6.1 Defining and critiquing the 'strong female character' trope
3 min read•august 7, 2024
The '' trope has become a staple in TV dramas. While it aims to empower women, it often falls short. This trope can reinforce stereotypes and limit representation, focusing on physical strength over complexity.
To truly empower female characters, we need to move beyond this trope. We should create multifaceted women with agency, flaws, and diverse experiences. This approach challenges gender norms and provides authentic representation for all viewers.
Defining the 'Strong Female Character'
Characteristics of Strong Female Characters
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- Strong female character is a complex and multifaceted female character who exhibits strength, independence, and agency in their actions and decisions
- Defies traditional gender stereotypes and roles assigned to women in media (damsel in distress, love interest, sidekick)
- Displays agency by making their own choices, driving the plot forward, and actively pursuing their goals rather than being passive or reactive
- Exhibits complexity through a well-developed personality, backstory, motivations, and relationships with other characters
- Possesses flaws and vulnerabilities that make them relatable and human, rather than being perfect or one-dimensional
- Undergoes character development throughout the story, growing and changing as a result of their experiences and challenges
Importance of Strong Female Characters
- Challenges gender stereotypes and expectations by presenting women as capable, intelligent, and independent individuals
- Provides positive representation for female viewers, offering role models and examples of women in positions of strength and leadership
- Promotes gender equality by showcasing women as equal to men in terms of abilities, agency, and importance within the narrative
- Encourages diversity in storytelling by featuring female characters from various backgrounds, ethnicities, and experiences (, , )
Critiquing the 'Strong Female Character' Trope
Problematic Aspects of the Trope
- Often created and portrayed through the lens of the male gaze, catering to male fantasies and expectations rather than authentic female experiences
- Can be used as a form of , including a single "strong" female character to appear progressive while still relegating women to secondary roles
- Lacks , focusing primarily on white, able-bodied, heterosexual women and ignoring the unique challenges faced by women of color, LGBTQ+ women, and women with disabilities
- Limited representation of diverse female experiences, perpetuating the idea that there is only one way to be a "strong" woman
Evaluating Female Representation
- Bechdel Test assesses the presence and quality of female representation in media by examining whether a work features at least two named female characters who talk to each other about something other than a man
- While the Bechdel Test is a useful starting point, it does not fully capture the complexity and nuance of female representation
- Importance of examining female characters' roles, agency, development, and relationships beyond their interactions with male characters
- Need for more diverse and authentic female representation that goes beyond the "strong female character" trope ( in How to Get Away with Murder, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)
Subverting the 'Strong Female Character' Trope
Strategies for Subversion
- Subversion of tropes involves taking common character archetypes or narrative devices and presenting them in a way that challenges or undermines audience expectations
- Creating female characters who are strong in unconventional ways, such as emotional resilience, intelligence, or empathy, rather than just physical strength or aggression
- Allowing female characters to be vulnerable, flawed, and complex without diminishing their strength or agency
- Exploring the internal lives, relationships, and growth of female characters beyond their roles as "strong women"
Empowering Female Characters
- Empowerment of female characters involves giving them control over their own stories, choices, and destinies
- Presenting female characters as active agents in their own lives, making decisions and taking actions that shape the narrative
- Challenging the notion that female characters must be "likable" or conform to traditional gender roles to be considered strong or valuable
- Showcasing the diverse ways in which women can be strong, independent, and empowered (Arya Stark in Game of Thrones, )
Key Terms to Review (21)
Annalise Keating: Annalise Keating is a fictional character and the lead in the television series 'How to Get Away with Murder,' portrayed by Viola Davis. She embodies the 'strong female character' trope but critiques it through her complex portrayal, addressing themes of race, gender, and morality. Her character challenges traditional narratives by being both a powerful legal educator and a deeply flawed individual, illustrating the multifaceted nature of female protagonists in contemporary storytelling.
Audience agency: Audience agency refers to the capacity of viewers to interpret, respond to, and engage with media content in ways that can challenge or reinforce the messages being presented. This concept highlights how audiences are not just passive consumers but active participants who have the power to influence the reception and meaning of media narratives.
Bell hooks: bell hooks is a prominent cultural critic, feminist theorist, and author whose work focuses on the intersections of race, gender, and class. She emphasizes the importance of understanding how these identities shape experiences and representations in media, particularly television, which plays a crucial role in shaping cultural narratives and societal norms.
Buffy Summers: Buffy Summers is the main protagonist of the television series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', created by Joss Whedon. She is portrayed as a young woman endowed with supernatural powers to fight against vampires, demons, and other forces of evil while also navigating the challenges of adolescence. Buffy's character challenges the traditional notion of the 'strong female character' by blending vulnerability with strength, and her journey explores the complex representation of female heroes in a genre often dominated by male characters.
Character Agency: Character agency refers to the capacity of a character to make independent choices and take actions that significantly influence their own narrative or storyline. It highlights how characters, especially female ones, can assert control over their lives rather than being mere plot devices or subjected to the will of others. This concept becomes particularly important when discussing the portrayal of women in media, as it challenges traditional tropes and allows for richer character development.
