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Strong female character

January 01, 1970

The strong female character is a stock character, the opposite of the damsel in distress. In the first half of the 20th century, the rise of mainstream feminism and the increased use of the concept in the later 20th century have reduced the concept to a standard item of pop culture fiction. This narrative cliche is separate and distinct from the notion of a female character who is well written, granted some form of agency, and whose actions and desires occupy a central place in the story in a way that is unusual in the history of women in literature and women in film.

Whether female characters are strong enough is often used as a gauge of story quality by critics, in a similar manner to whether the story passes the Bechdel test. However, some have criticized this metric for causing authors to avoid creating female characters with realistic weaknesses.[1] The female characters that fall into this trope are often reduced to having one dimension with little development throughout their arc.[2]

Traits edit

According to Carina Chocano, the strong female character has become a "cinematic cliché", resulting in character archetypes like the "alpha professional" whose laser-like focus on career advancement has caused her to become a "grim, celibate automaton", and the "gloomy ninja with commitment issues". By this metric, the strong female character is a woman with the gendered behavior taken out.[1] This is a contrast to the traditional way women are displayed in media, Brooke Shapiro suggests in her research that the scarce times women are at the forefront of the story, they are generally portrayed with the patriarchal ideologies of being emotional and codependent.[3] There is no clear consensus on the definition of "strong female character". Alexandria Gonzales notes that the characters that fall under this category often described with traditionally masculine characteristics.[2]

Another way this is shown is that the strong female character is sometimes distanced from femininity is by subverting the physical characteristics audiences have come to expect from female characters. For example, the titular character in Mulan rejects her feminine appearance to become a warrior by famously cutting her long hair with a sword.[4] Some believe it describes characters with powerful physical abilities, such as those of Buffy Summers or Katniss Everdeen. Others believe it to represent the quality of a character's "inner life" and their relative importance in the story.[1]

Criticism edit

Although the archetype arose largely through feminism, it has not been universally well received by those supportive of women's rights.[5] Sophia McDougall of the New Statesman has criticized the high prevalence of strong female characters for creating a cliché that represents women as unrealistically strong; she argues that the simplicity of this archetype does little to present women in media in a realistic, complex way.[6] She points out that "Sherlock Holmes gets to be brilliant, solitary, abrasive, Bohemian, whimsical, brave, sad, manipulative, neurotic, vain, untidy, fastidious, artistic, courteous, rude, a polymath genius. Female characters get to be Strong".[6] In analyzing characters that fall under this archetype, it was shown that they are often created with a narrow, male-influenced features that stereotype what it means to be strong. When these roles are displayed with a small scope of characteristics, it becomes the default expectation for what a woman should be while leaving so many other types of women underrepresented.[2]

Carina Chocano from The New York Times has offered similar criticism for the "shorthand meme" of strong female characters; while she sees them as a "gateway drug" to realistic representation, she takes offense at the implication that female characters are "not interesting or worth identifying with" if they are not cold, flawless, and 'masculine'.[7] In contrast, Alison Willmore of BuzzFeed takes issue with popular interpretation of the word "strong" rather than with the archetype itself; she prefers strong female characters in the sense of well-developed ones given a legitimate point of view over "badass" ones.[8] Kelly Faircloth of the feminist blog Jezebel believes that strong female characters are not enough or required, but that women must have integral roles in the plot apart from helping men realize theirs (rather than, "seamlessly replace[able] with a floor lamp").[9]

