Youthful Freckles

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Freckles are associated with being young and given to both children and teens to emphasize their age. It can also be used to brand a younger person as a misfit, perhaps because it's a easily visible mark that other children can make fun of.

Freckles are caused by exposure to sunlight, especially on those with fair skin. The propensity to freckle is determined by genetics. Redheads are genetically associated with both fair skin and freckles, although Hollywood tends to overemphasize the connection, similar to Green Eyed Red Head.

Because freckles are caused by sunlight exposure they are associated with those who run around outside all the time, symbolizing youthful energy (in both positive and negative forms). Freckles can be used to symbolize youthful innocence as well. They can also be a sign of poverty, as poor children are more likely to be Free-Range Children.

Some archetypes commonly given freckles include:

• Bratty Half-Pint
• Tagalong Kid
• Redheaded Stepchild
• Class Clown
• Butt Monkey or Chew Toy
• Unlucky Everydude for older boys

Girls with freckles have some additional associations, as freckles tend to be associated with girlish innocence. They are Fetish Fuel to some people.

• Tomboy (since she's active outdoors)
• One of the Boys
• Girl Next Door
• Girlish Pigtails (to emphasize the innocence)
• Plucky Girl

Examples of Youthful Freckles include:

Anime & Manga

• Pictured above: Ahiru from Princess Tutu.
• Gemini Sunrise in Sakura Wars V.
• Makoto from Wandering Son has freckles. He dislikes them, thinking they make him look less cute. His mother also has freckles.
• Sasami from Tenchi Muyo
• Ace from One Piece has these. Odd given that he's in his twenties and a great deal less childish than his brother Luffy. His backstory though makes it pretty clear that he fell under the Bratty Half-Pint category. His mother also had these, and she clearly fell into Plucky Girl territory.
  • A non-canon example: Amanda from the second TV special has freckles.
• Max from Beyblade.

Comic Books

• Freckles Friendly from Richie Rich.
• Rosharch from Watchmen is in the misfit category.
• Archie Andrews in Archie Comics.

Comic Strips

• The 1915-45 comic strip Freckles and His Friends.
• Dennis the Menace US:
  • Dennis Mitchell: Bratty Half-Pint
  • Margaret Wade: Plucky Girl

Films -- Animation

• Young Ellie from Pixar's Up is a Tomboy Girl Next Door.
• Rapunzel from Tangled.
• Princess Mérida from Pixar's Brave.
• Coraline has freckles and is also a Plucky Girl/Tomboy, but her hair is dyed blue, not red.

Films -- Live-Action

• Natalya Rudakova in Transporter 3, playing the kidnapped daughter Frank is forced to drive around with him. She certainly proves troublesome until they warm up to each other.

Literature

• All of the Weasley kids in Harry Potter.
  • Ron: Unlucky Everydude
  • Percy: Butt Monkey
  • The Twins: Class Clown
  • Ginny: Girl Next Door
• Jack Merridew in Lord of the Flies.
• Julianne Moore's children's book Freckleface Strawberry is about a young girl.
• Pippi Longstocking has Girlish Pigtails and is a Tomboy.
• Anne of Green Gables: Anne is the Plucky Girl type with Girlish Pigtails like Pippi.
• In the Disgaea novels, Captain Gordon, Defender of Earth! and Jennifer's daughter Jane gains these along with Girlish Pigtails in her second appearance, where she is 13.
• Freckles in Gene Stratton Porter's Freckles
• Nyumba in Someone Elses War.

Live-Action TV

• Punky Brewster is a Tomboy with brown hair and Girlish Pigtails.
• Alo from Skins series 5 is a boy type #1.
• Harriet on Small Wonder.

Toys

• The Friendly Freckles Blythe doll.

Video Games

• Mass Effect
  • Liara T'Soni. She's 106 when you meet her, but that's still pretty young by the standards of her species.
  • The default Female Shepard for Mass Effect 3 has them as well, fitting the red hair and green eyes part of this trope.
• Homika from Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, which may be a first for the franchise.
• Yuuko Shirakawa of Katawa Shoujo, a college student who works part-time as a librarian and waitress and isn't much older than Hisao or his classmates, has them. The same applies for one nameless girl in Lilly's route who is said to be an underclassman, the only student not in third year apart from the April Fool's Day character Rika.

Web Comics

• Eerie Cuties: Chloe the succubus.
• Marcy from Pv P.
• Ava von Hall from Superego. In this case, she's more of an Adult Child.
• Alexander Hamilton from The Dreamer.
• Mac in Impure Blood
• Phoebe of Phoebe and Her Unicorn. She's nine years old and a bit of a tomboy.

Western Animation

• Kim Possible has several:
  • Ron Stoppable: Unlucky Everydude
  • Kim Possible: (preteen) Tomboy Girl Next Door
  • Josh Possible: Bratty Half-Pint
• The Fairly OddParents: Arthur Lebowitz, who also wears glasses and has buck teeth.
• Chuckie from Rugrats: Chew Toy.
• Henry from KaBlam!: Chew Toy/Butt Monkey.
• Sheila and Bobby from Dungeons and Dragons.
• Recess
  • T.J. Detweiler, who doesn't really fall under any archetype, though he has shades of Class Clown here and there.
  • Gretchen as well, to go with her Girlish Pigtails.
• They're barely noticeable, but Libby from The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron has some in her season 2 redesign.
• Eugene and Lila from Hey Arnold!.
• My Little Pony
  • Applejack from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.
  • Applejack and Bowtie from My Little Pony's pilot special.
• Evangelyne and her sister Cléophée, from Wakfu.

Real Life

• Most fans who only know Emma Watson through the Harry Potter films don't know or realize she has freckles, as they were covered up with makeup by executive decree. She fought hard and long for them to be visible in Beauty and the Beast.