Cultural Discourse: Cultural discourse refers to the ways in which culture is communicated, represented, and interpreted through language, symbols, and narratives within society. It shapes our understanding of identity, gender roles, and power dynamics, influencing how certain ideas are accepted or challenged in public spaces. This discourse is crucial for analyzing how media constructs and reinforces or critiques societal norms, particularly regarding gender representation.
Feminist critique: Feminist critique is an analytical approach that examines cultural texts, media, and societal norms through a feminist lens, focusing on issues of gender representation, power dynamics, and the impact of patriarchy. It aims to reveal biases and stereotypes, challenge traditional narratives, and advocate for a more inclusive understanding of women's experiences and identities in various forms of media.
Gender Representation: Gender representation refers to the portrayal of individuals based on their gender in various media, shaping perceptions and reinforcing or challenging societal norms. This concept is vital in understanding how narratives can influence public perceptions of gender roles, identity, and equality.
Intersectionality: Intersectionality is a framework that examines how various social identities, such as race, gender, class, and sexuality, overlap and interact to create unique experiences of oppression or privilege. This concept helps us understand that individuals do not experience social categories in isolation but rather in complex interconnections that shape their realities.
Jessica Jones: Jessica Jones is a fictional superhero and private investigator in the Marvel Comics universe, known for her complex character and struggles with trauma, power, and identity. The character is a significant example of how contemporary television can both challenge and reinforce the 'strong female character' trope by presenting a female lead who is flawed, vulnerable, and deeply human, while also navigating her superhuman abilities and personal demons.
Laura Mulvey: Laura Mulvey is a British feminist film theorist best known for her essay 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,' which introduced the concept of the male gaze in cinema. Her work critiques how visual arts and media reinforce patriarchal structures and objectify women, influencing feminist media theory and criticism across various platforms, including television.
Multidimensionality: Multidimensionality refers to the idea that characters, particularly female characters, possess multiple layers of identity, experiences, and motivations that contribute to their complexity. This concept is important as it challenges the simplistic portrayal of women in media, particularly against the backdrop of the 'strong female character' trope, which often limits women to a narrow set of characteristics.
Narrative complexity: Narrative complexity refers to the intricate and multifaceted storytelling techniques used in television, which often involve non-linear plots, multiple character perspectives, and layered story arcs. This concept challenges traditional storytelling by emphasizing character development and emotional depth, making it particularly relevant when evaluating representations of strong female characters and the tropes associated with them.
Olivia Pope: Olivia Pope is a fictional character and the protagonist of the television series 'Scandal,' created by Shonda Rhimes. She is portrayed as a powerful crisis manager who navigates the political landscape of Washington, D.C., while also dealing with her personal complexities. Olivia's character embodies the 'strong female character' trope but often challenges and critiques its limitations through her multifaceted nature and moral dilemmas.
One-dimensionality: One-dimensionality refers to the oversimplification of a character's personality, making them lack depth and complexity. This term often describes how characters, particularly the 'strong female character' trope, are portrayed in ways that reduce them to a single trait or function, rather than showcasing a well-rounded personality. This lack of dimension can lead to stereotypes that fail to reflect the real-life experiences and struggles of women.
Post-feminism: Post-feminism refers to a cultural, political, and intellectual movement that emerged in the late 20th century, which suggests that the goals of feminism have been achieved and critiques traditional feminist ideologies. It emphasizes individual empowerment, often framing women's liberation in terms of personal choice and consumerism, while sometimes sidelining the ongoing struggles for gender equality.
Stereotypical female role: A stereotypical female role refers to a predefined set of characteristics and behaviors traditionally associated with women in media, often portraying them as submissive, nurturing, emotional, or dependent. These roles can limit the complexity and diversity of female characters, often sidelining their agency and reducing them to one-dimensional figures that conform to societal expectations.
Strong female character: A strong female character is often defined as a woman in media who exhibits traits such as independence, resilience, and complexity, often challenging traditional gender roles. This concept connects to discussions around feminist media theory by highlighting the representation of women and the societal expectations placed on them. The evolution of this archetype reflects broader historical trends in women's representation in television and raises questions about authenticity and depth in character development.
Third-wave feminism: Third-wave feminism emerged in the 1990s as a response to the limitations of previous feminist movements, emphasizing diversity, individuality, and the complexities of gender. It seeks to address issues such as intersectionality, sexual autonomy, and the representation of women in popular culture, reflecting a more inclusive approach to feminism that recognizes the varied experiences of different women.
Tokenism: Tokenism is the practice of making a symbolic effort to include a small number of underrepresented individuals in a group or setting, often to give the appearance of inclusivity without any real commitment to diversity or equity. This practice can result in superficial representation that fails to address systemic issues of inequality and often reinforces stereotypes rather than challenging them.
Wonder Woman: Wonder Woman is a fictional superheroine created by William Moulton Marston, first appearing in All Star Comics #8 in 1941. As an Amazon warrior princess, she embodies strength, compassion, and empowerment, serving as a symbol of female empowerment and challenging traditional gender roles in popular culture.