Over time, these criticisms and a new wave of feminism that has grown tired of "strong" being a female protagonists' only dimension has led huge production studios like The Walt Disney Company to usher in a new wave of female characters that have more to them than being princesses. For example, 2021's Raya and the Last Dragon features a story surrounding the relationships and growth of a dynamic group of female leads.[4]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Ginn, Sherry (2017). Marvel's Black Widow from Spy to Superhero: Essays on an Avenger with a Very Specific Skill Set. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. pp. 24–25. ISBN 9780786498192. OCLC 952390126.
  2. ^ a b c Gonzales, Alexandria (2021-04-01). "Woman Turned Warrior: An Analysis on the Strong Female Character Trope and the Influence it has on Gender Stereotypes Through the Use of Back Cover Copy". Book Publishing Final Research Paper.
  3. ^ Shapiro, Brooke (2017). "Examining Portrayals of Female Protagonists by Female Screenwriters Using Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis" (PDF). The Young Researcher. 1.
  4. ^ a b Xu, Mo (2021-08-09). "Analysis on the Influence of Female Characters in Disney Films". Proceedings of the 2021 5th International Seminar on Education, Management and Social Sciences (ISEMSS 2021). Vol. 571. Atlantis Press. pp. 327–331. doi:10.2991/assehr.k.210806.061. ISBN 978-94-6239-414-8. S2CID 238641728.
  5. ^ "Is Katniss Everdeen Actually A Strong Female Character?". Huffington Post. June 11, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  6. ^ a b McDougall, Sophia (August 15, 2013). "I hate Strong Female Characters: Sherlock Holmes gets to be brilliant, solitary, abrasive, Bohemian, whimsical, brave, sad, manipulative, neurotic, vain, untidy, fastidious, artistic, courteous, rude, a polymath genius. Female characters get to be Strong". New Statesman. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  7. ^ Chocano, Carina (July 1, 2011). "Tough, Cold, Terse, Taciturn and Prone to Not Saying Goodbye When They Hang Up the Phone". The New York Times. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  8. ^ "Roman Polanski's New Movie Explores The Real Meaning Of "Strong Female Character"". BuzzFeed. June 18, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  9. ^ Faircloth, Kelly (June 17, 2014). "'Strong Female Characters' Aren't Enough, Goddammit". Jezebel. Retrieved June 21, 2014.

