"Strong" Female Characters and Why They're Not Really Strong

The agent sits, tied to a chair in the middle of a concrete room. Around him, half a dozen gang members lounge against the walls, rifles hanging from their hands. There's nothing to worry about. They have Agent Smith, and soon, they would have the information he possessed, too. No need to be alarmed.
Suddenly, the steel door flies open with a bang. There stands Agent Smith's partner, Lady Ross, her black leather jacket spotless, her hair and makeup all in order, a pistol cocked in each hand.
"Hey, fellas." She smirks at the guards, who, stunned, don't raise their guns until it's too late. Lady Ross kicks one in the face, sweeps another's legs out from under him, and takes out the rest in short order.
"Come on, Smith," she says, cutting through his bonds with a single swipe of a knife. "You men just always have to get captured, don't you?"

Photo by Sofia Sforza on Unsplash

Lady Ross is probably an all too familiar face to you. She is just one of hundreds of female characters to flood books, TV shows, and Hollywood in the last few years. You know. The characters who know forty kinds of martial arts, can shoot a half dozen henchmen without batting an eyelash, who can come out of battle with flawless hair, and who rarely - if ever - gets thrown down in a fight.

And you know what? These characters annoy me. They were created by people trying to combat another stereotype - the girly-girl, princess, can't fend for herself stereotype (which is also annoying and inaccurate, but that's a subject for another day). So, why not make a female character who can "do whatever a man can do, but better"?

Um, lots of reasons. For a start, the writers of these characters often miss a key point - women are human, too. No, they cannot do everything. Does this mean they're weak?

No! Strong female characters don't have to be physically strong, they can have moments of weakness and fear and despair. And I would go so far as to say that this makes them even stronger.

So, what are the traits of a really strong female character?

1. They have a personality

This should be obvious, but really, any character whose only personality traits are "sarcastic" and "strategic" should raise a red flag bearing the words "flat character!" 

Give your character personality strengths, weaknesses, and random quirks. You won't regret it. 

Claire Nunez from Dreamworks' Trollhunters is a good example. She's got flaws - she can be accusing, she has a temper, and she disobeys her parents by sneaking out to concerts and to help the main character, Jim, fight his battles. She gets scared and actually runs away from a fight at one point. But she has a good heart - she genuinely cares people, and she loves her brother, Enrique. She isn't mean to the ally, Toby, either, which is something all too common in many other TV shows. She also has random quirks (something that Dreamworks pulls off really well. See pretty much any other character with more than ten minutes of screen time in Trollhunters and you'll see what I mean). Claire enjoys both rock music and Shakespeare, and she's a math whiz. These seemingly disparate traits come together to help make Claire's personality deeper.

2. They fail

This is important. Even if a character is good at something, it doesn't mean they're perfect. Sooner or later, they will run into someone who can best them. They might know forty kinds of martial arts, but then they run into someone who knows fifty. They may be a genius, but no one recognizes their talent.

Real people fail, so why should it be any different in fiction? 

3. They don't disdain "female" jobs, clothing, and occupations

Why people? Why is housework suddenly beneath women, and skirts taboo? It's both annoying and unrealistic. If a mother character or a girly girl character are ever portrayed in literature, they are either grossly stereotyped or mocked by other characters ("oh, she can't stand blood. She's no good here.") The main character is often a girl in these cases, and she is the "different" one by being "strong", and, more often than not, masculine. Or the main character is a boy who is engaged to the first girl, and ends up falling for the "strong" girl. Why? Because she's strong. 

You know what? Real girls are not all ultra-tomboys. Even a tomboy might have some "girly" interests - maybe she enjoys doing her hair, or embroidery, or cooking. Why not?

4. They don't have an intense hatred or disdain of men 

This might be the biggest pet peeve I have about media in general. Many of the "strong female" characters disdain men, to the point where they're literally saying that they're useless and that "the girls can do it by themselves".

This hatred seems unprecedented, or it's spurred on by the fact that most male characters in "strong female" media are plain dumb. Maybe this is because the writers want to make the female characters look stronger by making the men weaker - which is disgusting. Not only does this make men appear weak and foolish (which is definitely not the case most of the time!), but it makes it seem like the men have to be "weak" for the women to be "strong".

And that is not true! Women aren't weak, and they don't need to make men look weak to be strong themselves.

Strong female characters need a makeover - big time. But all hope is not lost. Many people are catching on to this stereotype and turning it on its head, creating non-stereotypical, but strong female characters. It's nice to see.


What do you think of the "strong female" stereotype? What types of female characters would you like to see more of in fiction? Let me know in the comments!