The lack of female heroes in Hollywood has, historically, been attributed to the notion that females are not related to by the audience as heroic symbols. That's not to say they aren't heroes, but rather that they are not perceived as symbols of heroism, for better or worse.

Is that changing? Movies like The Quiet, Pretty Persuasion, the Lara Croft stuff, and movies with actresses like Hilary Swank (Freedom Writers), Jodie Foster (Flight Plan), and Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich) portray females as the lead character -- the protagonist, the hero, of the story.

On the Internet, we see plenty of female-powered brands rise to prominence.


Astrologically, Pluto in Capricorn symbolizes the destruction of traditional masculine authority (see our previous coverage of the subject). In the United States, the rise of Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi symbolizes this politically.

The key questions: to what extent should consumer-facing brands consider babe-ifying their brand? Naturally the brand niche can determine much of this -- but what about products/services that are gender-neutral, as so much of the Internet is? If they choose to anthropormorphize their brand (i.e. make the brand human), are female avatars a better pick?