Is Aisha an Introvert or an Extrovert?

I bet you said “extrovert”, didn’t you? After all, she’s confident, fearless, and energetic, which are traits we associate with extroverts. (Yes, introverts can be that way, too.) She also breaks into a boogie on a whim.

Another clue: she hates being alone. Remember how she freaked out in Winx season two every time her friends weren’t with her? Generally speaking, extroverts can’t stand being by themselves because they get their energy from social interaction.

So, she’s an extrovert. Case closed, right?

Not so fast. Aisha has some introvert tendencies, too:

  • She keeps her anxieties to herself, instead of telling other people how she’s feeling.
  • When she’s stressed or upset, she isolates herself.
  • She sometimes refuses help from other people, even when she needs it (though this could be pride instead of introversion).
  • She doesn’t talk much, unless she’s with people she trusts.

These contradictions to her personality make sense if you know her backstory. Aisha is an only child, and she grew up with no friends (except Anne, who moved away). Plus, her parents may have been too busy to raise her themselves.

In “The Invisible Pixies” (Winx season 2, episode 13), one of her servants said her father called to remind her about her lessons. That suggests he was away at the time. Yes, that scene was a dream, but maybe it happened a lot in real life, since her father is the king of Andros. That may be why it was in her subconscious.

So even though being alone scares her, she’s used to it. (For some reason, I remember one of her character descriptions calling her “somewhat of a loner”, but I can’t find it.)

Nex, A True Extrovert

Nex’s season six character description says he’s “outgoing/extroverted” (estroverso). How do his actions differ from Aisha’s?

  • He’s more open with his feelings and beliefs (for better or for worse).
  • Contrary to what his Italian Wiki page says — they’re talking about NEXX! — he doesn’t tend to isolate himself. He’s a sociable guy, so he’s rarely alone.
  • He seems to believe you’re better off asking for help instead of doing things on your own. Remember his “teamwork never fails” line from “Into the Depths of Andros” (Winx season 8, episode 8)? Plus, he encouraged Aisha to “let the others help” with her speech prep and saving Gorgol.

Another difference is Nex is comfortable talking to strangers. (That’s how he and Aisha met, after all.) Aisha, on the other hand, tends to let the more social Winx like Bloom or Stella handle introductions.

Verdict

I think Aisha is an extrovert trapped in an introvert’s body. She wants to be more open and outgoing, but she can’t help the way her upbringing shaped her. So how do we classify her?

Fortunately, we have another option besides introvert or extrovert: ambivert, sometimes called an “outgoing introvert”. As Science of People explains:

An ambivert is someone who exhibits qualities of both introversion and extroversion, and can flip into either depending on their mood, context, and goals.

https://www.scienceofpeople.com/ambivert/

Some signs a person may be an ambivert:

  • They enjoy being with other people like extroverts do, but they need alone time like introverts.
  • They can be outgoing like extroverts, but it depends on the situation.
  • They can work on teams like extroverts, but after working independently first.
  • They can process their thoughts both out loud and internally.
Winx Club Season 8: Nex Reassures Aisha After Her Speech

That sounds exactly like Aisha to me. It covers her energy and her social awkwardness, as well as her desire for company and her conflicting lone wolf instinct. And as we know, she and the Winx — and she and Nex — work well together, but sometimes they have to remind her that no woman’s an island.

By the way, I took the Myers-Briggs personality test for her a few times. (It’s research for my non-Winx Aisha/Nex story). She always scored about 50/50 on extroversion vs. introversion, so there you go. (I think she’s an ISFP. What do you think?)

So to answer our question: Is Aisha an introvert or an extrovert? She’s both. Go figure.

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May 8, 2020 4:25 am

[…] I think what tripped me up was accounting for her introverted side. Sevens are supposedly the life of the party: bubbly, gregarious, and carefree. They also act like […]

Secrets
Secrets
June 30, 2020 3:51 am

Interesting article on Aisha once again. Though I have a question. If Bloom and Stella were the extrovert WinX while Aisha is ambivert, what do you think Flora, Tecna and Musa are?

