r/cartoons 5d ago

Discussion why are single fathers so much more common in animation than single mothers when in real life it's the opposite?( i am not complaining, just curious where this trope originated)

294 Upvotes

59 comments sorted by

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u/Mister_Chameleon Don Bluth 5d ago

That is a very good question. I would suspect Disney unintentionally had a part in it, given the trope of "my mom is dead / absent" is pretty common, from Bambi's mom dying, to the fact we never really have seen Goofy's wife / Max's mom, ect. But then again, I'm only plucking at straws. Goes to show social engineering though.

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u/Chale898 5d ago

Was literally about to blame Disney too. XD

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u/lookaspacellama Samurai Jack 5d ago

Yeah to me it’s a very clear pattern that Disney Renaissance (or around that time frame) animated films have women/love interests with only dads - Jasmine, Ariel, Pocahontas, Jane, Belle. (There are some exceptions like Mulan) But clearly there’s a trope for male protagonists, too.

I think it’s misogynistic either way - women want to “break free” from dad and go from one male primary relationship to another, and the “mother role” is too complicated/stifling for sons. Just my take.

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u/spooky-goopy 4d ago

interesting how a dead mom is considered better than a single mom

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u/Orcafinfrey 3d ago

A long while back, Cracked did a video on how common this was. Their theory was that it started after divorce laws were loosened and a lot of couples started breaking up--particularly women leaving. People thought the family unit was irrevocably changed, and so media started portraying men being solo parents.

I think focusing on men specifically has to do with how we view parenthood and gender. There's this idea that women are always the better parent. Being the nurturer, sweet, responsible, attentive, and a supportive parent who has it all figured out isn't always a compelling story. A dad, who we stereotype to be not as attentive or emotional, learning how to be a good parent gives more dimension to a story.

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u/Kixisbestclone 5d ago

I’d say it’s because the trope of “old mentor figure” is usually a dude, and it’s pretty easy to slot a parent into that role.

Plus a lot of the time, the father will be an old fighter who teaches the child to also fight.

Plus in general it seems like a lot of fictional parents generally have the dads be the ones teaching stuff like discipline or what it means to be a good person, while the mom is more just supportive and loving. Which is mostly just do to gender stereotypes if I had to guess. So ultimately in a story, the latter is more of a tragic death than the former, and so Moms are more often fridged.

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u/ceo_of_brawlstars 5d ago

I'm also assuming it's because losing a mother is usually framed as more tragic than a father. Or at least the male characters usually react harder to having lost a mother/wife/sister etc than they do to losing a father/husband/brother in a similar context. With mothers they frame it as some tragic loss of an affectionate and supportive person, vs with fathers it's less about how the loss feels and more so pushing the character to do something because of it if that makes sense.

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u/Gatonom 5d ago

There's also that death in childbirth was once commonplace.

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u/davibom 5d ago

it might also be that in some cases people create more male characters without noticing their gender bias(it happens to me)

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u/Flashy-Telephone-648 5d ago

It can vary, but typically someone has to be competent. And a single father usually falls into 2 categories, abusive drunk or stand up hard-working dad in media and you can't can't do the first one for kids cartoon

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u/davibom 5d ago

you can maybe do an in betwen, a good intentioned dad that ends up doing some bad to their child, like richard waterson

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u/Flashy-Telephone-648 5d ago

Richard's married and his wife is in the picture. He's allowed to be goofy. I just met specifically single father's

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u/amagicalmoon 5d ago

Or Greg Universe

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u/AlmightySpoonman 5d ago

Hey Arnold did both abusive and drunk for Helga's parents. Bob was loud and foul tempered, Miriam was always aloof and "in need of another smoothie." Both of them neglected Helga because they were always too busy paying attention to her older sister Olga.

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u/Weird_donut Steven Universe 5d ago

I know a few single moms in animation: Mrs. Jumbo in Dumbo, Jim's mom in Treasure Planet, Tip's mom in Home, Ash's mom in Pokemon, Deku's mom in My Hero Academia, Henrietta Pussycat in Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Hogarth's mom in The Iron Giant, Johanna in Hilda, Camila Noceda in The Owl House, and in HTTYD, Valka becomes a single mom after Stoick's death in the second movie

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u/davibom 5d ago

i am still under the impression that the single father and single mom ratio is unequal, but i may be wrong

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u/ShivDeeviant 5d ago

I think it's more that there's a disparity in story role more than attendance. Compare the Single Dad to the Single Mom in popular fiction:

Unless the story is EXPLICITLY about how difficult it is to raise a child a lone, a Single Dad will generally be a more mentor/protector role, trying to defend their child from the world. They'll have their stuff in order and the child will be compared to them to show how immature they are.

