Wanted: Strong Female Characters and Representation

A question you hear asked of male writers is how they write strong female characters. The answer is usually the same; they write them like they would write a strong male character. On the surface, this egalitarian response is exactly what we want. 

The idea of strong female character has become a trope of certain genres. It’s now moved into the realm of being a stock character archetype. Typically, when we look at the characters in this category we think of Buffy Summers, Black Widow, Cersei Lannister, Arya Stark, etc. We tend to look for women who tend to take on more typically masculine characteristics in terms of codes of behavior. These women kick ass, sometimes literally. This seems to be directly related to a male perspective of feminism. It’s about treating the women as though they were no different from their male counterparts, and this is certainly feminism at its heart.

However, there is another aspect of feminist media that I think we sometimes overlook in pursuit of female characters as the hero in narratives, and that is the issue of representation. I don’t want to be misunderstood; I am grateful that men like Joss Whedon, George R.R. Martin, and by extension David Benioff and Dan Weiss have created spaces for the strong female character. Yet, there is more to the female experience than the desire to be the hero. We want to see ourselves and our experiences reflected back to us.

For example, there were some who were disturbed and outraged by a scene in Age of Ultron, where Natasha Romanoff calls herself a “monster.” She then relates that she is unable to children due to undergoing a sterilization procedure as part of her assassin training in an undisclosed Soviet-esque state. In the context of the scene, there is more going on than Natasha’s struggle with the sterilization she underwent. Her “vision” induced by Scarlet Witch replayed many of the horrific scenes from her past life as an assassin. She feels like a monster because she is a murderer. 

However, women feel that this confession that some saw as commentary about women needing to be able to have children in order to be complete, that it was her infertility that made her less human. Through no fault of his own, it would be difficult for Whedon to understand the immense pressure some women from family and society as a whole to have children. This pressure sometimes leads to women without children feeling less valued members of society. I know that I have expressed that I have little to no desire to be a mother. This revelation is usually met with an assurance that I will someday change my mind and want to have children, that my biological clock just hasn’t started ticking yet. These conversations generally lead to moments of self-doubt and anxiety. I wonder if there is something wrong with me if I truly don’t want to be a mother.

This is why it is so important that women directors, writers, and producers have a seat at the table. As well-intentioned as men like Whedon and Martin may be, they cannot completely understand what it is like to be a woman and how our experiences shape our interactions with the world around us. It becomes easy for audiences to misinterpret what they are trying to say.

The upcoming season of Marvel’s Netflix show, Jessica Jones, will be directed by all women. This is a significant milestone as Jessica Jones will be one of the few shows helmed exclusively by women. Jessica Jones is a deeply flawed and broken “hero.” The first season was praised for its honest dealing with issues of rape, assault, and PTSD. While these are not issues exclusive to women, no two people experience and deal with them in the same way. Especially when talking about rape and consent, women may process the experience different from men. While male and female victims of sexual assault may both have to overcome doubt in their reports, these doubts are manifested in different ways. Having a female voice will provide additional authenticity beyond the actress’ character portrayal.

While strong female characters are important role models for young girls, it is also important for them to see the whole of the female experience. Strong women are allowed to break. Strength is not necessarily the lack of emotions as we see in the portrayal of strong male characters. There is strength in embracing one’s flaws and being vulnerable. It’s this dichotomy that can sometimes be lacking when women are written as the “strong female character” archetype.

Below is about a half hour long video with some of Hollywood's leading ladies discussing representation and what it means to be more than just a pretty face:

Bad Ass Women of History: St Olga of Kiev

Not many women could exact revenge on the tribe of people that killed her husband and become a saint, but Olga of Kiev did. Born c. 890 CE, Olga was venerated as a saint for her role in the conversion to Christianity of people across the Rus’. While it was her grandson that ultimately made Christianity the state religion, her own baptism and conversion set the wheels in motion.

Yet, it’s not her conversion to Christianity that is the best known story about her. Olga’s husband, Igor of Kiev, was killed by the neighboring Drevlians. As their son was only three years old at the time, Olga ruled Kievan Rus as regent until he would come of age. In an attempt to gain control of this region, the Drevlians sought to marry the now-widowed Olga to their own Prince Mal. She, however, was determined to remain unmarried and in power so that her son would inherit his father’s rule.

Now this is where the story begins to get interesting. The Drevlians sent their twenty best men to “persuade” Olga to marry Prince Mal. She had them buried alive. Olga then sent word to Prince Mal that she had accepted his proposal but required his most distinguished members of court so that she might travel to his court to be married. When these men arrived, Olga welcomed them warmly and suggested that they wash after the long journey. After the men entered the bathhouse, Olga had the doors locked and set the building ablaze, ridding herself of the best men that the Drevlians had to offer.