January 01, 1970
strong, female, character, strong, female, character, stock, character, opposite, damsel, distress, first, half, 20th, century, rise, mainstream, feminism, increased, concept, later, 20th, century, have, reduced, concept, standard, item, culture, fiction, this. The strong female character is a stock character the opposite of the damsel in distress In the first half of the 20th century the rise of mainstream feminism and the increased use of the concept in the later 20th century have reduced the concept to a standard item of pop culture fiction This narrative cliche is separate and distinct from the notion of a female character who is well written granted some form of agency and whose actions and desires occupy a central place in the story in a way that is unusual in the history of women in literature and women in film Whether female characters are strong enough is often used as a gauge of story quality by critics in a similar manner to whether the story passes the Bechdel test However some have criticized this metric for causing authors to avoid creating female characters with realistic weaknesses 1 The female characters that fall into this trope are often reduced to having one dimension with little development throughout their arc 2 Contents 1 Traits 2 Criticism 3 See also 4 ReferencesTraits editAccording to Carina Chocano the strong female character has become a cinematic cliche resulting in character archetypes like the alpha professional whose laser like focus on career advancement has caused her to become a grim celibate automaton and the gloomy ninja with commitment issues By this metric the strong female character is a woman with the gendered behavior taken out 1 This is a contrast to the traditional way women are displayed in media Brooke Shapiro suggests in her research that the scarce times women are at the forefront of the story they are generally portrayed with the patriarchal ideologies of being emotional and codependent 3 There is no clear consensus on the definition of strong female character Alexandria Gonzales notes that the characters that fall under this category often described with traditionally masculine characteristics 2 Another way this is shown is that the strong female character is sometimes distanced from femininity is by subverting the physical characteristics audiences have come to expect from female characters For example the titular character in Mulan rejects her feminine appearance to become a warrior by famously cutting her long hair with a sword 4 Some believe it describes characters with powerful physical abilities such as those of Buffy Summers or Katniss Everdeen Others believe it to represent the quality of a character s inner life and their relative importance in the story 1 Criticism editAlthough the archetype arose largely through feminism it has not been universally well received by those supportive of women s rights 5 Sophia McDougall of the New Statesman has criticized the high prevalence of strong female characters for creating a cliche that represents women as unrealistically strong she argues that the simplicity of this archetype does little to present women in media in a realistic complex way 6 She points out that Sherlock Holmes gets to be brilliant solitary abrasive Bohemian whimsical brave sad manipulative neurotic vain untidy fastidious artistic courteous rude a polymath genius Female characters get to be Strong 6 In analyzing characters that fall under this archetype it was shown that they are often created with a narrow male influenced features that stereotype what it means to be strong When these roles are displayed with a small scope of characteristics it becomes the default expectation for what a woman should be while leaving so many other types of women underrepresented 2 Carina Chocano from The New York Times has offered similar criticism for the shorthand meme of strong female characters while she sees them as a gateway drug to realistic representation she takes offense at the implication that female characters are not interesting or worth identifying with if they are not cold flawless and masculine 7 In contrast Alison Willmore of BuzzFeed takes issue with popular interpretation of the word strong rather than with the archetype itself she prefers strong female characters in the sense of well developed ones given a legitimate point of view over badass ones 8 Kelly Faircloth of the feminist blog Jezebel believes that strong female characters are not enough or required but that women must have integral roles in the plot apart from helping men realize theirs rather than seamlessly replace able with a floor lamp 9 Over time these criticisms and a new wave of feminism that has grown tired of strong being a female protagonists only dimension has led huge production studios like The Walt Disney Company to usher in a new wave of female characters that have more to them than being princesses For example 2021 s Raya and the Last Dragon features a story surrounding the relationships and growth of a dynamic group of female leads 4 See also editMary Sue Bad girl art Girls with guns Woman warrior Girl power Rey Skywalker Bond Girl List of superheroines List of female action heroes Maid Marian Buffy Summers Media and gender Final girlReferences edit a b c Ginn Sherry 2017 Marvel s Black Widow from Spy to Superhero Essays on an Avenger with a Very Specific Skill Set Jefferson North Carolina McFarland pp 24 25 ISBN 9780786498192 OCLC 952390126 a b c Gonzales Alexandria 2021 04 01 Woman Turned Warrior An Analysis on the Strong Female Character Trope and the Influence it has on Gender Stereotypes Through the Use of Back Cover Copy Book Publishing Final Research Paper Shapiro Brooke 2017 Examining Portrayals of Female Protagonists by Female Screenwriters Using Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis PDF The Young Researcher 1 a b Xu Mo 2021 08 09 Analysis on the Influence of Female Characters in Disney Films Proceedings of the 2021 5th International Seminar on Education Management and Social Sciences ISEMSS 2021 Vol 571 Atlantis Press pp 327 331 doi 10 2991 assehr k 210806 061 ISBN 978 94 6239 414 8 S2CID 238641728 Is Katniss Everdeen Actually A Strong Female Character Huffington Post June 11 2014 Retrieved June 21 2014 a b McDougall Sophia August 15 2013 I hate Strong Female Characters Sherlock Holmes gets to be brilliant solitary abrasive Bohemian whimsical brave sad manipulative neurotic vain untidy fastidious artistic courteous rude a polymath genius Female characters get to be Strong New Statesman Retrieved June 21 2014 Chocano Carina July 1 2011 Tough Cold Terse Taciturn and Prone to Not Saying Goodbye When They Hang Up the Phone The New York Times Retrieved June 21 2014 Roman Polanski s New Movie Explores The Real Meaning Of Strong Female Character BuzzFeed June 18 2014 Retrieved June 21 2014 Faircloth Kelly June 17 2014 Strong Female Characters Aren t Enough Goddammit Jezebel Retrieved June 21 2014 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Strong female character amp oldid 1214835843, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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