In western culture, there is an emphasis on acting a certain way to correspond with a person’s gender. We commonly use gender specific phrases that are demeaning such as ‘man up’ or ‘you throw like a girl’. These are not only toxic to the genders they are describing, but also perpetuate false expectations about how everyone should behave in order to be accepted by society. In particular, ‘strong woman’ and ‘strong female character’ have undertones of the patriarchal division of gender roles. The idea of this empowering woman is not a new concept and can be seen as early as the late 1960s.
“…the new, liberated woman can today be found on every college campus and in every sizeable American city… the politically alert, fiercely autonomous, and …show more content…
Are people who seek ‘strong female characters’ looking for female characters written strongly, or characters who are strong females? If we think the ass-kicking assassin is stronger than the wife who bakes cookies – based on that information alone – that’s a reflection on our own gender views. (Neugebauer)
No one ever talks about a strong male character. This is because he is assumed to be so by default and no one wants to read about one that is portrayed with dated stereotypes. They sound boring and have been almost entirely discarded in favor of male characters who are sniveling, uncertain, disturbed, anxious, melancholic or otherwise “weak,” because this weakness is precisely what makes characters compelling, relatable, and humorous (Chocano). Men do not have to fit into a box but women are expected to and the men who do fit into this box, such as Superman, are usually the most boring (McDougall).
Modern writers point out the problem with the phrase “strong female character” is that it makes the assumption that most females are weak, in both fiction and life, and that most males are strong. Words such as manly and masculine should not be perceived as synonyms for strong just as feminine and girly for weak (Neugebauer). ‘Strong female character’ could refer to a character that is complex, interesting, or well written; they play a main part rather than fading into the background …show more content…
A person’s view of strong has a lot to do with their preferences and beliefs in what strong is. Similarly, people may not like some of the many ways a person is able to be strong. Respect should be given to the individual strengths in every female character, instead of glorifying the ‘strong female character.’ (Whipple) In the words of Alida Nugent, “I try not to say the phrase ‘strong woman’ anymore, because I think it’s almost redundant at this point. Women have iron in their bones. Women grit their teeth and bear it. Women rise up. A strong woman is any woman. Sometimes it’s me, and sometimes it’s
“…the new, liberated woman can today be found on every college campus and in every sizeable American city… the politically alert, fiercely autonomous, and …show more content…
Are people who seek ‘strong female characters’ looking for female characters written strongly, or characters who are strong females? If we think the ass-kicking assassin is stronger than the wife who bakes cookies – based on that information alone – that’s a reflection on our own gender views. (Neugebauer)
No one ever talks about a strong male character. This is because he is assumed to be so by default and no one wants to read about one that is portrayed with dated stereotypes. They sound boring and have been almost entirely discarded in favor of male characters who are sniveling, uncertain, disturbed, anxious, melancholic or otherwise “weak,” because this weakness is precisely what makes characters compelling, relatable, and humorous (Chocano). Men do not have to fit into a box but women are expected to and the men who do fit into this box, such as Superman, are usually the most boring (McDougall).
Modern writers point out the problem with the phrase “strong female character” is that it makes the assumption that most females are weak, in both fiction and life, and that most males are strong. Words such as manly and masculine should not be perceived as synonyms for strong just as feminine and girly for weak (Neugebauer). ‘Strong female character’ could refer to a character that is complex, interesting, or well written; they play a main part rather than fading into the background …show more content…
A person’s view of strong has a lot to do with their preferences and beliefs in what strong is. Similarly, people may not like some of the many ways a person is able to be strong. Respect should be given to the individual strengths in every female character, instead of glorifying the ‘strong female character.’ (Whipple) In the words of Alida Nugent, “I try not to say the phrase ‘strong woman’ anymore, because I think it’s almost redundant at this point. Women have iron in their bones. Women grit their teeth and bear it. Women rise up. A strong woman is any woman. Sometimes it’s me, and sometimes it’s