The first major hit on children’s television in the 1980s was The Smurfs, the blueprint for these male-focused shows. Launched as a Belgian comic strip, it evolved into a Saturday morning cartoon, which debuted in 1981. Smurf Village was a mushroom-sheltered utopia of over 100 male Smurfs, all led by their wise patriarch, Papa Smurf. The show’s single female, Smurfette, was born a femme fatale: The show’s villain, Gargamel, created her to sow discord in the Smurf community. But she repented and gave up her meddling, so Papa Smurf turned her into a “real Smurf” through a magical Cinderella-esque transformation in which her bristly dark hair became long blonde locks, her dress was trimmed with lace, and her shoes became high heels.

The show communicated her virtue and “realness” in the only way it knew how for a female character: through her beauty and femininity. Unlike the other Smurfs, who have personalities based on their names (Brainy Smurf, Jokey Smurf), Smurfette is simply coded as “girl.” This was reinforced by toy figurines from the ’80s, which show Smurfette engaged in stereotypical girlish activities, such as picking flowers, holding a baby, or doing aerobics in leggings.

As the decade went on, other male-centric ensemble shows joined the after-school TV lineup: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Thundercats, Transformers, The Real Ghostbusters, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. These shows transported their young viewers to wildly imaginative worlds that featured everything from pseudo space-Vikings (He-Man) to robots that could become boom boxes or a triceratops (Transformers).

But when it came to gender, these cartoons followed the staid Smurf template. All had entirely male casts, whether a defined quartet of heroes (Ninja Turtles, Ghostbusters) or an army of 100 or more (the Autobots and Decepticons). And many had a wise Papa Smurfesque patriarch, such as Optimus Prime (Transformers), Jaga (Thundercats), and Splinter (Ninja Turtles). In accordance with the Smurfette Principle, each also had its lone female, including Teela (He-Man), Cheetara (Thundercats), Arcee (Transformers), Janine Melnitz (Ghostbusters), and April O’Neil (Ninja Turtles). To give some credit, these women weren’t all picking daisies or doing aerobics (though the leotards on some of them might suggest otherwise). Often they were fighters who engaged in spirited dialogue and had active roles in the plot. Teela was a captain of the royal guard and regularly criticized Prince Adam (He-Man’s alter ego) for being lazy and cowardly. And April often furnished support to her sewer-turtle troop and joined in their fights.

But despite having greater presence and personality, these characters still often functioned as two-dimensional stand-ins for all women. Even their contributions to the team reflected their gender: Cheetara’s super power was her “sixth sense,” which can easily be read as women’s intuition. April’s greatest skill was being a communicator and relaying information, which played into stereotypes of women being “all talk,” while men are “all action.” Their characterizations were often retro as well: Janine was a throwback to the type of brassy secretary seen in 1930s screwball comedies, and April was a Lois Lane-style reporter.