Secrets
Secrets
June 30, 2020 8:46 am

For me, I am somewhat extrovert-ambivert. I sort of need constant amount of social interaction to energize. But, I can be alone too. It’s a little bit hard for me to say fit into either one. Then again, based on what u said about Aisha’s introvert tendencies, I am pretty much an ambivert.

Secrets
Secrets
June 30, 2020 9:02 am

You know, when you mentioned Aisha being ISFP, the 16personalities mentioned it as Adventurer.
Just a thought, I think the other WinX would be as follow:

Stella: ENFP
Flora: INFP
Tecna: ISTJ
Bloom: ENFJ

As for Musa, I am not sure about hers..

Rose
Rose
Reply to  Secrets
August 28, 2020 3:29 am

Musa is hard because she is as fickle as a cat, but I believe she is an INTJ. She’s definitely an Introvert as she (ironically), hates being the center of attention, and that’s why she passed the role of lead singer over to Bloom. She’s almost certainly intuitive because usually those who are artistic are on the intuitive side. Thinking versus Feeling are where I kind of wonder, but I think she’s more of a thinking type because feelers tend to “value harmony and forgiveness”… Musa can hold a grudge for like, ever. Judging vs. Perceiving is also difficult, but I lean toward judging because she is most certainly the type to want to know what she is getting into. Judging types tend to fear a lack of control and are also usually more afraid of making mistakes. Perceiving types are more likely to just roll with whatever happens. Stella is most definitely a quintessential perceiving type. She shows up to a party in her pajamas and just changes the guests’ clothes. XD And there’s pretty much no disagreement from anyone on all the things on this that I’ve looked at that Stella is an ENFP.

Secrets
Secrets
Reply to  Rose
August 29, 2020 9:13 pm

Come to think of it, a lot of Winx fans have been complaining that Musa is supposed to be the lead singer being the fairy of music. But, when you put her personality into it, it then suddenly makes sense. She’s definitely an intuitive ( a lot of the WinX official books in Italian listed her intuition to be her strength.) As for the thinking one, that’s interesting. I have always thought that she is more of a feeling type. Then again, she did demonstrate that she made decisions based on logic ( though not as much as Tecna.) I always thought that she is also the more just roll with the flow kind of WinX.

Rose
Rose
Reply to  Secrets
September 13, 2020 12:37 am

Aisha’s fear of losing her courage likely comes from a deeper fear of failure. If she’s not brave, she won’t be able to achieve her goals, her friends might get hurt, etc. In other words, she believes that there is a lot riding on whether or not she will have courage when it counts.

Bloom’s fear of losing Sky (which is stated as being afraid of losing the one she loves) is believed by some to stem from the feelings she faced in Seasons 1-3 regarding her position as the last survivor of Domino. Think about it: She spent the better part of three years desperately searching for a way to free her birth parents and her people. It wasn’t that she didn’t love Mike and Vanessa, but she had come to feel that she no longer belonged on Earth and, as the only survivor of her realm, felt like she didn’t really belong anywhere at all. It also took her a full five seasons to rescue her sister from the Curse of Sirenix, and really, that was partially by chance. If not for Tritannus’ rebellion and the subsequent need to acquire Sirenix herself, Bloom may have never found a way to break the curse and have her sister back in her life for real. Technically speaking, Daphne wasn’t a ghost, since she herself stated that she needed the Source of Sirenix to sustain her existence (a ghost doesn’t need sustenance), but it still stunk not being able to touch her sister and being separated from her most of the time because Daphne was literally forced to live at the bottom of Lake Roccaluce to survive. My theory for how she survived being taken into the Infinite Ocean is that said Ocean is connected to the Sirenix form, and therefore, was no different for Daphne than being in the lake.

The point is, Bloom went through a lot to get her family back, but the burden of never reuniting with them feeds her fear of losing Sky and never getting him back. People might fault Bloom for not trusting him, but… Trust is hard. As the Wishing Star said, it’s a daily choice, but… sometimes the people that we choose to trust because we love them wind up betraying us, which makes trusting someone even more difficult in the future.

