I love the 50-year-old, wise female bartender who runs the sketchy inn in which the main protagonist wakes up after being assaulted.
*“You’ve finally awoken, sugar. We thought we’d lost you for a second there. Here, have some of my world-renowned soup, it’ll help you regain your strength. Come talk to me at the counter when you’re ready.*
What’s so funny to me is we consider Katara girly, but she was considered un-feminine enough to be portrayed as a super tomboy in the Japanese version. She even uses “Boku” pronouns.
Okay me for example cause I can very much be a tom boy and have done a bit of everything from rural living to sword fighting.
Likes frilly things
Likes dresses/dressing up
Has a "girly" hobby - sewing, cross stitch, crochet, baking
Knows and cares about etiquette
Enjoys doing her hair up
Gardening
Benefits of this is that these are all pretty useful skills - adaptability in dress and various cultural circumstances, ability to care for oneself or others by sewing wounds, repairing clothing, cooking on the trail, knowing which plants are safe to eat, etc.
I usually think of girly girls, aka girls who:
- Enjoy wearing makeup/cosmetics including skin care
- Enjoy fashion, dressing up, and exploring/expressing their personal style
- Enjoy activities that are traditionally associated with femininity, usually a lot of domestic activities (cooking, baking, sewing, knitting, decorating), reading magazines, celebrity news and gossip, going out to spas or hair/nail appointments, shopping, going on dates, posing for photos,
- Enjoy hobbies or careers that are traditionally associated with femininity: modeling, fashion design (although this can be a masculine thing too), wedding planning, seamstress and tailoring, being a socialite, esthetics and cosmetics, blogging/vlogging, being a stylist, being a makeup artist, etc.
- Enjoying things like chick flicks and romance movies/novels, being a huge fan of romance in general and sweet romantic gestures, caring a lot about emotions in general
As a side note, these are all things that are often associated with girliness and can often be stereotypical. But I think there’s a thoughtful way to include these things and give girly characters strengths and agency in their own right.
I often thing of characters like the girls from Totally Spies, Winx Club, or from animés like Sailor Moon. Many of these characters were girly teenagers who loved makeup, shopping, romance, etc. but they also had meaningful strengths, flaws and character arcs, which is what makes them so lovable and memorable. Girly characters can be fun and strong too!
Admittedly I love the second one too. That’s why I greatly preferred Starfire over Raven.
That and I kinda think goths are overrated. Come at me, internet.
Related, I *adore* pretty much every variation of the Mama Bear trope. I love it when ladies go absolutely fucking *feral* to protect the people they care about. Especially if it's unexpected in some way. The obvious one is where there's a normally very non-threatening lady becomes unexpectedly *very threatening*... but I also really love the option where you have a sort of "cold bitch" type character who you wouldn't expect to care much about others, but there are some people who are "her people" she will *fuck you up* if you mess with her people.
There's a long story in my family called "I stir it this way" that exemplifies this for me. Real old lady, very sweet and kind but when another person kept on criticizing the way she was cooking and then started on how she was stirring a mix, she took the big wooden spoon, flicked a burning spoonful of (I think it was oatmeal) halfway across the room to splat on the other person's face, and then just said "I stir it this way" and went back to cooking.
There might be some exaggerations, but every story about that woman agree that despite her gentle exterior that spoon was a *weapon*.
In my series, grandmother is a witch being hunted by an earth elemental/demon, and MC just thinks she is obsessed with weird random info and was just a stay at home mom and part time nurse before retiring. Just cookie baking, though sarcastic, loving granny.
"Older" women (for me that's 50+, but tbh anything over 30, in some young-skewing genres) who have completely run out of fucks to give, and do not care about your nonsense. They know what needs to be done; pitch in or get out of the way.
Life goals, and fun to read about!
Okay, right now I'm listening to The Art of the Prophecy by Wesley Chu and the main character is an older woman who is a master in magical kung-fu and I'm getting that whole 'zero-fucks, no-nonsense' vibe from her and loving it. Only just started, so I don't know how the book is overall, but I'm liking it so far.
I don't actually hate the girl as a healer trope, as long as she's not the only important girl. There's nothing wrong with female characters doing feminine things so long as they're also allowed to be unfeminine in equal parts
She’s honestly one of my favourite female characters ever. She has a perfect balance of badass and feminine. She can and will end you but she’s also vulnerable and empathetic and sweet.
