Autobots and the Women That Lean Over Their Engines - Female Representation in the 'Transformers' Franchise

(Pictured Above: Arcee, the most famous female Transformer)

When the Transformers franchise came about in the 1980’s, feminist groups brought up the issue that there were no female Transformers. Although Transformers, at the time, were sexless (though their gender was male) the creators added many female Transformers. Though they were stereotypically girly in terms of how they looked, just like the male Transformers were stereotypically manly looking, they were just as competent and skilled like their male counterparts. Throughout it’s thirty year history, the television shows of the Transformers franchise has treated it’s female characters, both robot and human, with respect.

            Then Transformers came to theatres in 2007. Though there were no female Transformers, there was Megan Fox’s character Mikaela Banes. With the character’s knowledge of automobiles and her helping during the final battle of the film, she could have been the main character over Shia LaBeouf’s character Sam, who is only the main character because he is 1) male and a teenager, the film’s targeted audience, and 2) because he owns an object because of the film’s plot. Though Mikaela has many abilities, what she is most remembered for in the film is being objectified while leaning over Bumblebee’s hood. This particular scene has garnered so much attention that it's been used in multiple documentaries about gender and media because of it's disrespectful nature and "male gaze."

In the second film, she isn’t much different. Shia LeBeouf told the news website Gawker in 2011 that Fox was too feminist to continue on.

For the third film, Megan Fox was replaced by model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who is objectified much more than Megan Fox was in the first two films. A scene opens with Carly’s butt and legs being the center of a shot, she is compared to an object, a car, by her boss, small robots look up her skirt, and she is threatened with sexualize violence with one of the characters. This is probably one of the most disturbing ways a character has been treated, and when women watching this film (they make up 55% of movie-goers according to Caroline Heldman of thesocietypages.org) see how Carly, the main female character is objectified, women see themselves as objects.

            Carly’s representation in the film is completely different than how she was represented in the original television series. She attended MIT and has a gift for chemistry and electronics. It’s particularly sad, because Carly in the film could have these characteristics and it would make no change to the box office whatsoever, but because of blatant sexism, Carly in the film is just an object.

             Carly - circa 1980's                                                                               Carly - circa 2010's