Strong Female Characters Part 1: The Problem

She's drop-dead gorgeous, even though she doesn't always know it. She can fight as well as any man, kicking butt left and right. She doesn't take back-talk and probably has a list of snappy one-liners. Two guys are in love with her, but she's conflicted as to who she likes (and one is hot, the other is sweet). Oh, and she has the emotional reaction of a wall. This character is know as the Strong Female Character™.

I know a lot of posts have been written on this subject before, but I want to write about it myself and share my thoughts. In the first part, which you're reading right now, we'll discuss what's wrong with them and all the problems they bring. In the next post we'll talk about the solution, how we can fix these characters. This post will be a bit of a rant, so you're warned. Shall we begin?

What's wrong with strong?

When someone says they don't like strong female characters, they're instantly judged for not liking women and being sexist and all that trash. That's not true at all. I just don't think, and so do a lot of people, that the word strong should be in front of the word female.

Women are strong. How else would we be able to give birth to children over and over despite the pain? (I'd like to see a man try that.) By adding the word strong to a female character's description, we're implying that being a women isn't strong enough. You never see a man described as strong. Just manly or macho or deeply flawed.

I'm not being feminist here (that's another whole problem), I just want to point out that no one should be described as strong. Living life ain't easy, and everyone has to be strong at some point. The hardships we go through shape us and make us into better people. So why can't we do that with our girl characters? In our attempt to make realistic girls, we instead create Mary Sues.

The other problem with these types of characters is that they're normally totally beautiful and lusted after by all the boy characters. They barely wear any clothes worth speaking of. I mean, have you ever looked for women warriors on Pinterest? They are pathetically dressed. Thankfully, that's changing. Today when I looked for an image to use, there were a lot more women in actually protective armor.

I mean, what sort of outfit is this?

What message is that sending to young girls? You have to act tough and be gorgeous to get a man? It leads girls to think they're not enough, and that's not okay.

The other extremes

If a female character isn't described as strong, there are two other options that show up a lot. (Neither of which is any better.) They're either complete feminists or damsels in distress. Let's take a look at the problems with both.

• Feminists. As I've said before, I'm all for women's equity and have equal respect for both genders, but I believe feminism is wrong. Why? Because they often say that women are strong enough that they don't need men at all. Women and men were created to be companions, meant to work together, not look down on each other. Feminists are as sexist as the people they reject. Thus, feminist characters aren't teaching us women are strong, they're saying men are weak.

• Damsels in distress. The other extreme is having a girl that is basically useless to the plot. She's just there to have the hero rescue her and show how strong he is. That's one of the things I hated in the old Christopher Reeves Superman movies. Lois Lane was there only to show what a hero Superman is. I hate these characters because they aren't any more realistic than Strong Female Characters™.

Don'ts

In the next post, you'll have a list of dos for your female characters. But here is the don'ts.

• Don't make her fight like a man. Women aren't strong in the same ways men are, so they shouldn't fight like they do.

• Don't make her a prize. Women are not something to be won by the end of the book or movie.

• Don't make her cruel or a jerk. And if you do, make sure she learns better by the end of the book.

• Don't make her unloving. Women characters can love and be tough as nails. Have you ever met a mother?

• Don't make her a character that could be replaced by a lamp or taken out completely without a problem. If you've done that, why is she even in there?

Examples

There is a sad amount of examples of the Strong Female Character™ in the media right now. People are trying to seem inclusive and say "Hey, look at this girl! She's totally strong and a great role model for your daughters!" Instead, they've just made a cliche. (Also, who wants their daughter's role model to be someone who beats up men and kill people violently?)

• Emma Cullen from The Magnificent Seven. She spends the whole movie running around in totally un-period clothing (in a sexy way, obviously) and can sharp shoot like nobody's business. What does she do for the actual plot, besides adding a girl character to the line-up of men? Nothing.

• Mare Barrow from Red Queen. She's got amazing powers, has three boys in love with her, and doesn't mind violence. But she's such a drama queen and doesn't seem to have a heart in there. I know some people really like her, but I can't stand her at all.

• Carol Marcus from Star Trek Into Darkness. Once again, a character that is supposed to be strong and independent but doesn't actually do anything for the plot but strip to her undies. As Spock said, they already had a scientist, so why was she there? I much preferred Jaylah from Star Trek Beyond, who actually had a personality.

• Meg Whitlock from Legacy of the Clockwork Key. I don't know for sure if she was supposed to be a Strong Female Character™, but all the elements were certainly there. And once again, she fell short. Instead, she came off as careless, irrational, and a bit of a ninny, to me at least. But she did improve in the second book, so that's something.

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That's the end of part one. Be sure to come back on Monday for part two, the solution to Strong Female Characters™. And if you've read this far, thanks for sticking with me through my ranting. I have loud opinions on this subject, if you can't tell. The whole idea for this post actually came after I watch the trailer for the new Lara Croft movie and told my mom she'd probably be another one of these characters.

Let's talk! What are your thoughts on the Strong Female Character™? Do you have any examples of that type of character you hate? Tell me in the comments.