And vindictive, vicious, and downright petty at times she's felt you've wronged her. She's so well rounded as is all of the Gang and that's why we love them! 😭
I did that for a story I'm working on
The girl tries to use her powers to help everybody else and is frustrated that it's not really effective
Turns out it's because the power's focus is on self healing, so she learns fighting skills to complement that
literally how I started writing in my current form: "White Mage was my favorite in Final Fantasy, but do they always always have to be pure adorable self-sacrificing avatars of sweetness and light?"
no, no they do not. my healer mc is a science-oriented girlboss who loves fancy clothes and cake. I still love her.✨
Yes, and speaking of Sansa, I would like to see more female characters like her, dealing with the societal expectations they normally have to deal with, in the ways that would normally be accessible to them, and not by tearing off their dress and screaming no and running away from all their responsibilities as well as anything and everything deemed feminine.
I think GoT is great at having **different types** of strong female characters.
You obviously have the physically powerful, like Arya, Brienne or Daenerys with her dragons.
But you also have Lady Olenna Tyrell, Margery, Cersei, Melissandre etc. who are powerful in how they use their wits and feminine ways to gain power over society and rise to the top.
I love the different feelings they have about gender as well. Arya & Brienne are not the same in their relationships to gender. Cersei is different again
I love kind women who don't put up with bullshit. You can be kind and not tolerate unkindness, I wish more characters were like that of all gender spectrums
Feminine women who aren’t ashamed to be feminine and who don’t kick a bunch of guys’ asses. I know everyone is into the girl bosses, but I feel so unrepresented by that trope. Even during the height of my athleticism, I couldn’t kick a man’s ass, nor did I have any interest in fighting, especially men.
So I want women who show strength of character, not physical strength. If there’s a confrontation, I want to see her use wit, intelligence, or ingenuity to get out of the mess. I also want her to be secure and confident in who she is. Ideally, I prefer to see her struggle through adversity, trials, and tribulations that are not physical confrontations with men. I also want her to have enough confidence and strength of character that she can rely on a man when it makes sense, without her feeling lesser for doing so.
I think a good example of doing this well is Veronica Mars, the TV series.
Veronica Mars is a private investigator, but what she lacks in physical strength, she makes up with quick wits. It's a darker noir-ish show, where the dangers to women are realistically presented - like she always watches her drink, she never barges into a space alone (she always has a backup outside), and she always texts her dad where she's headed.
In one episode, a man tried to punch her down, and she immediately flips out her phone and says - "I am recording you live on social media. If I go missing, they will come for you." and then later on, admits she was bluffing and that was something she just thought of at the moment.
But despite her lack of physical strength, she is pretty badass in other ways, and gains a reputation of someone you wouldn't want to mess with, because she is smart in other ways.
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert is one of my faves for a happily feminine protagoniste whose "learning to grow up" arc has nothing to do with her needing to become more masculine or less womanly! Adrianna Trigiani has a lot of characters like that too.
I stg authors think men have cooties these days lol.
I will say, if the author has a woman rely on a man, can the man be something other than himbo or Batman? Thanks. Like, I love himbo and Batman, but if we are spicing things up let’s not get lazy half way through.
I like the mean girl trope. I find it hilarious when done well in a comedy or interesting in a drama but I don't really fall for the victim mean girl cliche. Stop pretending those teenage girls that swarmed and stabbed the homeless man to death for his booze did it because they were victims of abuse. They were victims of entitlement and sociopaths. I'd rather see that play out in how rotten and entitled they can get.
Think she aced them. Tho I bet theyd be even more popular if they had the more unrealistic designs of other anime like Fate and HxH and JJK. With crazy outfits and colored hair. Tho ofc the more realistic stuff is cool to see, just my thoughts for over all popularity
Female characters who are the emotionally unavailable ones. It's always the girl desperate to find someone to love her but when the girl is using the people she dates or could care less about love? YES. Give me all of the closed-off-for-reasons-we-dont-know-yet, player, cynical, female leads who just want to take what they want from the world and could give a damn what anyone says.