Stella’s insecurity came not only from her parents’ divorce, but also their history of not listening to her, or to each other. Remember that when she gained her Sirenix Wish, she wished for them to always listen to both her and each other and to hear one another out. Even though she made that wish, deep down, she still fears it happening again. She craves her parents’ acknowledgement and approval, and yes, a large part of that does stem from their divorce. It’s quite common for children to feel like they were somehow at fault when their parents get divorced. Moreover, Stella felt that her parents did not care about her or consider her feelings when they chose to do so. Not only that, but she felt like she was constantly being forced to choose between them, and that was a feeling that she never wanted to face again. As a song written about divorce from a child’s point-of-view says “These two houses sure don’t feel like home”.

Secrets
Secrets
Reply to  Rose
September 13, 2020 8:17 am

You know, now that you mentioned Bloom’s insecurities. I suddenly feel sorry for her that her issues were made as the main story. While I do not like how she was written to be somewhat the only main character, it does suck sometimes for her for being so. Having to constantly be fearful of losing your loved ones really sucks.

In other words, yes. I still don’t like her but somehow, she also has her own sappy stories.

Rose
Rose
Reply to  Secrets
August 31, 2020 10:49 pm

Oh she is definitely not a “roll with the flow” type. Those who roll with the flow are less prone to hesitation and overthinking things, and Musa *definitely* overthinks things. Like, all the time. It’s part of the reason that she’s always swinging back and forth like a pendulum when it comes to her feelings. She spends so much time worrying about how things will turn out that she ends up freezing. This is more true in her social life than in battle. Also, it is noted in Season 8 that her biggest insecurity is “making a mistake”, which is not something that perceiving types like Aisha and Stella tend to fear. Aisha acts on impulse without worrying about whether she’s making the wrong move or not, while Stella, upon noticing that she’s made a mistake, simply adapts.

Secrets
Secrets
Reply to  Rose
September 3, 2020 3:23 am

A little bit of sidetracking, come to think of it. The insecurities of each of the WinX seemed to be reflecting their desires.

Musa: Like you said, her insecurity of making mistakes makes her less perceiving.

Flora: Her insecurity of not being able to help others tied back to being the well-known “Team Mom” of the group. This also tied back to her powers not being effective in battle ( Not that I don’t like her, this is just what I think.)

Tecna: Her greatest insecurity is not being in control. Well, based on how she prefers logic, she tends to want things to be within her control. Also, her powers stemmed from Technology. Since technology basically controls everything nowadays, it would make sense that the technology fairy hates not being in control.

Aisha: Her insecurity is losing her courage. Hmmm. Maybe one of you can interpret it?

Bloom: She and Sky do not trust each other. Hence, her greatest insecurity is Sky not loving her.

Stella: Hmmm. Hers stemmed from her parent’s divorce. Perhaps, a little like Tecna, she felt that it would have been something she could have prevented. But, what makes Stella different from Tecna is that she’s spontaneous. She could think of other options to solve her problem. Her parent’s divorce is something she believed she could have resolved in a different way if she was given more time.

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August 3, 2020 7:05 am

[…] the other post, I mentioned that one of Aisha’s profiles called her “something of a loner”. But I […]

Rose
Rose
August 28, 2020 3:16 am

I am also somewhat of an ambivert, but I lean slightly more toward the introvert side. A chart that I looked at for Myers-Briggs compared extroverts and introverts in this way:
Extroverts:
-Can be described as talkative and outgoing
-Like to be in a fast-paced environment
-Tend to work out ideas with others and think out loud
-Enjoy being the center of attention

Introverts:
-Can be described as reserved or private
-Prefer a slower pace with time for contemplation
-Tend to think things through inside their heads
-Would rather observe than be the center of attention

Personally, for me, although I can be described as talkative or outgoing, it really depends on how comfortable I am, and while I completely lack an inner voice, such that I am *always* thinking out loud and enjoy working ideas out with others, I despise being the center of attention and would much rather observe. I also prefer a slower pace, where I can think before I act.

