WEBVTT

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TRON: Legacy.

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Disney's neon-infused sequel
to the 1982 classic

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includes a particularly egregious
example of a trope

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that has bothered me for years.

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"I'm Korra."

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It's a gendered convention
that will be instantly familiar

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to science fiction fans.

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The convention shows up
over and over again

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in speculative media,
but it didn't have a name.

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So I gave it one.

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I call it "Born Sexy Yesterday".

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"She's an ISO."

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The character of Korra is
an isomorphic algorithm, or ISO.

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Basically, she's a sentient computer
program in the shape of a woman.

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"She's the miracle, man."

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"Everything I've ever worked for."

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"A digital frontier 
to reshape the human condition."

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As the last of the ISOs,
Korra is described in this way:

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"Profoundly naive."

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"Umimaginably wise."

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If that sounds vaguely like something
someone might say about a child,

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it's no accident.

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Because that's exactly how 
TRON: Legacy portraits Korra.

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"But between you and me,
Jules Verne is my favorite."

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"Do you know Jules Verne?"

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"Sure."

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"What's he like?"

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She has the mind of a naive,
yet highly-skilled child,

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but in the body
of a mature, sexualized woman.

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She also serves as
our hero's love interest.

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"Profoundly naive, yet unimaginably wise"
captures the essence of this trope.

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"Born Yesterday" is an idiom meaning
extremely naive, inexperienced, or ignorant.

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"He thinks I'm too stupid, huh?"

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"Uh, no..."

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"He's right. I'm stupid and I like it."

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"You do?"

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"Sure! I'm happy. I get everything I want.
Two mink coats. Everything."

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"Activate it."

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As a media trope, Born Sexy Yesterday
has both the figurative,

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and in many cases, a literal meaning.

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The 1997 sci-fi cult classic
The Fifth Element

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is probably the most quintessensial
example of Born Sexy Yesterday.

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"I told you. Perfect."

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Like Korra, Leeloo is whimsical and naive.

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But she's also deliberately framed
in a sexualized way.

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"They really made her-"

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"Perfect. I know."

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The female characters
that this trope is built around

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are defined by their innocence of
and inexperience with worldly things.

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"Pretty!"

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Especially when it comes to sex, romance,
or basic social interaction.

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"Would you mind if I kiss you?"

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"Does it hurt?"

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Though the use of
science fiction conventions,

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they're brought into the human world
already fully formed.

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The mind of a child manifests
in a mature female body.

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She may be an android, a computer program,
a mermaid, an alien, a magical being,

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or otherwise raised in an environment
isolated from the rest of human society.

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Many of these female characters
have one very specific thing in common.

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They're all deliberately written to be 
completely unaware of their own sex appeal.

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This stance provides filmmakers with
an excuse to include at least one scene

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in which she disrobes in front of men.

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And because she's so naive, she doesn't
understand the implication of this action.

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"Morning! Come on in."

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"Didn't bring my bathing suit."

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"What's a bathing suit?"

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"Ho oh, murder."

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And you might imagine, there's
quite a bit of overlap here

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"Oh, good morning Robert!"

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with the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope,

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"This is a magical room.
Where did the water come from?"

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"Uh, oh, well, the...
The water comes from the pipes."

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"Where did the pipes get it?"

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although characters who
were Born Sexy Yesterday

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are often highly skilled at something
that men will respect.

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Frequently, that thing is combat.

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Now, so far, we've only focused on the
female characters associated with this trope.

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But it isn't really about them.

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"That doorway spins."

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Like most things in Hollywood,
Born Sexy Yesterday is written for men.

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And ultimately, it's a relationship trope.

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"5'9".... blue eyes...
long legs... great skin..."

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"You know...
Perfect."

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So that means we need to talk
about the other side of the equation.

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The male heroes.

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Typically, he's a straight, red-blooded man
who has, for a variety of reasons,

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found himself alone,
or unsatisfied in love.

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He finds himself disenfranchised,
or otherwise directionless.

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He either can't find, or doesn't want,
a woman from his own world.

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A woman who might be his equal
in matters of love and sexuality.

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He does have one thing
going for him though.

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He knows all about living life
as a normal human being.

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"Too bad you don't eat food."

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"You might find it
to be quite pleasurable."

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"How do you get pleasure out of food?"

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"Here."

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"No, thank you."

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"If you want my secret,
you'll eat my sandwitch."

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Of course, so does
every other guy on Earth.

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Which should make him unremarkable.

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"Chew! Chew!"

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Except, to a woman Born Yesterday,

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because she's presumably
never known another man,

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he would seem like the smartest,
most amazing guy in the entire universe.