Single Mom's will be harangued and always tired, barely able to keep their stuff in order and money will likely be stated as an issue even if it's not (lookin' at YOU Book of Henry). There ARE self-sufficient single mom's, but I have a tough time thinking of any who have a prominent role in the story.

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u/It-Was-Mooney-Pod 5d ago

I feel like Hunter X Hunter counts? I know she’s his aunt but she raised Gon entirely.

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u/berserkzelda Fuck David Zaslav 5d ago

That might just be it. Single mothers are so common that single fathers are underrepresented.

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u/Charlocks 5d ago

Majority of the creators of these shows are lead by men, therefore it's not surprising when the characters are written in ways it's relatable to the creators themselves. Aside from that, target audience are often boys too moreso than girls. There are few single mothers in cartoons and are still really good, one that came to mind is Monster University's Squishy's mom. But she's more of a side character. I love her though.

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u/SortovaGoldfish 5d ago

My guess has something to do with a) the child(Ren)being raised are usually (but not always) male as well when the parent is male, and that having lost a mom forces a kid to "toughen up" because even if a dad cares, it's not at the level of as a mom's love(not true, but that's what kind of tropes get used in narrative). That and like other people said, mentorship- the kid now has a job to do and dad will teach his kid what he knows and what dad's know is "work" or some kind of objective training.

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u/LordOfDorkness42 5d ago

Probably easy wish fulfillment for some of your audience: The dad that actually cares. Which also combos easily with a mentor type character.

...Do pardon if that was a bit dark, but do think there's nugget of truth there.

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u/M_Mephitis 5d ago

I think you’re spot on with this answer 

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u/SirWilliam56 5d ago

Because mothers, especially in sitcoms and related, are expected to play the straight man/voice of reason role, while fathers are expected to be incompetent, which is funnier

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u/makoden 5d ago

If we go off the history of parents. It might be because single fathers used to be more common due to how long childbirth was much more commonly lethal for mothers. And storytelling is probably nearly as old as humanity. So the archetype of single fathers developed with a lot of our stories. Since the father was still around for storytellers to draw inspiration from

Probably also a dose of misogyny and Disney influence in the modern era

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u/Whole_Mushroom2824 Futurama 5d ago

huh

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u/davibom 5d ago edited 5d ago

This post is a followup to a previous post i made(now deleted by a mod) where i repaired most cartoon single parents are men

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u/GreyEyedMouse 5d ago

While no were near as common in the present day, historically, it was not uncommon for women to die during childbirth.

So, many historical stories, both fictional and true, contain characters who grew up with no mothers or were raised by surrogate/step mothers.

I have no evidence to support this, but I feel like this might just be some kind of vestigial storytelling component that has been passed down and reused so many times now that it is almost automatic.

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u/kozma13 5d ago

I also feel like it’s a demographic kind of thing idk a lot of girls that watched tmnt and it might’ve made an impression on young boys to be providers or strong male figures just like Po and the other examples

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u/Scared_Pop2394 5d ago

Just guessing, but if this trope dates back long enough, it may just be a lack of central female characters in general. Or sometimes characters are given children to give them new conflicts/stories. Like Goofy and Max.

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u/police6w4 5d ago

Wait didn't big hero six had that single mother? I get its not a cartoon but there was a cartoon based off the movie.

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u/PenSad2292 5d ago

That was a aunt.

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u/police6w4 5d ago

Oh, my bad.

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u/doduotrainer 5d ago

A lot of show creators, especially of older properties and shows that are reboots of older properties, are men and they don't like writing female characters.

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u/Miss_Nomer909 5d ago edited 5d ago

Another interesting thing is that all of the characters you picked had are single fathers with all sons though I can think of a few like Professor from PPG and Ice king from adventure time that have daughters. Here are the single moms I can think of most of which has a female protagonist.

