What makes a girl character attractive?

[Auro-Cyanide]

I'm going to go with anyone that has a personality that can't be described in a sentence let alone a single word :B

I did try to pin down a specific group I like, but I couldn't. I just like good characters. However there were a couple things I could pin down.
I dislike klutzs, idiots, shallowness, snobbiness, terrified shy, arrogance and violent girls.
I like inner strength (whether outgoing or shy), a sense of humour, confidence, intelligence and purpose outside of relationships.

Physically I like long hair, femininity, a slightly visible pelvic bone, collar bone, curve in the hips and small of the back, lips, eyes and nice realistically shaped and soft breasts.

[Snow Blossom]

I like the type that is standoffish and gutsy - as in, if she is somehow thrown into one of those alley+random creepers situations, she will hit her attackers over the head with her bag or do a roundhouse on them. XD So someone's who can defend herself. Oh, and who doesn't cry easily. I HATE it when characters cry just because they tripped and got a boo-boo. XP I also have a preference for tomboyish types - basically the aforementioned type of character with short hair and a more outgoing and easygoing personality.

[Dollywitch]

I don't like tomboys. They seem very stereotypical, always (okay fine: usually) have the same 'badass boy wannabe' personality and they just don't flow with me. I love girls who are girls. I love girls who like dresses, skirts, fancy hairstyles, pink and purple, all of that is a big win. Another stereotype that goes with the "girls who like pink" is that they are weak and gentle, which is something I, in turn, dislike. I like girls who are girls, but who are also strong and kind. Those are the ones I usually meet in real life anyway, and I find this extremely attractive, if not admiring.

I don't like stupid girls though, the ones that are meant to be 'cute', you know? They always scream "kyaa" and all those 'cute' stuff. They make me want to punch the screen. I also dislike the shy bookworm girls with glasses. Again, such a stereotype, it's getting old. Not all bookworms are shy, not all geniuses wear glasses and not all girls with glasses are bookworms. It really gets on my nerves to have characters like those.

While I agree with the Tomboy archetype being treated in a shallow manner, as someone who actually does much prefer girly girls, I still have to find something a bit sexist in the way you say "girls who are girls". A tomboy who calls herself a girl is still a girl. She might not be as "girly" as one who wears frilly dresses, but you can argue girls wear frilly dresses because that's what society tells them is attractive for a girl. Of course, you don't get that much anymore so it's normally the alternative types that wear them - but still, you can't ignore the part gender roles have in forming these things, and even if I don't find most Tomboys "attractive" I at least appreciate their inclusion.

[Aileo]

I play both GxB and BxG games, so there aren't really a whole lot of girl types I don't like, except brainless, helpless girls. The ones with no spine who lets guys run all over them. Other than that, everyone's fair game. When choosing who I'll go for first, I usually will start with what I deem "cool", mainly awesome fashion and novel personality quirks.

[Voight-Kampff]

I'm going to go with anyone that has a personality that can't be described in a sentence let alone a single word :B

Yup. That's the same conclusion I came to.

I was GOING to say that I can't stand boisterous, extroverted, energetic, carefree characters. And instead, I tend to favor quiet, demure characters. Why? Well, if a woman isn't telegraphing her emotions, it makes the "investigation" that much more interesting.

But after thinking about it, so long as there's something intriguing to discover about the character - even though she may be an extroverted loudmouth - it's all good. But, a writer better give me a reason to suspect that there's something more to a character early on. Otherwise, I'll just assume the character is one dimensional and thus, uninteresting.

[bellice]

Looks: I absolutely can't stand those melon-like breasts you see in some games. Seriously, if they're bigger than an F-cup and still defy gravity like balloons, you're doing it wrong. As far as I'm concerned, the smaller the breasts are the better. Other than that, I guess I like a unique style. The plain ol' big-eyes, small-mouthed moe anime style doesn't do it for me anymore, but that's really just a matter of the artists' style and not necessary to make me enjoy the game.

