Does Ditzy =/= stupid ?

[Naruzeldamaster]

Fairly frequently I see people discuss 'stupid' characters and call them 'ditzy' but like, personally I dunno, that feels off somehow. To me Ditzy feels like something other than stupid.
When I think 'ditzy' I think maybe they aren't outwardly smart but have their rare moments of ingenuity that surprise people. (Like: 'but that's so dumb it'd never work' and it does)
I will concede that Ditzy can mean they aren't exactly the sharpest tools in the shed, but at the same time, that also feels different from genuine 'stupidity' if that makes sense?

There are a lot of characters in games I play, and shows I watch that would qualify for ditzy, but in their own way they are geniuses in their own right.

Genuine 'dumbness' to me can be done a number of ways, but 'dumbness' and 'ditzyness' aren't mutually exclusive I don't think.

 

[pmmg]

Well...we can split hairs over what words mean, or we can just show it as it plays out.

To me, ditzy is just an occasional lapse of though that leads to someone doing something a little stupid, usually with humorous results...

But then, there are some people who adopt ditzy as kind of their personality, or even shield, as a way of endearing themselves to others. Mileage may vary on that, but it would not be unusual.

 

[Penpilot]

Everyone acts silly or has scatterbrained moments. Sometimes it's on purpose. Sometimes it's not.

IMHO it's about forming an overall picture of a person. You can make an assumption based on one trait or moment, but you can't get a true picture of someone until you've seen the many other parts to who they are.

What's that saying? Something about not judging someone by their worst or best day.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

Well...we can split hairs over what words mean, or we can just show it as it plays out.

To me, ditzy is just an occasional lapse of though that leads to someone doing something a little stupid, usually with humorous results...

But then, there are some people who adopt ditzy as kind of their personality, or even shield, as a way of endearing themselves to others. Mileage may vary on that, but it would not be unusual.

I feel like ditzy is a lack of careful planning and/or scatterbrained ness. Where actual stupidity is something that makes you feel like you lost braincells reading about it. A ditzy person might accidentally drive their car into a stop sign while staring at their high school crush through the car window. A 'Stupid' person would potentially full send the car into the stop sign/street lamp just to see what kind of 'damage' they can do to the car in one go.

Everyone acts silly or has scatterbrained moments. Sometimes it's on purpose. Sometimes it's not.

IMHO it's about forming an overall picture of a person. You can make an assumption based on one trait or moment, but you can't get a true picture of someone until you've seen the many other parts to who they are.

What's that saying? Something about not judging someone by their worst or best day.

This to me is what makes me think 'ditzy' is different than 'stupid' but both are absolutely only parts of the bigger picture. That being said I still feel like neither of them are mutually exclusive even if they have similar meanings.

 

[skip.knox]

Judy Holliday, in Born Yesterday, makes the case.

 

[xena]

Ditzy feels more like someone who's a bit all over the place but then somehow surprises you with a smart move. It’s not just plain dumbness.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

"Ditzy" is notable in that it is used overwhelmingly to describe female characters. When it's applied to male characters they are usually feminine-presenting, or if not it gets tossed in favor of words like "Himbo." Male-specific, so therefore the characters' Man Card is not threatened.

We have shapeshifters who as a general rule are not the most focused, or in possession of sharp memories. The most powerful therian, the leaders of groups or solitary types who lost their weaker members to Darwin long ago, are the exception, and one of these groups are rabbits.

Rabbits are overwhelmingly skewed toward female, with breeding jacks and hutch jacks as the outnumbered males. Your average bun can have a hard time remembering details, taking initiative, or making big decisions. Like all weaker therian, they cannot hold down jobs and rarely complete high school. College is just not possible. Most rabbits go into sex work - yes, we go there lol - in part because like many women they have a hard time finding anything that pays more and that can provide more resources to be taken home and contribute to the Hutch. Sex work pays, and it pays way more than clerking the Circle K. It's also in that class of jobs that pay under the table. Perfect for people who are born at home and usually lack documentation.

It would be easy to refer to them as "ditzes," and many do, but that would discount where their true gifts shine. Rabbits have remarkable emotional intelligence. They can comfort the hurting and know instinctively just what is needed.

People who are close to the hutches know that rabbits are not stupid. They know that. But a lot of people find it easier to discount them, rather than try to understand. And that's a pity.

 

[minta]

Ditzy and dumb aren't the same vibe at all. Ditzy comes across as quirky or absent-minded rather than outright unintelligent.