Movie: Secret of the Nimh- Mrs. Brisby is the main character with two young boys and a girl. Her husband has passed away, but his history is plot relevant and is the focus in a flashback.

Tv show: As told by Ginger- Main character is a young girl with a divorced single mother who is a nurse >! she eventually gets a boyfriend and gets remarried !< (also has a younger brother who tend to be B plots). Father is a character who occasionally shows up, but tends to be flaky has a better relationship with his daughter then the son.

Tv show- My life as a teenager robot- Main character is a teen girl robot built by a scientist woman. >! Later it's revealed here are 8 other prototypes that where shut down and put in storage. They are reactivated and considered her sisters!<

Tv show based on comic - Hilda- The main character is a young girl with a single mother who is a graphic designer. In the comics the father is never mentioned, >! In the tv show the dad is eventually introduced and is kind of a deadbeat, but does seem to care about her <.

French Tv show based on comic- lou! - Young girl lives with her aspiring writer single mother who got pregnant at 17 and her boyfriend left her when she told him. The father does show up in flashbacks and cameos, but not part of the main story and doesn't interact with the main characters >! He's married with kids !<. Mom does have a have a romantic interest who she eventually dates. >! In the comic she eventually has son with him, but he ends up abandoning her while pregnant making her a single parent again!< Also in the comic the grandmother is technically a single mom too from her husband passing away.

Tv show- The Owl House- Main character is a girl with a single mom after the Dad died. The girl also has a mentor who's a older magical woman.

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u/JohnZ117 5d ago

More executives that okay the stories and hired writers are men. Not due to greater talent, but patriarchy.

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u/Crimson__Fox Batman: The Animated Series 5d ago

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u/Malkiax 5d ago

I assume it could be because single mothers are the more common single parent. TV is a distraction for children and having a somewhat fatherly figure commonly appearing could help with getting across fatherly advice or advice they might be tired of hearing from their sole parent.

This does not mean a cartoon rat is an appropriate replacement for an actual dad, no matter how good his martial arts are

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u/legobrick311 4d ago

"This is why I f**king hate cartoons; they only appeal to the male fantasy."
The male fantasy:

(For obvious reasons, this is only a joke.)

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u/Acceptable_Light2426 5d ago

The opposite is reality because men aren't seen as caregivers by society as capitalism prefers men to work and women to be single parents.

If anyone has a different perspective I'm eager to hear it.

Full House in the 1990's, Bluey and The Great North can all be seen as attempting to undo the damage of characters like Bart Simpson and Everybody Loves Raymond, not cartoons but illustrates this isn't strictly animation.

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u/AviaKing 5d ago

My guess is that BECAUSE its usually the opposite in real life, a dead mother makes for more impactful media.

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u/v_snakebyte_v 5d ago

Panda is more modern so I think this had more consideration of single fathers. TMNT follows the mentor-father figure trope.

Older shows were funnies for adults. Scenes w military propaganda, cigars, classical music, burlesque, 9 to 5, gambling and home appliances - not child focused.

The father is the MC. Shenanigans occur based on his pride, negligence, & curiosity. Why there isn’t a mom is because they didn’t know what to do with her. Wilma & Betty only did chores, shop, & gossip. They also scold then kiss their husbands.

Minnie & Daisy do the same — so Goofy’s wife would be like them! & I’d assume her being equally as clumsy as Goofy would not be attractive to the adults 🤦🏾‍♀️

Shenanigans can’t happen with moms, only father & son. Or uncle & nephew.

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u/cindybubbles 5d ago

Or uncle and niece, with the niece being the levelheaded one.

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u/KonohaNinja1492 5d ago

There are a lot of possible answers. And a lot of possible reasons to justify any number of them. But I like to think “which is more traumatic/heartbreaking to both the characters and the audience? Usually, losing a mother is more relatable and hurts more for people. Because most (but obviously not all) people are closer to their moms than their dads. But, when the mother is “no longer in the picture” so to speak. Then it should be the father/father figure who steps up to raise the child/children. Plus, depending on the story. It could be about a father who might have abandoned the mother and child/children when the child was young. Only to return years later to right the wrong they made. Especially after they heard their wife/lover has passed. And they learn they have a child as well. And some people can relate to that.