Personality: One-dimensional characters are boring. I want personality, conflict, CHARACTER GROWTH. What I absolutely can't stand (and this is the problem I have with almost all BxG games) are girls who get walked all over by the main male and still don't stand up for themselves. Unless there's a good reason for it, something like that makes me go 'eeeugh' and quit immediatly.
Also pretty annoying: Girls who are tough and/or independant at first glance start to blush and tremble and whimper and god knows what as soon as the main male touches them. Goddammit, if the girl is introduced as being energetic and fun, why can't you let her take charge? Stop with the generic love scenes. >.<

[Vynuxys]

While I agree with the Tomboy archetype being treated in a shallow manner, as someone who actually does much prefer girly girls, I still have to find something a bit sexist in the way you say "girls who are girls". A tomboy who calls herself a girl is still a girl. She might not be as "girly" as one who wears frilly dresses, but you can argue girls wear frilly dresses because that's what society tells them is attractive for a girl. Of course, you don't get that much anymore so it's normally the alternative types that wear them - but still, you can't ignore the part gender roles have in forming these things, and even if I don't find most Tomboys "attractive" I at least appreciate their inclusion.

You exaggerate. What I meant was indeed that I like girls who are girls; as in, girls who like things made for girls. Are skirts and dresses made for boys? No. They are made for girls. Therefore, since I like girls who wear those type of clothes (or makeup, etc), I found it best to word myself in such a way. I didn't mean anything else by it, and I see no reason to get so bitter. I don't find tomboys attractive nor do I appreciate their inclusion; it's just a preference. That doesn't mean I hate tomboys, though. I have friends who are tomboys and met girls who are boyish: I don't hate them. I just don't appreciate their style.

[papillon]

It's not bitterness, it's trying to explain the implications of what you said. Indeed, skirts *have been* made for boys at times throughout history. They're not *now*, in *most* cultures (although there are still ones where men wear robes! And don't forget kimonos...) There have been cultures where men wore a lot of makeup, and even now in cultures where that's uncommon, there are subcultures where men DO makeup a lot.

There's nothing wrong with liking girly-girls. The problem is the language, and that's not something you personally can completely fix. It's frustrating having a certain set of behaviors described as "girly" or "feminine" because that comes with the implication that girls who are not those things are somehow doing it wrong (and there are plenty of women who are not into frills and makeup but not super-butch domineering macho tomboys either) However, most people will understand you if you say you like girls who are girly. If you say you like "girls who are girls", that *even more strongly* gives the impression that girls who behave in any other way are not real girls and thus somehow failures - which may not be what you meant at all, that's just the implication the language gives.

Again, this is mostly a language flibble which comes about because we haven't yet invented better ways of describing these sets of behaviors without getting tangled up in gender politics, which isn't your fault.

[Dollywitch]

It's a problem, even if someone doesn't "Mean" anything by it, certain turns of phrase can still show a certain degree of privilege or prejudice that's deeply ingrained in our culture. It happens, but when people start to get defensive about it - that's when it becomes intentional.

[Glasskitten]

Can the Alice in the Madness Returns video be my waifu without my being male or a lesbian? o////o

Um...er...topic! Right, the topic.
I seem to have a slightly higher tolerance for spineless moeblobs than the general populace because it's my typical disguise among mortals and I can thus somewhat empathize. I'll admit I can empathize all too well with the doormat aspect, though the game might not cover the part where she smiles and nods and smiles and nods while fantasizing about beating the other person unconscious with a plastic spork and escaping out the window.
As long as such she--or anyone--stays out of Too Dumb To Live territory and all that...
The one time I had a semi-serious crush on a female character in any medium ever, she was a monster soldier on the good guys' side whose ferocity was not tempered but rather balanced by a kind, protective side. (The lack of romantic undertones only made her more fascinating as an individual.) Sort of my perfect man...only...not male...which hurt my brain...

[Vynuxys]

Hmm, I'll stick with my language. I think saying 'girls who are girls' is still the best way to describe what I meant. Stereotypes, in this case, were helping to explain my point. Really, I know that not all girls are divided into girly and tomboyish, but the stereotypes say that a girl who behaves like a girl, is girly, in terms of clothing and make-up. As to make-up and skirts/dresses: I didn't mean it in a cultural way, or as a tradition. Look at the ancients - especially Egypt and Greece; men wore robes and tons of eyeliner. But that's not what I meant; I meant wearing those clothes/make-up in a casual, everyday environment because of likeness toward it. Of course, these days there are people who say men should be allowed to wear skirts as women were allowed to wear trousers, and some styles make men wear make up too (like goth and emo, I think?). But again, this isn't what I meant.

I don't know, am I explaining this properly? I've nothing against non-girly girls or tomboyish girls or in-betweens or whatever. But I still stand with my point of liking girls who are girls as described with stereotypes of girly girls. If that makes sense.
/english failure orz.