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"Mm, this is fun! What is it?"

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"Ham and cheese on rye with mayo."

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And here where we start to see how
the trope is constructed as a male fantasy.

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It's precisely her naivety
and her innocence

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that allows her to see
something special in him.

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Something that other less innocent
or more experienced women cannot.

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"System: normal. Estimated resuscitation
time: 600 seconds. Commencing countdown."

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Now we don't have time
to go into it here,

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but Born Sexy Yesterday is absolutely
everywhere in Japanese anime.

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Now I should note that Born Sexy Yesterday
is not a modern trope.

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In fact, it's been a fixture of
classic Hollywood science fiction films

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since the beginning of the genre.

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"This was intriguing."

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"I wonder just how far
women would permit this to go."

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"It's nothing really personal,
just a kiss."

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"Hmm. But why should people
want to kiss each other?"

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"It's an old custom."

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"All the really high civilizations
go in for it."

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"But it's so silly."

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"But it's good for you, though."

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"It stimulates the whole system."

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"As a matter of fact, you can't
be in tip-top health without it."

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"Really? I didn't know that."

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"I'd be only too happy to show you."

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"Well, thank you very much, Lieutenant."

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"No trouble at all."

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Forbidden Planet in 1956 is one example.

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The Time Machine in 1960 is another.

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"Well, what's your name?"

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"Weena."

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"Weena?"

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"How do you spell it?"

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"Spell?"

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"Spell! Write! Can't you write?"

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Then there's a character of Nova
from the original Planet of the Apes.

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"Look at that. I..."

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"I taught you to smile."

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who is the protagonist's love interest
despite not understanding

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the concept of language.

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The trope usually involves a white woman,
but Born Sexy Yesterday is an offshoot

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of a much older media convention.

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One in which white adventurers
discover indigenous women.

NOTE Paragraph

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Although in this case, 
science fiction replaces colonialism

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as the mechanism driving that narrative.

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"Big... Bada big boom."

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"Big! Boom!"

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"Yeah, big badaboom."

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"Badaboom."

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"Big boom. Big badaboom."

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Still, sometimes it's a little of both.

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Born Sexy Yesterday fetishizes
the stark power imbalance

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between a wiser, more experienced man,
and a naive, inexperienced woman.

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It's the ultimate
teacher - student dynamic.

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"It's the custom of my people to 
help one another when we're in trouble."

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Star Trek is famous for making 
frequent use of this trope.

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Perhaps, "infamous" is a better word,
because the trope shows up

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in the original series, and then
in every other series afterwards.

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"And this.
Is this also helping?"

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"You could call it that."

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"Please, help me once again."

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"Let's start by doing something
different with your hair."

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Seven of Nine's relationship with
The Doctor on Star Trek: Voyager

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is a prominent example.

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Especially as depicted in the episode
Someone to Watch Over Me.

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"Try shaking your head a little bit."

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"Is this more appropriate?"

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Fans of that series will remember that
The Doctor's own social naivety

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is never framed by the show
as something sexy.

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"How shall I choose?"

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"I think you'd look very nice
in this one."

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"I am uncertain how to wear
such a garment. Assist me."

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"Oh, I, I, I'm sure you'll manage.
I'll go prepare the Holodeck."

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"Remember, the idea is
to have fun tonight."

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"I'll expect a full report
in the morning."

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Although Born Sexy Yesterday was
a major part of Seven's character,

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at least to begin with, she is ultimately
made much more than than that.

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And outside of a handful of
rather cringe-worthy episodes,

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Seven's story is largely one of
self-realization and self-discovery,

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which manages to transcend
the constraint of the trope.

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To a large degree, this is also true of a
character like Sonmi-451 from Cloud Atlas.

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Like Seven, her romantic relationship
is downplayed,

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while her character development
is made central.

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"Knowledge is a mirror.
And for the first time in my life,

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I was allowed to see who I was,
and who I might become."

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Which brings me to this point.

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The problem with this trope

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is not necessarily with
the female characters themselves.

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If these were simply stories involving
naive, extraterrestrial women

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who learn about love, and humanity,
then that wouldn't be an issue.

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Likewise, if the male hero was also
inexperienced, and our two protagonists

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could discover love and sex together,

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then that would avoid most
of the troubling power dynamic issues.

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"What's going on?"

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"We need to understand how it works."

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"What?"

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"This chip. This body."

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So for example, Cameron from 
The Sarah Connor Chronicles TV show

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fits the trope.

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But her relationship
with the young John Connor

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is framed as much more
of a mutual exploration.