If that weren’t enough, she then invited the remaining Drevlians to a funeral feast so she might mourn over her husband’s grave before remarrying. When all of the Drevlians were drunk, she ordered her soldiers to kill them. Over 5,000 people were killed in this attack before she returned to Kiev to prepare for an attack on those that remained in their capital of Iskorosten.

The Drevlians begged Olga for mercy and offered to pay for that mercy with honey and furs. Instead, Olga asked for three pigeons and three sparrows from every house, to which the people were happy to comply. To each soldier of her army, Olga gave a pigeon or sparrow with the order to attach a piece of sulfur bound with small pieces of cloth with a thread. The birds were then released. They flew back to their nests and coops. Though I am unclear exactly how it was accomplished, this led to the capital being engulfed in a fire that destroyed the entire city. Olga’s soldiers captured people as they fled the city. She had some captives killed while others she gave as slaves to her followers. The few that remained were left to pay tribute. 

She remained regent until her son came of age. Olga frequently evaded proposals of marriage and defended the city of Kiev against a siege in 968 CE.

There is a profile of Olga of Kiev in the following book:

Princess Behaving Badly (Real Stories from History Without the Fairy-Tale Endings) by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie

Confessions Pt 2: A Personal Jukebox

When I think back on the soundtrack of my life, there are always certain songs that stick out in my mind. In 2016, we lost some of the musicians that provided those moments. Music has the power to inspire, empower, comfort, excite. It can encapsulate human experience in three minutes. As a child of the 80s and 90s, it should come as no surprise that some of these songs and artists have had a lasting impact on my life. Here’s a brief list of some songs in the soundtrack of my life.

George Michael – “Freedom ‘90”
While this song is deeply personal for George Michael in that it expresses his desire to break free from the sex symbol image that was carefully cultivated for MTV in the late 80s and be taken seriously as an artist, it still resonates to the average listener. This is best exemplified in the line: “All we have to do now / is take these lies and make them true somehow. / All we have to see / is that you don’t belong to me / and I don’t belong to you.” This is the ultimate declaration of personal freedom. We all have moments where we feel as though we are just doing what we need to in order to please others rather than ourselves.


Janet Jackson – “Rhythm Nation”
Ever since I first heard “Control,” Janet seemed to be speaking to me directly. As a young girl, I understood the desire to be mine own person, but it was “Rhythm Nation” that had the most impact on helping me develop into the socially aware, justice oriented person that I would become. It was really the first anthem for racial and social harmony that stood out to me. This isn’t to say that others didn’t do more or would have the same impact down the road, but this was the first. I distinctly remember watching the video and even at the age of 9 understood the visual message of the song.


Madonna – “Express Yourself”
Madonna influenced so many women of my generation. She owned her sexuality in ways that I would come to understand with greater depth later in life, but she was unapologetically herself. She didn’t cringe from the things that were supposed to be taboo. Madonna came across as someone in control of the sexualization of her image. It was on her terms. “Express Yourself” seemed to epitomize the idea that women should be in control of their own bodies and sexual agency. Later singers would try to emulate this power with it sometimes ringing false, but Madonna’s seemed to come from a genuine place of female empowerment.


Salt N’ Pepa – “Shoop”
I was in middle school, and this was one of the first albums I bought on tape. I listened to it until the tape was worn out. As some of my friends were surprised to learn, I know every word to this song. Like Madonna, Salt N’ Pepa really helped me understand that it was ok for girls and women to be interested in sex like men. It did lead to some conflict with the things that I was being taught at church. I can’t say that it made things clear for me right away, but it did contribute.


En Vogue – “Free Your Mind”
This was another one of those social justice songs. As a white girl living in Iowa, I couldn’t understand the black experience. I could, however, listen to the message of this song and understand that the world was bigger than the comfort of my own smaller town. It was important to open my mind and try to see the world from others’ eyes.


Prince – “Kiss”

Prince was one of those artists that meant so much to so many. Whenever I am feeling down and insecure about myself, this song helps me begin to feel a bit better. The message that the external things such as looks, attitude, and those other superficial things are not the important thing in relationships. It's ok to be real and be yourself. It's really just about being there. It's another one of those body positive messages that we all need to hear.


Alannis Morisette – “You Oughta Know”
Like many girls my age, Alannis fueled our feminine angst in high school. This song was of great comfort to me as I experienced my first relationships ending. I was angry and hurt. Alannis seemed to understand my pain. Even if I didn’t fully grasp the lyrical content in terms of personal experience, I could certainly understand the feeling of wanting to tell an ex how much of an asshole he was for breaking my heart and leaving me for someone else. This would eventually lead me to the music of Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, and Ani DiFranco in college.


