"You're Supposed To Be The Leading Lady Of Your Own Life"
9:34 PM
What is a "Strong Female Character"?
Well according to Sophia McDougall in her latest article "I Hate Strong Female Characters" it's not the image of literary and cinematic feminism we may have envisioned. In fact, it might just be a terribly oppressive opposite.
McDougall, a playwright, novelist, and poet, knows a thing or two about characters and character dynamic, that's called professional experience.
McDougall, an Oxford educated 34 year old woman, knows a thing or two about relationships and the female dynamic... that's called life experience.
When I read this article, I could not help but feel cheated. Hoodwinked even:
Yes. It's true.
I fell for the "strong female character"
The unapologetically lazy insertion of a woman in almost every form of media.
Even beyond the Bechdel Test, they pulled one over on me.
The "strong female characters" as McDougall points out are the protagonists and side characters that overcompensate for the lack of variety of female characters. With a 3:1 male to female character ratio, the one female character that is lucky enough to be portrayed attempts to capture all the powerful attributes of women and put them in a single description and representation.
And yet, in attempting to do so, these SFC's fail to capture the essence of all and any women, anywhere.
A SFC does karate. She shows poise in the face of danger, and is as sassy as the day is long. Film producers and copy editors believe the only female characters worth showcasing are the ones that encompass ninja-like swiftness with a never-ending side order of quick whit.
Her physical strength is unparalleled and her
sassattitide is unmatched.
A SFC can handle the men she is surrounded by (which she absolutely is surrounded by) and when necessary can handle the women who engage with those men (since obviously other women aren't in stories or films to develop dynamic relationships with other women).
McDougall describes the proverbial box in which "strong" sits inside. I would argue even further that the box should be even more so described as parcel post - nothing dynamic nor dimensional can fit inside. Female characters don't sit in a box, they lie down flat in an envelope.
The differences between Strong Female Characters and the any-and-average male character? We dislike "strong male characters," and adore those with personalities outside of such definition, yet we are stuck with "strong female characters" and therefore have convinced ourselves they're worth our favor:
"Let’s come back to Sherlock Holmes. A better question would be – “What is Sherlock Holmes like?”
He’s a brilliant, solitary, abrasive, Bohemian, whimsical, brave, sad, manipulative, neurotic, vain, untidy, fastidious, artistic, courteous, rude, polymath genius.
Adding the word “strong” to that list doesn’t seem to me to enhance it much."
SMC's don't have these qualities and so they come off as old-fashioned and dull. McDougall cites He-Man, Superman, The Long Ranger, and Jack Ryan to name a few... "If Strong-Male-Character compatibility was the primary criterion of writing heroes, our fiction would be a lot poorer. But it’s within this claustrophobic little box that we expect our heroines to live out their lives."
While the "Strong Female Character" is made to project an essential female identity, all she truly does is contribute to the social notions and pressure of perfection.
In thinking about this article, I have realized that what is most scary isn't that all of this is true in text and on screen; what's most horrifying is that this is true off the pages and silver sheen of Hollywood:
We do this in real life. We play this in real life. We aspire to this in real life.
We try to "be strong" for others, to "be strong" for our families. We try to play the Strong Female Character of our own lives, and convince those around us - our audience - that we're successful at our role.
By doing so, we put ourselves in the box.
But,
I don't want to be in the box. I want to stand on top of it!
McDougall wrote in regards to her characters:
"I want her to be free to express herself
I want her to have meaningful, emotional relationships with other women
I want her to be weak sometimes
I want her to be strong in a way that isn’t about physical dominance or power
I want her to cry if she feels like crying
I want her to ask for help
I want her to be who she is"
I find in looking at this list, that I not only want to read these women and see these women: I want be this woman. I want to express myself, and share deep relationships, I want to be weak, and strong. I want to laugh and cry, and be exactly what I am, for that's what I do best.
I want to be the dynamic "Leading Lady," of my life not the flat "Strong Female Character." As Kate Winslet in The Holiday says "You're supposed to be the leading lady of your own life, for God's sake!"
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