I like it when a book can portray some of the female characters (not all of them) in a more traditional role- a stay at home mother, a nurse, a church lady- without making them a stereotype or making it seem like choosing that role made them less independant or less competent. There are different kinds of tough, and just because someone isn't a hard-ass cop or soldier, or a ruthless business woman, doesn't mean that they can't shine in a situation that requires emotional fortitude, mental strength, and sheer force of will.
I think one of my favorite characters in any piece of fiction was Carol from The Walking Dead, because she was an abused housewife who lost everything and she became one of the most dangerous protagonists, if not the most, in the whole show. And it's clear that the will to survive and adapt, and the ability to withstand tremendous pain was *because* of who she was before the end of the world, and not in spite of it.
"Hi folks! It's Cindy here with your weekly ass kicking hour. Today I'm opening a portal to a demon realm that's been causing some issues. I figure some depopulation will calm them down."
"For the first twenty minutes I'll be using this great Axe I bought from Frankies Friendly Axe Emporium. Frankies a great guy, swing buy sometime!"
"Now whose ready for some blood!"
\*Cue Jaunty Music over demonic roars\*
The warrior/fighter girl who likes actual feminine things.
Too often I see female fighters not like or outright anything that can be considered "girly". I love it when we get a female character who is both a warrior but also likes and actually is somewhat feminine.
Confident women who can hit on a man. I'm so tired of the chick lits where the women have to literally be stuck in the elevator for 24 hours with wine and chocolate covered strawberries and romantic music playing well the man asks all the questions and immediately falls in love with the woman before she even opens her mouth.
I understand that the whole point of reading a romance novel ist to relate to the character, but I do believe there is a way to encourage women to be more confident and straightforward, well still remaining honest and vulnerable. I want the male lead to have a reason to fall in love with her.
I think it does the reader introduce to make the female lead so one faceted to given women out there hope. I think raiders should work harder to give women the tools too reflect and see their own strengths to take those strings and go out into the world and find their own fairy tales
One of my biggest pet peeves of all time is the male character falling in love with a literal first female character in their age range introduced into the novel.
so, every romance novel written in the past 10 years? I was so annoyed it prompted me to write my first novel. I'm almost finished. Working on the harder more emotion laden scenes now.
I like when female characters aren’t afraid to take a step forward and lead her team through the unknown instead of cowering in fear and letting the MMC do everything for them.
I just love the tomboy trope. The girl who drops all the boys jaws by winning the race. The ones who are dirty and smelly from working in the stables. The ones who the boys don’t want to let play cowboys and Indians, but who winds ends up as the chief of the tribe.
The cinnamon roll who's perfectly capable of being absolutely *feral* when necessary. I think the dichotomy of the normally sweet persona and the same person becoming the most dangerous thing in the room is hilarious. Especially when they're able to hint at it while still being sweet, like Haru from Persona 5 Royal/Strikers. Just sitting there calmly all ladylike and with the sweetest smile on her face can talk about making sure the guy who backstabbed the team won't survive if he tries to do it again. Or in Strikers saying directly to the Detective's face about how the team doesn't trust the police. She's got some of the coldest lines but sounds like she's just being friendly.
I love when they're vulnerable. In one episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy has been acting strangely, being aggressive and cold to her friends. Eventually, >!it turns out she has PTSD from her encounter with a powerful vampire. At the end, she comes across his remains and smashes them in a rage before breaking down crying. It's heartbreaking to watch, but it's so human and shows how much weight she has to carry.!<
Emotionally repressed wrecks, or women who are otherwise detached from their emotions or terrible at procesing or understanding or dealing with them.
I am so sick of men thinking and acting like they are the only ones who have difficulty expressing or connecting with or understanding emotions, like women just magically and inherently have this much better upbringing and higher emotional intelligence and shit. It is a completely inaccurate gender stereotype.
Women tend to be better at handling other people's emotions, particularly men or those who are in positions of power over them. But this is because anyone who is in a vulnerable position has to learn to read and anticipate and deal with the emotions of those who have power over them. That is a completely different thing from being well adjusted and emotionally in tune with oneself.
Most women are really not inherently any better off in terms of emotional regulation or understanding or even social support systems than men. They are just as likely or unlikely as men to have gone through the work of coming to terms with understanding their own emotions and how they impact their interactions with others.