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Since Born Sexy Yesterday hinges
on a lopsided power dynamic,

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it almost never portraits
the other way around.

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It's extremely rare for
a more experienced female character

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to teach a naive man about sex.

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"I think I better go home now, Mary Sue."

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"Why?"

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"I think I might be... ill."

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"Something's happening to me."

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"That's supposed to happen."

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"It is?"

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"Yeah, trust me."

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"Wait, no, no. No!"

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"That's your dessert."

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"You eat that with forks."

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Perhaps that's because 
most grown women don't find the idea

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of dating an inexperienced
adolescent boy all that appealing.

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"No, no, erm... Leave that last.
Sandwitch first, dessert last."

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On the rare occasions
when the genders are reversed,

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male ineptitude then becomes
the butt of the joke.

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"Hi. This is the woman from
the baseball card store. Remember me?"

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"Oh yes! Hi! Hello! Hot-diggity-dog!"

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"Thanks for calling me on the telephone."

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She may even end up falling for him.

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But she falls for him despite
his inexperience,

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not because of it.

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"Oh I'm so sorry!
I forgot about the autowash."

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Born Sexy Yesterday is about
an unbalanced relationship.

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But it's also very much
connected to masculinity.

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The subtext of the trope is the rooted
in a deep-seated male insecurity

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around sex and sexuality.

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The crux of the trope is a fixation
on male superiority.

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The fixation with holding power
over an innocent girl.

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But in order to make that
socially acceptable,

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science fiction is employed

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to put the mind of that girl into
a sexualized adult woman's body.

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It's a fantasy based on fear.

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Fear of women who are men's equals
in sexual experience and romantic history,

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and fear of losing
the intellectual upper hand to women.

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In Woody Allen's 1973 comedy Sleeper,
the protagonist is frozen,

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and when he wakes up in the future,
he's suddenly, and very conveniently,

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the only man left on Earth
who still remembers how to have sex.

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That same exact thing happens
to Stallone's character in Demolition Man.

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"Oh my."

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"Are all fluid transfer
activities like this?"

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"Better."

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"Better?"

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"Oh my."

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So Born Sexy Yesterday is
a science fiction trope

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that's designed specifically
so male heroes get to automatically be

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the most extraordinary man
in a woman's life,

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again, because they are basically the
only man to have ever been in her life.

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As such, the trope rests on
some troubling patriarchal ideas

00:16:20.090 --> 00:16:22.960
about female purity and virginity.

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By definition, characters Born Sexy
Yesterday have no past lovers,

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and no previous sexual experiences.

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She's framed as pure and innocent,
sexually and romantically,

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unchanged and uncorrupted
by the attention of other men.

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The male hero therefore avoids
even the possibility of being compared,

00:16:46.191 --> 00:16:50.071
of being judged, of not measuring up.

00:16:51.408 --> 00:16:54.221
At the end of the day,
this is a male fantasy

00:16:54.221 --> 00:16:57.211
about escaping the humiliation
and projection.

00:16:57.592 --> 00:17:00.732
Since he's the first and only man
in this woman's life,

00:17:01.131 --> 00:17:03.690
he gets to be the best by default.

00:17:06.293 --> 00:17:11.141
Which means he doesn't even have to try to
be a better partner, a better boyfriend,


00:17:11.741 --> 00:17:12.772
or a better lover.

00:17:14.072 --> 00:17:15.702
"That's what we call a kiss."

00:17:19.334 --> 00:17:22.873
Of course, the reality is that
life experience is a plus,

00:17:22.873 --> 00:17:25.373
and not a minus in relationships.

00:17:29.702 --> 00:17:32.162
And we need more media to reflex that.

00:17:32.179 --> 00:17:37.319
We need media where men enthusiastically
embrace women who are their equals.

00:17:37.448 --> 00:17:41.888
Equals in everything, including
in matters of love and sex.

00:17:42.784 --> 00:17:45.724
So to all you would-be
science fiction writers out there,

00:17:45.740 --> 00:17:47.260
I'll leave you with this.

00:17:48.021 --> 00:17:50.431
Innocence is not sexy.

00:17:51.292 --> 00:17:53.372
Knowledge and experience,
on the other hand,

00:17:53.762 --> 00:17:56.585
now that, that's extremely sexy.

00:18:00.278 --> 00:18:03.579
If you'd like to see more videos
related to media and manhood,

00:18:03.688 --> 00:18:05.889
just hop on over my Patreon page,

00:18:05.899 --> 00:18:08.869
and help fund
the Pop Culture Detective Agency.