Green Day – “Minority”
In college, my rebellious streak was developing. I entered my punk phase which would lead to my goth/alt rock look. I wore leather pants, fishnet shirts with only a bra underneath, knee high boots, dark make-up. Green Day along with punk legends like The Sex Pistols and The Clash fueled this part of my life. I was trying hard to break free from my goody two-shoes reputation without totally rejecting some of the things I had been raised to believe by my fairly religious upbringing. This song was my way of thumbing my nose at authority.



TLC – “Unpretty”
TLC were my girls with CrazySexyCool in high school, and this song from their third album, FanMail, was just what I needed to hear in college as I struggled with body image issues. In my freshman year of college, I inexplicably lost 35 pounds and grew an inch taller. I was finally the skinny I had wanted to be in high school, but it came with some drawbacks. I had always been insecure in terms of looks and body image. Now that I was what society had told me that I should look like, I thought I would be happier. I wasn’t. I still felt ugly. This song helped reinforce that it wasn’t what was on the outside that mattered. It didn’t matter what others told you. It was the inside that mattered. I needed to find the beauty within. I still struggle with this as I think all women do, but it’s a powerful message.

Everybody Poops: A More Subtle Attack on the Female Body

So it begins…

I was watching TV over the long holiday weekends and was struck by something that disturbed me: the targeted advertising on channels geared towards female audiences. I couldn’t tell you for certain which channel it was because it happened on a numerous channels, but it did happen during programs that tend to have a female demographic. I probably would not have been as bothered had the advertising been for products that women specifically need to use more than men, but it wasn’t.

The first thing I noticed every commercial break was an ad for either NutriSystem featuring Marie Osmond or Weight Watchers featuring Oprah. I definitely understand that around the holidays people tend to worry more about weight gain, but these ads seemed to be specifically targeting women. Don’t get me wrong, obesity is a major health concern. However, these ads seemed to focus solely on women and weight loss goals. There was little discussion of what weight loss might mean for health. The focus was on getting rid of that (in the cases of the women shown) little bit of excess belly fat. The women shown may not be thin or have a higher BMI (a calculation that most health professionals will tell you is not an accurate way to measure body fat or determine health risks), but they certainly didn’t seem to be at great health risk. 

There is so much more that goes into a healthy lifestyle than weight. I could certainly stand to lose some weight, but I am also not what you would call unhealthy because my cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, and blood pressure are well within the normal range. I exercise regularly and eat a balanced healthy diet for the most part. With all of the problems with body image that we have in today’s society, ads like this tend to exacerbate the situation. There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to lose weight and feel good about your body, but it shouldn’t be the only thing. With these ads playing every commercial break in the hour or so that I watched the station, it seemed to be spreading the message that women are only as good as they look on the outside in terms of weight.

The other commercial I saw every commercial break was for a product called V.I.Poo from the makers of Air Wick. This product is designed to keep the toilet from smelling after pooping. The commercial feature a tall, skinny pretty blonde woman at a movie premiere of some kind. She identified herself as a hot new starlet that sometimes had to go poo but was afraid of embarrassing herself by appearing unladylike in front of her male director because of the odor of her feces. This is where V.I.Poo came into play. The thing that bothered me so much about this commercial is that it unfairly targets women. Everybody poops. And guess what poop smells. Why do we need to perpetuate the myth that women are somehow immune to this? This idea that the female body is pristine in its functions in a way that is different from men is a dangerous ideal. I might feel different about this commercial if men were treated in the same way, but there was no expectation that the male director might use the product as well. It was advertised as something meant for women only.

I mean let’s look back at something that Donald Trump said about Hillary Clinton’s extended bathroom break during the primary debates when she was facing Bernie Sanders. He called it disgusting that she would take so long in the bathroom. It’s a subtle form of bodily control when men denigrate women for engaging in natural bodily functions such as using the bathroom. With our President-elect, it unfortunately didn’t stop there. His comments about that Megyn Kelly had blood coming out of her “whatever” because she asked him tough questions in a primary debate is yet another instance where a woman is reduced to her body’s natural functions which are disgusting to men. 

While the battle over women’s bodies is nothing new, this trend is a more subtle attack. By undermining how women feel about everyday bodily functions, it can become easier to begin to control the agency women exercise over their own bodies. It seems to be a return to the “values” of the 1940s and 1950s where ladylike behavior was the norm, and this behavior meant restricting what women should and shouldn’t do with their bodies. As we continue to deal with issues about body image that lead to self-injurious behavior, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, slut-shaming, etc., we don’t need to add this to the pile.