[yummy]

I will try to say things from a guy point of view. I mean, my own point of view.
To the OP question: "What makes a girl character attractive?", there is no a definite answer.

I think that rather than a specific type of personality, I'm attracted by fragments of personality instead, fragments that combine together to create a bigger and more complex personality. It's just because there are so many things that I like, purposes, way of life, thought processing, experiences...
In short, there are so many ways to describe one person, so many perspectives that have to be included that it's not an easy task.

Maybe the only thing I'm sure of is about a girl's appearance, face to be exact. It's the golden ratio. There is a high possibility that a kind of face that is set by nature to be close is considered by lots of people as healthy and "beautiful".
But with only a "beautiful face", you can't define what is definitely attractive when it comes to a woman.

I tend to like the honest type, someone who doesn't lie to oneself, someone who is ready to get things done when they need to be done. So maybe honesty is something most people like? I talked about fragments of personalities. Experiences too.

I don't know why I still remember when I seperated with my first ex-gf, about how much she changed when I met her again (in good terms I mean) and when she told me that it changed her somehow.

Now, that's something that happened in real life. Fictional characters are very hard to portray so they cross the "guess which trope I used" step. It also depends highly on the type of media you are using, how you are telling a story, which point of view, which atmosphere...
Erm, I'm getting way too far from the topic at hand.

So, maybe if you want a mix of stereotypical characters and half-life characters, you might mix them, in a sort of stereotypical shell that encloses their true character? (That's what I'm doing for my own VN, at least)

When I read a VN, I tend to try to stick to the main heroine story and sometimes it's really hard because the poor little girls are so cute -I mean they are so honest- that I don't want to hurt them. But if you've ever been into a love polygon in real life, you know that it's impossible not to hurt someone. I also try to get close to the girl that seems to be against even the slightest form of relationship. Maybe is that why I like tsundere type characters.
I also like caring characters. Not necessarily these family type characters that seem so fragile you have to control your voice volume so that they don't fly away. I mean, the type that wants to involve into a relationship, be it friendly or beyond.
It's also fun to have girls who blush. Not necessarily all the time, I mean even boys blush at things they feel uncomfortable with.

Hmm what else? Characters that are too easy to figure out aren't into my liking. In a story, it's always interesting to have a characters who is a little mysterious, because of a fact you don't know.

[Aleema]

But I still stand with my point of liking girls who are girls as described with stereotypes of girly girls.

In which case, you're being redundant. "I like bananas that are bananas that can be described as being green." -> "I like green bananas."


I like girls with spine. Not sure if that's tomboy or tsundere or whatever, but girls who fold or concede on every issue for the sake of someone else is pretty unattractive ... I guess since I'm personally not this way and I hate to see women getting pushed around. So I like seeing girls with a passion or hobby that is not kissing boys, so bookworms and megane have a strong appeal, since I know they have something they like to do (read/study). I also like girls that are good at sports and other things, but good at cooking isn't as interesting for some reason ... I guess because it's expected? Well, maybe it's just a cliche by now. The MC opens up a bento and screams "umaaaaai!!" So I'm not really sure if she's a *good* cook or just a decent cook and the guy is expressing gratitude ... And even if her entire life revolved around baking and she wanted to own a cupcake shop or something, I'm still "meh" about it because it's been done a lot, at least in Japanese media.

I have to say I enjoy GxG far more than BxG. There's just an equality and understanding in GxG that I appreciate more.

[J. Datie]

I'm going to have to agree with the personality thing. I was trying to think of what some attractive personalities were, but honestly? Pretty much anything, so long as she's got some form of depth. Basically any character who you'll need at least a paragraph to properly describe their personality. Bonus points if that paragraph contains seemingly unrelated and possibly contradicting information that makes complete sense in the context of the story.

'girls who are girls'

When I read this, I can't help but think "girls who are biologically girls", as opposed to "girls who are traps" or "girls who are pillow cases".

[Vynuxys]

@Aleema: Pretty much the same thing then, which is kinda my point to begin with. I like girls who are girls -> I like girly girls. No more to it than that.

@J. Datie: That would be true, too. I find biological girls more attractive than non-biological girls. Again, that doesn't mean I hate/am against non-biological girls or would judge one based solely on this fact; personality comes into play for me more than anything, but in my book, in terms of attractiveness, I'd prefer a biological female, myself.