" dimorphism is present in at least the more humanoid members of the Transformers species (the term sexual is used in a gender-based, rather than physical sense, see the reproduction link above for that whole kettle of robo-fish). In almost all cases female Transformers are portrayed as comparatively more graceful of form, and more rounded and curved in general, than their male counterparts. Often they have a more than passing resemblance to an attractive human female made of metal and wearing armor and [[kibble]].
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| There are exceptions to this rule, and bulky, less overtly human-female-like characters have become more common, particularly among those who have toys. These are especially common in the [[Unicron Trilogy]] series and in latter expansions of the [[Generation 1]] series out of Japan, when the characters are often assigned to pre-existing "masculine" toys.
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| ==Romance==
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| Despite their robotic nature and likely non-sexual means of reproduction, romance between male and female Transformers is a well-established factor in pretty much every continuity in which both appear (which is pretty much every continuity).
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| Regardless of the whys and wherefores many romantic male-female Transformer pairings have appeared over the years, including:
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| *[[Beta]] - [[Alpha Trion]]
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| *[[Elita One (G1)|Elita One]] (Ariel) - [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (Orion Pax)
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| *[[Firestar]] - [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]]
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| *[[Chromia]] - [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]]
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| *[[Moonracer]] - [[Powerglide]]
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| *[[Arcee]] - [[Hot Rod]]
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| *Arcee - [[Springer]]
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| *Arcee - [[Chromedome]] {{storylink|The Headmasters}}
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| *Arcee (she gets around) - [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers}}
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| *[[Nancy]] - [[Wreck-Gar]]
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| *[[Esmeryl]] - [[Deathsaurus]]
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| *[[Clipper]] - [[Holi]]
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| *[[Rage (BWN)|Rage]] - [[Stampy]]
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| *[[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] - [[Tigatron]]
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| *[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] - [[Silverbolt (Fuzor)|Silverbolt]]
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| *[[Botanica]] - [[Rattrap]]
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| *<strike>[[Strika]] - [[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]]</strike> <ref>When Obsidian referres to Strika as his consort in [[Sparkwar Pt. I: The Strike]] he appears to have been using the less-common 'associate' or 'partner' definition. There are no displays of affection between them during [[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]], and [[Transformers: The Ultimate Guide|secondary information sources]] describe them only as 'cohorts.'</ref>
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| *[[Downshift (Energon)|Downshift]] has a female "life partner" whose name has yet to be revealed.
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| *[[San Diego (G1)|San Diego]] once had plans to marry [[Discharge]], apparently directly inspired by that aspect of [[human]] culture. Whether there was an actual romantic relationship involved is unknown.
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| ==Fandom==
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| Probably because of their rarity in official fiction and toylines, female Transformers are popular plot devices in fanfiction, where the term "femme" is often used to descibe them, with "mech" likewise being applied to "male" Transformers.{{fact}}
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| ==Fiction==
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| ===Generation 1 animated series===
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| [[Image:G1femmes.jpg|right|450px|thumb|A bunch of [[Female Autobots]] from the G1 toon and [[Alpha Trion]]. His pimp cane was removed in post-production.]]
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| This continuity makes female Transformers out to be a rarity, once thought extinct. Given the appearance of Beta back in the slave days under [[Quintesson]] rule, it seems clear they were produced alongside the male [[Autobot]]s as part of the Quintessons' domestic product line. There are no [[Decepticon]] females in American continuity, however. This does make some sense within the context of the series, as the Autobots were created to be slaves while the Decepticons were made to be soldiers. It's likely that female-styled Autobots were created to perform labor stereotypically regarded as "women's work".
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| [[Wreck-Gar]] has a "[[Nancy|Junkion lady]]" companion in one episode. Just how relationships function in this isolated, media-based Transformers society is unclear, although it's notable that Wreck-Gar and his lady friend "slept" sitting up next to eachother on giant thrones between television broadcast cycles.
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| (It's also worth noting that the lady's character model is actually that of a female [[Lithone]], another mechanical race, but whether this is meaningful in any way or simple model recycling is uncertain.)