2017, Don't Let Me Down

So it’s 2017. We all made it through 2016. Granted, we still have a Trump inauguration and presidency to “look forward to,” but here’s hoping that this year shapes up to be somewhat better than the previous one.

There were some cool things that happened last year in nerdom, and there are some things that I am looking forward to this year.  So to begin this year, I want to take a look at the things that I am excited for. 

It’s Happening:

Logan – March

This seems to have some of the Old Man Logan arc incorporated into the new timeline created by the X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse films. While I am always a bit iffy on the X-Men franchise films, the trailer for this one probably has one of the best uses of Johnny Cash’s version of the Nine Inch Nails song, “Hurt.”

American Gods – April

This is an adaptation of the amazing Neil Gaiman novel by Starz. I have been excited for this since I heard it was being adapted for television. Unfortunately, producers only have the rights to the first book and not Anasasi Boys. For those not who haven’t read the book, and you should do so because Neil Gaiman, one of the main premises is that the gods of mythology are in fact real and have incorporated themselves into American society as new gods like technology, media, etc have taken their place. I could tell you more, but why spoil the fun?

The Handmaid’s Tale – April

This series on Hulu will be based on the Margaret Atwood novel of the same name. It imagines a dystopian future set in New England where women no longer have agency over their own bodies. After a staged terrorist attack blamed on Islamic extremists, the US government and Constitutional rights have been suspended in the name of restoring order. The new totalitarian theocracy established re-organizes society in a militarized, hierarchical social classes with an Old-Testament inspired fanaticism. The novel is a must-read for anyone concerned with women’s rights, especially in the current political climate. It’s scary to think that the novel was published in 1985 considering.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 – May

The first one was so fun, so I’m looking forward to this even more. I have to admit that mostly it’s because of Drax. Don’t get me wrong, Chris Pratt is amazing as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, but Dave Bautista’s delivery as Drax has been spot on. This past summer as I was reading CM Punk’s (yes, the former WWE superstar and current MMA fighter) run on Drax I just kept hearing his voice in my head. BTW, if you like Drax as a character, I definitely suggest checking out Punk’s arc. 

Wonder Woman – June

I’m cautiously optimistic about this one. I love Wonder Woman as a character, but I am less confident in the treatment she will get from the DCEU. This one has a woman at the helm in Patty Jenkins who previously directed the Aileen Wuornos bio-pic, Monster (2003), though I am even less confident that many other women directors passed on the film before it was originally slated to be directed by Michelle MacLaren whose interest waned over creative differences. It would have been MacLaren’s first film as she previously directed TV episodes for series like The X-Files, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Better Call Saul, The Leftovers, Westworld, etc.

Spider-Man: Homecoming – July

Ever since I got a glimpse of the new Spider-Man and his alter-ego Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War, my excitement for this has ramped up. While I didn’t mind Andrew Garfield’s Spider-man, it finally feels like they will get it right this time. This is the Spider-Man movie we have all been waiting for. Marvel Studios should deliver because let’s face it, even their “worst” movies are still pretty damn good.

Thor: Ragnarok – November

There hasn’t been a lot in terms of possible spoilers for the film other than an amazing cast which now includes Jeff Goldblum and Cate Blanchett and so many others. We do know that elements of the Planet Hulk story arc from the comics will be pulled into the Ragnarok storyline. So also, we get Mark Ruffalo in this one. Plus, the prospect of this film in the wake of Civil War led to a great mockumentary with Thor and Banner and Darryl. #TeamThor

What I Want to Happen (Possible Spoilers ahead):

The Walking Dead – February

The war with Negan and the Saviors is coming. We’re going to get to see more Ezekiel and Shiva. I am excited for all of those things, but the mysterious figure at the end of the mid-season finale seems to be pointing towards another enemy on the horizon: The Whisperers. This group is led by a woman, called Alpha. It’s more of a pack like The Wolves than a community like we’ve known. This group wears the skins of walkers as camouflage. 

Game of Thrones – Summer

Winter is finally here, which means production had to be delayed in order to achieve the snowy effect. Jon Snow is King in the North. Petyr Baelish is scheming. Arya is back in Westeros and in the Riverlands. Bran is headed to the Wall. Dany just picked up a fleet of ships in Dorne with the Sand Snakes and Tyrells backing her play. It should be an exciting season albeit a short one at 7 episodes. I want my Stark reunion even it if means the magic of the Wall is in danger and the White Walkers can enter Westeros. It would also be great for Jon to find out his parentage rather than just the audience knowing (R + L = J).