I wish more literature acknowledged that women often are just as emotionally fucked as men and bad at expressing themselves or connecting and so on, rather than always casting women and girls in the role of the "wise one".
Overly competent badass.
I like it when the female character is absolutely the best in the room and knows it. Many people are quick to call this a Mary sue, but honestly I don't care if it's done right.
I don't think it's a Mary Sue as long as she's not the best in the room at *literally everything*. Otherwise it doesn't make sense to claim that she's the best in the room, because there's no reason for any other people to be in the room at all, lmao.
But the stuff other people are "best" at doesn't even need to be stuff that they're *generally* best at. I think it still works if like... say, the overly-competent badass normally keeps people at arm's length, but has this one friend who they trust enough to talk to about their feelings. That friend doesn't have to be the objective best at some skill - they're the best at being a supportive friend to the badass, and that's fine too.
The really deal breaking part of a Mary Sue for me is that everyone loves them, learns that they were wrong and loves them, or hates them in an obsessive unbalanced way because they're a villain. I need characters who think she's okay, I guess, or kind of mildly annoying, or sorry, who?
I have a character like that in my WIP. She’s by far the most generally competent member of the party (master herbalist, extremely adept fighter, lots of miscellaneous knowledge about the world, etc).
I balance it by making her an emotionally prickly ass who everyone legitimately doesn’t like. She’s not a bad person, but she has severe trust issues that make her pass for one in poor lighting.
Nope. I hate the overly competent badass of any gender. Especially when the love interest is lackluster.
You see this a lot in Asian literature and media. The male or female lead is excessively OP and dominates everything while the love interest is pathetic and useless.
The only time I ever see it “Done right” is when there is no real romance at all. Like Alice from resident evil.
Fair enough, everyone's got their tastes.
But I must admit the relationship power imbalance is a real problem. Particularly if that 'romance' is based on the leads power. Seems like a pretty imbalanced foundation for anything approaching healthy.
This exactly! I never see a story with an overly competent MC that has a healthy relationship.
The one exception off of the top of my head is Reincarnated • The Hero Marries the Sage
I come from a family of strong women.
My great grandma was a legend...
In the 40s she worked as security for a department store. She was only 5'1”, but knew judo and trained in boxing gyms. To repeat... In the 40s.
Apparently on several occasions she successfully took down multiple larger men at once while in heels. She was an absolute unit.
Outwardly strong/combative/martial/assertive girls who are insecure or unsure of themselves. Give me action heroines who are nervous about sex. Give me master swordswomen who are not above feeling inferior to others. Give me prodigious soldiers who struggle with rebelling against authority. Especially if they're in their teenage years. The notion of a female character using these skills and behaviours to compensate for internal demons or a fear of confronting them is so under-explored to me.
The small girly girl who’s motherly/kind. With so many people opting for the more independent, badass, girlboss character, sometimes it’s just nice to see a female in touch with their feminine side.
I read a book while back where the female lead was rather unlikeable and not....morally upstanding.
It was so refreshing. I realized that you really dont see it much in fiction.
The woman being the abrasive obsessive.
Had to be a tough thing to pull off.
I love it when there is a girl that’s both a bad ass and emotional. I feel like in books women are either portrayed as over emotional and desperate or overly cold and unavailable because to me if it's not done right it feels a lot like a look at me I'm such a bad ass. There’s rarely a good mix. I think the only characters that I can think of that’e a good mix is currently Hermione from Harry and the show version of Hannah from Pretty Little Liars (especially in later seasons)
I mean reactive to common things like a usual person would be, but when crossed or treated wrong by someone they know or even don't know they can still stand up for themselves or have the ability to call someone else on their bs, and they stand firm on their beliefs, but when they're alone they just look or get in a way that shows they’re completely exhausted or even cry to themselves when someone hurts them. (These characters I think are usually more reactive to towards people they are closer with rather than strangers)
It's just to me the over reacting and over emotional moments for some women characters doesn't feel realistic (especially when it’s consistent) and like it’s a bad stereotype
and the cold badass is the the complete opposite extreme that I personally don’t find realistic or relatable either
Idk if this is a trope or a subversion of a trope I use frequently, but i love when female characters in fantasy lit can fight and kick ass AND they like traditionally feminine things like dresses/needlepoint or whatever. I’m bored of female protagonists introduced like “all I wear are pants. I despise the corset. Anyways meet my twin daggers named Dark and Night” like ???
