<P> In July 2014, for Salon, Rabin prompted a retraction of the term "Manic Pixie Dream Girl". He argued that in "giving an idea a fuzzy definition", he inadvertently gave the phrase power it was not intended to have . The trope's popularity, Rabin suggested, led to discussions of a more precise definition, a reduction of the critic's all - encompassing classification of MPDG . While he coined the term to expose the sexist implications in modern culture, the "phrase was increasingly accused of being sexist itself". Backlash occurred when many well - loved female characters were placed under this trope . In response, Rabin suggested that nuanced characters cannot be classified in such a restricted nature, and thus he apologized to pop culture for "creating this unstoppable monster". </P> <P> One possible explanation for the lack of professional women in films may have to do with the male gaze, as described by Budd Boetticher, which is used in film so that the heroine is one who exists for the hero . He says, "What counts is what the heroine provokes, or rather what she represents . She is the one, or rather the love or fear she inspires in the hero, or else the concern he feels for her, who makes him act the way he does . In herself the woman has not the slightest importance ." In this way, the male gaze plays a role in the creation of the MPDG, as the way it is put here makes it appear as if she would not exist without the male gaze . </P> <P> Recently there has been discussion of a male version of this trope, the Manic Pixie Dream Boy or Manic Pixie Dream Guy . Augustus Waters from the film version of The Fault in Our Stars (2014) was given this title in a 2014 Vulture article, in which Matt Patches stated, "he's a bad boy, he's a sweetheart, he's a dumb jock, he's a nerd, he's a philosopher, he's a poet, he's a victim, he's a survivor, he's everything everyone wants in their lives, and he's a fallacious notion of what we can actually have in our lives ." </P> <P> The Manic Pixie Dream Boy trope has also been pointed out in sitcoms such as Parks and Recreation and 30 Rock . The female protagonists of these shows are married to men (Adam Scott's Ben Wyatt and James Marsden's Criss Chros, respectively), who, according to a 2012 Grantland article, "patiently (tamp) down her stubbornness and temper while appreciating her quirks, helping her to become her best possible self". </P>

What is the male version of a manic pixie dream girl