Don't Shoot the Messenger! (Adventures of a Critic)

The Feminine Fatal

There's a reason I didn't put the 'e' at the end of this chapter title. I don't mean "The Feminine Fatale", I mean the Feminine Fatal - it's what I call people who believe that because a female character is more female than male, they become weak. 

It is as if because a girl acts like a girl in stories, she is a weak damsel in distress who needs a man to save her. 

Well, not anymore. I'm done with these stereotypical women - the tomboys are the strong and the girly-girls are the weak. We need to break this stereotype, because it's absolute bullshit.

Now, having a tomboy female lead is not a bad thing. The problem is when the tomboy aspect is what makes them strong - that is what I say is a no no. 

A strong female character can be anything from dark and dastardly to sweet sunshine-y disposition. It doesn't matter if they wear boy-shorts and a wife-beater or are wearing a dress. Strong female characters are not about what they wear, are not about if they can beat the shit out of someone else, and are not about "talking smack". They're about something important, and they'll be damned if someone attacks what they are striving for. 

A strong female character is like a strong woman in everyday life. Do you think Oprah looks like a man? No, she is a woman who embraces her femininity, and she kicks ass. Fun fact, those with delusional aspects or who have mental disorders (such as Schizophrenia or anything that induces hallucinations) who think they are telepathically linked with someone, the most common person they are "linked" to is Oprah Winfrey. Weird, huh? That's how much an impact Oprah has made on people. 

Other real life people: Liz Murray (Girl who went from Homeless to Harvard), Malala Yousafazi (Girl who was determined to go to school, defying the Taliban), Angelina Jolie (Donates to Charities and is world-known for her work), Audrey Hepburn (Think she was just pretty? Nope! She was a nationally acclaimed woman for all of her work to help out the world), "Rosie the Riveter" (a fictional character used for propaganda to get women to help out in WWII), Amelia Earhart (First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic), and tons more. 

Strong Female Characters are no different from strong male characters. They have a goal in mind, and they want to achieve it. Whether it's world-saving opportunity or is just making a little change in their town, it's a goal. 

Strong female characters, in love, don't change their strength. Being co-dependent is one thing: both people in the relationship helping each other is good, being dependent is bad: MC now entirely leans on the new partner because they're there. 

This is the problem in a lot of stories. As soon as the love interest(s) are brought in they become dependent. The female lead needs the new partner to do things. The MC won't do what they need/want to because the partner isn't quite agreeing. They allow their goals to shift. 

It's absolutely ridiculous, and should stop. 

It's good to change with your partner - if your partner is making you a better person, that's fantastic. But if you alter your character drastically (Grease, anyone?) it's too much. Wanting what your partner wants is one thing, getting rid of your goals for your partner is another. And disagreement among couples is normal and conceding to your partner's wants/desires to back away from fights is a problem - and if it is a problem you want in your story, it should be fixed by the end of it. The FMC should learn and grow and realize "hey, I am done with this bullshit" and start professing what they need too. 

Now, strong women are starting to come out in fiction, which is great. People are realizing the problems with the whole "female fatal". For the longest time, strong women were manly women, or would become dependent on others. But, as always, there have been strong women in fiction for ages, but they were ignored for a while. I'm going to give you a list of some very strong female characters, from the past and from now, and in places that maybe you haven't heard of. Hopefully you see that strong women aren't just manly women, and strong women aren't just bitchy women, and finally a strong woman, with or without her man, is still a strong woman. 

Hester Prynne - The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Elizabeth Bennet - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Maleficent - Maleficent 

Hermione Granger, Professor Mcgonagall - The Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling

Tiana - The Princess and the Frog 

Aliena - The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Sophie - Howl's Moving Castle (Studio Ghibli)

Sen/Chihiro - Spirited Away (Studio Ghibli) (Most of Studio Ghibli's FMC's are Strong Women)

Katara, Azula - Avatar the Last Airbender

Cersei Lannister, Catelyn Stark, Arya Stark - Game of Thrones by George R.R Martin

Mariel, Tsarmina Greeneyes - The Redwall Series (different books in the series) by Bryan Jacques 

Sistine Bailey - The Tiger Rising by Kate Dicamillo

Fiona (Fi) Glenanne - Burn Notice

Mikasa Ackermann, Annie Leonhart - Attack on Titan

Lyra Belacqua - The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Lucy Pevinsie - The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis

Violet Baudelaire - The Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Just because sometimes these characters are weak that doesn't mean that they aren't strong. We all have moments of weakness. Just because some of these characters aren't good doesn't mean they aren't strong.

Have more? Add them to the list! Some of these it's been a while since I've seen/read so if I have one up there where you're like "eh" then let me take a look at it and I'll take it off if I think it should be taken off. 

Hope we can see some more strong female characters around Wattpad. Strong females who aren't just "manly" and who aren't just "ball-busters". Strong characters who do something. We need a bit more around here, don't ya think? Hope you found this somewhat helpful on where to find and how to achieve a strong female character.