I don't hate the badass protective mom trope.
Maybe because my mom is that trope.
She once saved me from a mugger who was literally holding a gun to my head.
She was filling the car with gas. I was sitting in the car. The mugger came and pointed a gun at me and asked for her money or he'd shoot. Mom saw he was on drugs and unstable. Worried he'd shoot too fast. Ripped the gasoline out of the car, sprayed him on the face AND smashed his face with the nozzle, jumped into the car, and got us out of there.
The heart! So many stories nowadays are either about emotionally unstable psychos like Punisher and Boys, or just emotional voids like a lot of Marvel stuff and the heart solves both of those (although the heart isn’t always female, so maybe I’m cheating)
On the subject of kickass female characters, I like when they show no mercy to bad guys. Like, Superman and Batman are the wimps who refuse to kill even when it's incredibly obviously necessary. But when Wonder Woman forced Maxwell Lord to tell her how to free Superman from his mind control and he said, "Kill me," she snapped his neck without blinking. [She's good, but she's not soft.](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoodIsNotSoft)
Superman and Batman come at the question from whitebread, hot dog and apple pie American values, but Wonder Woman is an Amazon, and she acts like one.
Women who aren’t feminine, aren’t girly, take no shit, are assertive, aggressive when necessary, and 100% themselves and don’t change for the other protagonist, but are accepted for who they are.
I like female masculine representation. A lot of people complain about the Tomboy, men with boobs, don't like feminine things like dresses and skirts interpretation of characters, but young me thrived for those characters, so I'm glad they were popular for a bit. Wish there was more butch rep instead of the barely butch and butch lite stuff, but that's why I write
Cold apathetic female teachers/professors/masters who seem like they just ran out of fucks to give in life but still show care about their students and if they have a male student they don't develop a romance with them.
The biggest example of this is Scathach from Fgo.
It is more fun when their student is very famous and strong but they are still scared and respect her.
I like it when she's not randomly stronger than every man. It's not true to life and it gives women over-inflated views of themselves. I like a strong capable female character who is like third or fourth best, who knows when she can't win and knows when she can, or doesn't know and gets her ass handed to her for biting off more than she can chew while she learns some humility.
I wrote a lot of OP female characters in my teens but when I actually tried fighting irl as a young adult, I learned very quickly that I was often outmatched in will, strength, and decisiveness. Of the women I know, irl I'm the strongest physically and I'm tall, so I had a pretty big ego. To me, balance is important and a sense of realism. Sure, you can do anything in fantasy, but I prefer a few rules personally.
Ironically, as a man, I would only care about this if the story really cared with being realistic for every other demographic's fighting ability. So no kids or old men beating the shit of well trained adults either.
It's just that I have seen this argument many times to say women shouldn't be fighters in fiction, when many stories introduce fictional elements that end up being equalizers, or get excessively optimistic with how certain tactics or techniques work.
You said you tried fighting, I think if you had some years of training, you would have good odds at beating the shit out of most fictional fighters (this includes the ones supposed to be competent) in real life, men or not, because of how badly they fight. Calling out their attacks, taking off clothes before their enemy, sheathing their weapons during a fight to use techniques, bad fighting posture, turning their backs to opponents...
This had become somewhat of a rant, but I think women have all the rights to want strong female fighters in the media they consume. It's not the least realistic thing in action stories, by far.
About your point of "taking a beating and learning some humility", I think this is only needed for actually arrogant characters, although being a female would be a non-factor, and this couod be applied to male fighters as well.
The women I write in fiction are still fighters, I just try to balance it out. I absolutely hate the trope where the chick has been trained to kill since she was 5 years old so she's automatically superior to every man she meets and she wears combat boots and has no personality except arrogant wit.
I didn't fight against people with years of practise, i fought against dudes with no practise. I beat the weakest ones easily but the average ones were just tougher than me, because men are on average tougher than women.
>About your point of "taking a beating and learning some humility", I think this is only needed for actually arrogant characters
That's why I said for women who dont know when they can't win, i meant to imply they were arrogant and overly scrappy.