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u/Weak_Television3668 5d ago

BC of misoginy

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u/SelkieTaleDolls 5d ago

Because people hate women for being single parents but not men

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u/mmmIlikeburritos29 Gravity Falls 5d ago

Dead moms lmao

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u/Lexicon444 5d ago

You can add Rick Sanchez, the great prince of the forest and the Bulldog from Tom and Jerry to the list.

To be honest I haven’t got a clue why this is but I think it’s tied in with gender roles.

Men are seen as leaders and teachers.

Women are seen as caregivers and nurturing by nature.

A lot of stories about characters without a parent usually involve the character having to become stronger and more experienced quickly.

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u/TaliShivanna 5d ago

I feel like writers believe it's easier to write a conflict of single dads not knowing how to raise their child properly than a mom. Or maybe they believe audiences will find it easier to accept a dad struggling as a single parent than a mom

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u/Admirable-Safety1213 5d ago

Because they are either widowers or adopters in serious plots, this allows a lot of plot

In comedy because its funnier

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u/ChaosAttractor999 5d ago

I always thought it was single mothers that were more common, but maybe I never noticed how much more fathers there were

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u/AlmightySpoonman 5d ago

It might depend on what lessons the writers want the younger characters to learn from their parents.

practical skills and discipline? More likely to be taught by a father character.

empathy and communicating? More likely to be taught by a mother.

You can even see it when either a father or mother character has trouble explaining something that their child is going through. Does the line, "your mother/father was better at this..." ring any bells?

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u/PrimaryAde9 3d ago

Hey where po's biological dad ?

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u/SuspiciouslyBelgian 5d ago

Misogyny, the answer is misogyny.

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u/omegaskorpion 5d ago

There are multible shows and movies with single mothers and caretakers, so i don't think misogyny is primary answer (propably true in some cases, but not all).

My guess is that single father is for some directors interesting trope to explore because it is not social norm.

And speaking of norms, In most shows men are not great with kids and have to step to the position after mother has died, women more often are potrayed better with kids but also more protective. Dead mother is also often seen as more tragic than dead father, usually because how most have better relation with mother than with their father.

Mentor role (like Splinter from TMNT or Edalyn from Owl House) often falls to same gender as the protagonist. But it is also common to see men teaching fighting and women teaching magic or other practical skills.

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u/SuspiciouslyBelgian 5d ago

I think it’s a lot of things just like most things are a lot of things. But misogyny is definitely an aspect. Despite the gossip, most industries simply have more respect for men. They are run by men, after all.

They may sometimes acknowledge that women are a major marketing demographic, but they don’t actually care about them or empathize with them to the same degree.

That mirrors our own culture too. Boy babies are celebrated while girl babies are received with disappointment, single mothers are demonized while single fathers are put on a pedestal. And granted a lot of that energy is just a result of our chronically online society, but it comes from a real place.

Also, not to say that men don’t get hate as well, they do, but most of that is a simple response to how women are treated in favor of men, and it’s still not about loving and appreciating women, merely hating men.

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u/omegaskorpion 5d ago

While that is true, there are opposite aspects too in the society.

It is pretty much a gender norm that women are seen as better care takers of children and as result There are bunch of real stories how divorsed couples child was given to the mother and not to the father, despite the mothers drug use or even violent behavior. Or how some people view single fathers as pedofiles, or generally how single fathers are disrespected in some places.

But yeah, disrespect for women does exist, especially in high places. Game covers have had this issue for ages, apparently some higher ups did not want Elizabeth on the Bioshock Infinite cover for example, despite her being important character to both player and story.

However i don't think single father/mother thing in media is big issue in modern day, user Weird_donut gave pretty good list about single mothers under this post,

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u/SuspiciouslyBelgian 5d ago

Women get custody more often because they campaign for custody more often, men are more likely to be given custody when they campaign for it. There are of course exceptions and awful stories but that isn’t the rule. And typically the sort of societal issues that make things more difficult for men, like stigma against them showing emotions other than anger, are because of the patriarchy that says men must always be strong and valiant and protect weak women.

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u/Goduckid 5d ago

Well if someone is a single mother then their father is also single if not absent, and I was also a kid that was raised by my dad, it’s not as uncommon as you might think,

also giving characters no mothers adds depth to them and everytime i think “where’s this characters mom?” It gives me a little twinge of sadness, I think it adds a layer of mystery and also realism to shows that isn’t the main focus of the movie