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| {{-}}
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| ===''Generation 1'' Marvel Comics continuity===
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| [[Image:Nomates.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Or maybe Cloudburst is just very scared of committment.]]No female Transformers are ever seen or referred to in the US stories, and when [[Cloudburst]] is pressured into a relationship with the beautiful [[First One]] of [[Femax]], he explains that Transformers, as a species, have no gender. {{storylink|Recipe for Disaster!}} The UK stories corroborate this, and [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] is intentionally created by the Autobots to be the sole female Transformer in an attempt to placate [[human]] feminists. {{storylink|Prime's Rib!}} (See her picture above for a hint of how well that went over.)
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| [[BotCon]]'s ''[[Classics (2006)|Classics]]'' fiction, while not including the UK material, introduced [[Elita One (G1)|Elita One]] in a similar manner as UK Arcee. {{storylink|Games of Deception}}
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| (This continuity has, historically, been surprisingly alone in declaring Transformers to be naturally gender free.)
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| {{-}}
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| ===Transformers: Victory===
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| [[Image:Esmeryl-manga.jpg|thumb|150px|right|This is an official ''Transformers'' character. No, really.]]
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| [[Decepticon]] females make their first (yet still to this day very rare) appearance in official fiction as [[Esmeryl]] ([[Deathsaurus]]' wife) and [[Lyzack]] ([[Leozack]]'s sister) both show up to show the Autobots just what it is Deathsaurus and his crew have been fighting for all this time: their poor female counterparts and countless children back home. This spares the Decepticons' lives in the final battle between the two forces. This certainly casts an odd light on the matter of Transformer [[reproduction]] (and on the manga author).
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| Meanwhile, in the animated series, the [[Micromaster]] [[Holi]] is shown to have a girlfriend on the planet [[Micro]], [[Clipper]]. There doesn't seem to be much special about her, aside from her being fairly competant and not subservient to guys at all. However, she ''is'' predominantly pink, so, well, baby steps.
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| {{-}}
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| ===Beast Wars===
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| [[Blackarachnia]] and [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] both engage in romances with male [[Maximal]]s, the former blatantly and the latter far more subtly.
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| Over the course of the show Rattrap makes numerous innuendos, especially involving Silverbolt and Blackarchnia's relationship, that suggest that, at least by that era, there may have been something sex-like between Transformers. He also makes references to a bar on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] where the wait-staff go "without their torso-plates on"... which frankly sounds like it'd be really messy.
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| ===Beast Wars II===
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| [[Scylla]] is the impetus for a big ridiculous love triangle of hilarity and embarrassment in both the animated and manga continuities. She is in love with the squid-bot [[Scuba]], who wants nothing to do with her. Meanwhile, the [[Maximal]] [[Bighorn]] is in love with Scylla, who wants nothing to do with him.
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| It's also worth noting that non-Transformer female robot [[Artemis]] harbors a crush on both Scuba (poor guy) and [[Starscream (BWII)|Starscream]].
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| ===Beast Machines===
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| ''Beast Machines''<nowiki>'</nowiki> [[technorganic]] reformatting raises even further questions about what it means to be a "female transformer". It is possible that the Technorganic female Transformers, being merged organic and technological life to a cellular level, might actually be ''physically'' female.
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| [[Rattrap]] and [[Botanica]] end up in a romantic relationship towards the end of ''[[Beast Machines]]'' ("So, I'm a tree-hugger!" Rattrap remarks). What this means for his bar-hopping days is never explored.
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| The [[Vehicon]] [[Strika]] is referred to as the "consort" of [[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]], and has been serving by his side, seemingly as an equal, for centuries. Some have taken this to mean the two have a romantic interest in each other, but the show itself does not offer any hints to this.
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| ===Dreamwave comic continuity===
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| According to DK's ''Transformers: The Ultimate Guide'', "Transformers are inherently non-gender specific, and only some quirk of their timelost origins can account for [female Transformers'] difference in appearance and attitude." Dreamwave was in the process of introducing more female Transformers and explicating their links to the Quintessons in this continuity when it went out of business.