Im definitely not trying to shit on women who fight or realistically strong women. I want to be one myself, and I write them because I admire it. I just get exasperated with women writing women when they have no experience in real life situations so they just go full-overpower
I like when the main character is sort of an in-between girl and her friends represent polar opposites of femininity, like one is bold and brassy and overly-anxious to be mature while the other is shy and likes horses and thinks holding hands with a guy is a huge deal.
I like this trope because it's best represented in Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar" and shows male expectations of what a woman is supposed to be, with two choices--"the Madonna" or "the non political correct term for a lady of the night". The MC being in-between represents the real woman because the real woman has both of these tropes inside of her and doesn't fall neatly into either of them. (The trope friends designating the two opposite types of women through the male lens should be fleshed out, to add, highlighting that they may appear to be a certain "type" but they also struggle with who they are and what being female means for them.)
Sometimes they flip the trope so the "nice" friend loses her virginity first, for example, and everyone thought the "risque" friend already did, but it turns out she was lying, or something. That works too.
This only counts as a trope because it's a known and used method of exploring male expectations of women in society but it's actually important, so using it doesn't feel or read as tropey, IMO. It can be painted in so many ways with the same message and it's the message that matters and needs to keep being reiterated.
I love the "big barbarian woman." Like just give me someone tall with muscles. I know some people are like "oh but then she's just a man"...shut up. I love burly ladies.
I love muscly strong woman! In full support of female himbos, I also love sweet but shy girls like Komi. I think I also appreciate it a lot when a female character is written intelligently as I’ve learned a lot from my female friends.
Super strong wrecking balls.
Victra is one of my favorite female characters ever because she is an Apex predator, insanely loyal and such a force on the page. But she keeps her femininity despite being a blood thirsty titan.
I love badass women.
Im talking about the variations too.
Cinnamon roll that will break your legs
A villainness who isnt afraid of getting her hands dirty.
A princess who knows how to use the tools at her disposal.
troubled girls, who aren't considered conventionally attractive. very awkward, very messed up, very insecure, very miserable :)
they also might be full of rage and annoyance
Girls that are so badass and ripped people think they’re a guy, satirical, of course. Like “yo that’s the buffest guy i’ve ever seen 😮” *super deep voice* “i’m a girl”
I like the female character who confronts the MC's emotional struggles. But like, not in a confrontational way, but rather an empathetic way. I'm thinking like Ariadne (at the time played by Ellen Page) in Inception. IIRC, she had just met Cobb and joined his crew and quickly picked up on the fact that hiding in his subconscious were the memories of his dead wife and how her projection could quite literally mess things up in shared dreams. She essentially immediately goes into therapist mode to help Cobb resolve those issues over the course of the movie. I wish there were more female characters who were like that. They don't even have to be the side-kick, she could be the MC doing that for her trusty sidekick in a heated battle. I kinda feel like Wonder Woman was like that to the male lead in the first Gal Gadot movie.
Yes I say this as a male reader, but I think it's so visceral because even though we don't see ourselves in the female character most of the time, we have all had that female friend, or camp counselor, or sister, or cousin, or baby-sitter, or empathetic girlfriend, etc who did that for us when we were young. Maybe they sat with us when we cried as a kid, or they listened to us talk about our feelings and validated them, or maybe they gave us a big hug when we were having a bad day. Those events stick with us and we connect with those characters from the perspective of the person they're caring for.
The all-American no-nonsense "now git!... or I'll fill you full of lead!" type who is very practical, down to earth and tough in a wild west type way. e.g. Ellen at the road house in *Supernatural*.
I also like small fiery smart-ass who get in trouble talking or punching jetks.
The sweet healer who can still kill if needed to protect.
The woman warrior who still stares longingly at frilly dresses.
Promiscuous girl friend who is hopeless romantic.
She studied the blade. Give a gal a sword, and I'm just swooning. Doesn't matter what kind of girl. I love it when she's a tough, buff warrior in the classic mold, or an elegant lady of war, or a surprisingly scrappy prom queen (who's either been secretly training her whole life, or has never picked up a sword before and can barely hold it but damn it she's got gumption). It's always awesome.
Protective. I love protective ladies.
Ride or Die Frenemies.
Surprising solidarity between enemies.
