Been there, done that

I’m going to make many bold statements on this blog.  Some are obvious, such as people have a legal right to resell property and claiming you get a profit of it makes you a jackass.  Some won’t be obvious, such as banning McDonalds doesn’t necessarily fix obesity.

Here’s a confusing one, especially given that I am proud that I have two X chromosomes: knock it off with writing strong female characters….please.

George R.R. Martin was told in an interview that he created very unique and strong women and asked about why and how.

His reply was that he always thought of women as people.

That’s all that’s needed for writing women.  That’s what feminism is.

Before, female characters needed to be strong.  If they weren’t, they were victims, whores, or useless and always a love interest.  Being strong and independent made them as important as male characters in a story.  Strong female characters evened the playing field and spoke strongly of feminism and equality.

But these days, not all men are heroes either.  The playing field has changed.  Men can be victims, so why can’t women?  Men are love interests, so why can’t a woman have a relationship? Men can speak for feminism, which is part of it.

Feminism was never about being better, stronger, tougher, more violent, or one-upping a man.  Feminism was always about being equals, even in stories.  But making a strong female character makes women less equal.

When the focus on the character is being a strong female, there is little else to her.  She is not a person.  She has been turned into an object that kicks ass and refuses many emotions that make someone human.  That is not a woman and should not be thought of as one.

Women no longer need to kick ass. It’s not part of what makes a character or a person anymore.  Characters need personality, emotion, motivation, and at least a slight bit of depth to them.  Kicking ass is still an option, but the others aren’t.

Doing away with the strong female character would actually empower women more.  Women should be proud of themselves even if they aren’t strong, or can’t kick ass.  Women should be proud that they are people, just like men.

Equality should mean you’re normal, no matter who or what you are, shouldn’t it?