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| ===Unicron Trilogy===
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| [[Image:Twirl-Baby.jpg|left|thumb|250px|But she's got your altmode!]]
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| The existance of female Transformers throughout the [[Unicron Trilogy]] is portrayed as slightly uncommon (it is a fiction aimed at young boys, after all), but hardly remarkable. They just exist, as do "males", and no special attention is called to them. Quite a few appear in various places in "[[Motorcycle refugee|civilian]]" roles, as [[Autobot nurse|nurses]], and even on [[Velocitron band|colony worlds]].
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| There are examples and hints of romantic interest between males and females in both ''[[Armada]]'' ([[Redline]] and [[Falcia]] in the [[Linkage (comic)|''Linkage'' comics]], plus [[Nightscream (Armada)|Nightscream's]] eagerness to appease and defend his [[bulk]] partner [[Airazor (Armada)|Airazor]]), and ''[[Cybertron (franchise)|Cybertron]]'' stories (most obviously [[Thunderblast (Decepticon)|Thunderblast's]] intense infatuation with [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]], [[Ransack (Cybertron)|Ransack's]] secret crush on [[Override (Cybertron)|Override]], plus [[Downshift (Energon)|Downshift]] reportedly has an unnamed female "life partner" lost somewhere on [[Earth]]). This too is treated as a fairly common event.
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| There are female Transformers in positions of very high power as well: in the [[Energon (cartoon)|''Energon'' cartoon]], [[Arcee (Energon)|Arcee]] is the leader of the entire [[Omnicon]] race, while in ''Cybertron'', Override is the leader of the planet [[Velocitron]]. So far, the Unicron Trilogy is the only ''Transformers'' continuity to ''give'' female Transformers that level of responsibility.
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| :''('''Note''': In the French version of the ''Energon'' cartoon, Arcee is dubbed by a man. ''Why'' she was is currently unknown.)''
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| ===IDW Comic continuity===
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| [[Simon Furman]] has stated that he will not use female Transformers in the IDW continuity until and/or unless he comes up with a reason or method for them to exist that makes logical sense to him. He did not rule out doing so however, as he said he had found a similar justification for the [[Pretender]]s, which led to the [[Stormbringer (comics)|Stormbringer]] miniseries.
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| Despite this, in ''[[Megatron Origin]]'' #2 [[Alex Milne]] has drawn what are clearly intended to be female Transformers hangin' all over a rather pimpin' looking Gundamish bot who's cheering Megatron's first fight in the [[Forge]]. Also, in the same issue, a Transformer clearly based on the female [[Tonka GoBots]] character Crasher is part of [[Clench (G2)|Clench]]'s (and later Megatron's) inner circle/gladitorial team. Whether one wants to treat either of these as anything more than an [[easter egg]] is, of course, up to the individual.
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| Adding more robo-estrogen to the fire, [[Elita One (G1)|Elita One]] appears with [[Optimus Prime (G1)|her boyfriend]], [[Alpha Trion (G1)|their father]], and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)| close friend]] at [[Bumper]] and [[Fastback]]'s funeral in #3. And [[Chromia]] can be seen just in front of [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]]. Either Furman changed his mind, or the artists are ''waaay'' too easter egg happy, which is ''incredibly'' likely.
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| With the announcement of the [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] [[Spotlight]] Furman has apparently found his path for including "female" TFs in the IDW-verse. Whether it will include/explain the above cameos remains to be seen, but Furman has stated that he will address the concept at the least. Incidentally the issue also will address the experiments of [[Jhiaxus]] on improving the Cybertronian form. So it's all pretty creepy if you think about it.
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| ==Footnotes==
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| <references/>
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| [[Category: Female Transformers| ]]
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| [[Category: Biology]]
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| [[Category: Transformer culture]]
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| [[Category: Generation 1]]<div id="wikia-credits"><br /><br /><small>From [http://transformers.wikia.com Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki], a [http://www.wikia.com Wikia] wiki.</small></div> | |
