Women are more than cardboard cut-outs. But that's not how they are portrayed in pop culture. One term comes up a lot when the media or a fandom want to describe them, and that's Strong Female Character. In fact, that label comes up so much, I'm at a point where I don't know what it means anymore except that if there's a poster of a heroine wielding a weapon "she's a bad-ass and I'm automatically supposed to love her".
Recently I started thinking about SFCs, and how they're stuck with a copy-and-paste-personality of one part brawns and two parts boobs, measured by a standard that keeps moving and yet stands still. If a heroine dismantles the system, she's automatically more interesting than the ones who stay behind to serve in politics or keep their families safe. If an independent bosslady falls in love, that's the only aspect of their life that matters. If the girl-next-door doesn't want anything to do with a guy, he'll convince her until she gives in. And so it goes. Too often SFCs are experts at falling into one trope or having one mission, but fail hopelessly at everything else in their lives.
When I think of my favorite female characters, they come from all walks of life in fandom: Belle from
Beauty and the Beast, Okoye/Shuri/Nakia from
Black Panther, all of the women from
The Walking Dead, Uhara from
Star Trek, Princess Leia, Rey, and Rose from
Star Wars. And the list goes on and on. They take on unique
roles, sometimes the hardest ones if the writing is deplorable, and explore different arcs of a story. But they have a few traits in common: they're personable, layered, and multi-faceted. And that's why I started figuring out -
what is a strong female character anyways.
How do you define Strong Female Character? Who are some of your favorites?
I'd love to know in the comments below!