That said, in Aisha’s case, Aisha *definitely* prefers a fast-paced environment. I think that her tendency to not work out ideas with others can be more attributed to the fact that she is so spontaneous that she really doesn’t *think* at all most of the time. “Don’t think, just do”, is kind of her philosophy. She may not be talkative, but she is outgoing. Her fear of public speaking doesn’t really apply to this since it is one of the ten most common fears that people have, so obviously, plenty of extroverts feel that discomfort. However, she seems to rather enjoy being the center of attention on the dance floor.

That being said, the thing that, for me, causes me to lean toward extroversion over introversion is simply this: In Season 8, she is basically implied to be the polar opposite of Tecna. Tecna is basically the very definition of an ISTJ personality, which makes me lean toward Aisha being an ENFP. It’s honestly a little difficult to tell whether she’s more Sensing or Intuitive, but I lean towards Intuitive just because she herself says that she “acts on impulse”. People who are impulsive are almost always intuitive. The reason is that Sensing types tend to get too stuck on facts and too worried about unknown variables to be impulsive, even if they are a perceiving type. I’m an intuitive type in a family of sensing types, so I’m pretty familiar with how that presents itself. ^^; Also, as a random side note, her least favorite subject is potionology. As we can guess that potionalogy is kind of the fairy equivalent of chemistry, she’s more likely to be intuitive, since sensing types tend to have more natural talent for those kind of precise or “always the same” subjects.

Rose
Rose
August 29, 2020 3:19 am

I get where you’re coming from, but couples aren’t always opposites in that regard. Stella and Brandon are both extroverts, for example, while Tecna and Timmy are both introverts. In fact, Tecna and Timmy are both introverted to the extreme that they can go a long time without actually talking to each other (though they do text), and they almost never see each other for, you know, a normal date. In fact, the others had to basically FORCE them to go on a date with each other because they are both so introverted that they were scared of being alone together, due to a lack of face-to-face interaction.
Flora and Helia are also both introverts. Riven and Musa are too, but the contrast is that Riven and Musa both stink at communicating their feelings while Flora and Helia have incredible communication with each other.
If you’re wondering how Brandon is an extrovert, just consider the way he flirts with random girls. The guy likes attention. And unlike Sky, who basically only discusses his problems with Brandon, Brandon tends to openly discuss his dilemmas with the entire group of Specialists. Leaving our Ambiverted Aisha and her current boyfriend Nex aside, I think Bloom and Sky might be the only extrovert-introvert couple in the group!

Rose
Rose
Reply to  Tori
August 31, 2020 10:42 pm

Huh, I can kind of see that. I also consider Stella to be an ENFP, but while she is a more clear extrovert than Aisha, Flora points out that Stella “hides her own problems”, which is a trait more on the side of introversion. When a true extrovert has a problem, they tend to make sure that *everyone* knows it. Stella doesn’t, especially about her family life.

My personality is INFJ, and we also tend to be somewhat ambiverted. We are described as “chameleons” who can manage to blend effortlessly into any crowd by reading and adapting to the circumstances of our environment. This is why I also straddle the line between introvert and extrovert. I switch roles depending on those around me. My sister says that if I weren’t somewhat extroverted, nothing would ever happen when my friends and I are together because they are both such extreme introverts that if I weren’t an ambivert, nobody would ever get the ball rolling. XD

What you said about Nex and Aisha is interesting. In general, they are a more balanced pairing than anybody else in the show. It is interesting to point out that Aisha likes to stand out not just in dancing, but in sports in general, and it is fun to watch her get into friendly competitions with Nex. I can also see what you mean about Yin and Yang. Thinking on the symbol for it, they are two opposites which both have a little of the other within them. Ironically, despite the recurring theme of “balance” in the show, it tends to take the form of extreme opposites, like the Great Dragon and Shadow Phoenix, the White Circle and the Black Circle, or of Bloom and Valtor.

