傻白甜

Think of that heroine in every romcom who trips over her own feet, has no idea she's beautiful, and somehow charms everyone around her without trying. 傻白甜 (silly-fair-sweet) is the trifecta: a touch naive, pleasantly innocent in appearance, and relentlessly sweet-natured. Originally a fond archetype from web novels and dramas, it evolved into a slightly ironic label — sometimes an insult, sometimes aspirational — for women who seem blissfully unaware of life's harsher edges.

The term surged alongside China's booming web novel and idol-drama industry around 2014–2015, when naive female protagonists dominated streaming platforms. As feminism gained traction online, 傻白甜 became contested — criticized by some as a patriarchal fantasy of the perfectly unthreatening woman, while others reclaimed it as carefree and charming. The term reflects ongoing debates about gender expectations in modern Chinese society.

形容女性天真无知、外表白净、性格甜美，常指不谙世事的理想化女主角形象。