Rose
Rose
September 12, 2020 8:07 am

Sorry for the late reply, but my phone was giving me issues.

With regards to Stella, I don’t think she hides her problems out of pride, but rather, a need to protect others. She doesn’t want to weigh people down with her problems. I struggle with this myself. I don’t want to worry people or burden them with my problems, so I just don’t say anything. Even though I have an anxiety disorder, my closest friends have only seen me lose it in front of them *once*… and I was three days into an allergic reaction at the time, so physical stress played a role in my loss of self-control.

At any rate, I do, in general, think that NF types are more likely to be impulsive than ST types, as ST types tend to get stuck on what they don’t know, but after looking at a description of the types, I think you may be right about Aisha being an STP, though I still think she falls on the side of extroversion. Alternatively, she may be an ESFP.

These are the descriptions in the chart I generally use for reference.
ESTP: Outgoing, realistic, action-oriented, curious, versatile, spontaneous. Pragmatic problem solvers and skillful negotiators
ESFP: Playful, enthusiastic, friendly, spontaneous, tactful, flexible. Have strong common sense and enjoy helping people in tangible ways.
ENFP: Creative, enthusiastic, spontaneous, optimistic, playful, supportive. Value inspiration, enjoy starting new projects, see potential in others

Now the last one describes Stella to a T. However, Aisha sometimes has difficulty seeing the potential in others and is, at times, lacking in optimism. She gets frustrated quite easily at times. With regards to ESFP, As you noted, she is not necessarily the friendliest person at times, and tact is not typically her strong-suit. She is, however, realistic and action-oriented, the later of which can explain her tendency to get frustrated. She is also relatively skilled in negotiations when the situation calls for it. I seem to recall her being able to reason with Queen Amentia when asking for help against Darkar, although it’s been awhile since I watched those particular events.

The chart I use tends to list only the positive traits of each factor (for example, feeling types are not always warm and empathetic), which can make it a little difficult to determine which factor fits a certain person best.

Of course, it’s unrealistic to think that nobody in the show has the same type, as there are only 16 altogether and more than 16 characters. Not to mention that some types are just more common than others. INFJ is the most rare personality type, appearing in only about 2% of the population, so obviously, it is not an even spread (for reference, an even spread would be 6.25% per type).

Rose
Rose
September 12, 2020 11:57 pm

Actually, I think we agree that at the end of the day, Aisha is more of an ambivert than anything. And yes, you are right. Although I will point out that I don’t really interact with most of the Winx fandom, so I was just going more off of memories of her being overly blunt. Not clueless like Stella. She just doesn’t bother to water things down, either. You are right that Aisha does have moments where she’s more sensitive than those around her, but everyone has their moments where they kind of stick their foot in their mouth by mistake. Even Flora.

Honestly, nobody is tactful when they are in combat mode. I mean that about people in general. When we’re feeling attacked, we tend to put a barbed wire fence up to protect ourselves (figuratively speaking, of course). Dropping those defenses to try and reach the other person is really, really difficult.

I think Aisha’s name more specifically means “Lively”? I do love though how the characters in this show generally have names that *mean* something that relates to their character. It’s not something you see often in American shows. I realize, of course, that Winx is Italian, but my point is that it’s a nice contrast to what Americans are frequently used to. In Japanese anime (which is my main source for television content), a character’s name *always* has a special meaning, and I’ve come to appreciate that.

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November 8, 2020 9:38 pm

[…] Aisha is an ambivert. She didn’t have a lot of friends when she was little, so social interaction is hard for her. Also, because of her avoidant attachment style, she withdraws from people when she’s overwhelmed, and she doesn’t ask for help when she needs it. […]

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October 19, 2021 6:33 am

[…] is about his and Aisha’s shared backstory: a lonely, restrictive childhood. While it left her shy and impulsive with a debilitating fear of being alone, he became a teen kung fu master. Flaws? Nah. […]