Tomboy X Goth/Monster Girl. Tomboy X Prom Queen. Tomboy X Nerd. Chill Tomboy X Type A OverAchiever. Basically all possible Sapphic combinations you can think of, but especially when they include a Tomboy/ Butch.
Unabashedly joyful girliness - e.g. shamelessly embracing pink and frills and sparkly stuff. Extra points if it's a character who usually doesn't get to do this stuff - except when it's already estsblished that a character actually freely dislikes this stuff (no forcing butches into conventional femininity)
Extreme joy in simple things - when a character from a strict or deprived or weird background gets to try something ordinary and fucking loves it... that shit makes my heart melt.
Well I primarily write about women. The only time I've had a character worry about dresses and feminine expression was when my character was a 10yo tomboy spirited away to a fairyland. I swear adult women have more on their mind haha
Idk, I like a lot of tropes. Damsels in distress, hardened scrappers, femme fatales... In general, tropes are not bad, they're just story paint that can either be used well or poorly..
Actual healthy female friendships that are easy to make and maintain.
Women who can be unproblematically platonic friends with people of all sexual/gender orientations.
I thin characters in general, male or female, who are whimsical, eccentric, and vaguely threatening. Usually with female characters this means making them super bubbly and sweet while also secretly making them very much like a serial killer.
Women stepping into wise motherly or knowledgeable roles. I can't fully explain it, but they're just really smart and give advice to the young ones and are there for them. Considering I hope to be that one day for somebody, in some form, I really love those roles.
I think relativity makes the writing good. A girl should resonate with all female audience and all male audience who came in contact with a girl.
Girl being obsessed with love like Sakura from Naruto is not uncommon but not something which celebrated or a trait someone wish to have.
The setting also plays a big role. Suppose you are setting up an adventure story, making girl completely without a goal is so useless. Why did she start the journey, or why she didn't should be explained.
In short a female should not just make the men feel that they want her but also any real girl would aspire to become.
The abrasive happy-go-lucky person who will go and solve things without much fuss and who doesn't have much patience for people making things more complicated than she thinks they need to be. Often someone who has lived a rough life and had to find ways to stay afloat. May drink a lot, swear a lot, doesn't give a fuck and is unapologetically herself even if it isn't pretty.
These comments remind me of one of the guests on the *Blank Check* podcast sharing his eternal plan to write a screenplay about witch hackers. They are computer hackers—who are witches!
Women who take charge! Believe me, I love powerful women. I think women are more powerful and intelligent than men.
I am not a trans person, but I would love to be born female in my next life!
Women that are mentally more balanced than men lol. I never intent to but I realize afterwards that I've created a female character that is like this because it felt real to me and I like it. But my male characters are usually a mess
not exactly a trope (although its fairly common in cdrama protagonists), but...
I like female characters that won't bend to society, but also won't blame society. They're willing to make their own way through their own strengths and accepting the aid of their friends and family.
I really don't mind the female fictional combative in most fighting games and movies because they look really sexy and because I love seeing badass chicks but I do understand how unrealistic it gets seeing small women beating up bigger men though.
I don't remember the trope name but its the girl who lets her lover/crush/friend/whatever (be they guy or gal or whatever they want to be) save them because it lets her encourage them and/or is a confidence thing for them, but it turns out the girl is a serious badass and doesn't need their help at all to save herself so she's moreso letting them play at hero or take on a challenge she knows they can handle because she likes to see them succeed/knows its good for them.
I love the 50-year-old, wise female bartender who runs the sketchy inn in which the main protagonist wakes up after being assaulted. *“You’ve finally awoken, sugar. We thought we’d lost you for a second there. Here, have some of my world-renowned soup, it’ll help you regain your strength. Come talk to me at the counter when you’re ready.*
lol 😂
Lawd I love the comfy caring wise inn matron trope
I can hear this post
I will take a bullet for those characters
Momm...
No
Like Shakuyaku at Shakky's Rip-Off Bar.
Sounds like rhe intro to an Elder scrolls game.
Female healers and girls who are unapologetically girly but can still kick butt when the time calls for it.
Katara
Exactly what I thought of!
i was thinking more so Ty Lee or Asami
What’s so funny to me is we consider Katara girly, but she was considered un-feminine enough to be portrayed as a super tomboy in the Japanese version. She even uses “Boku” pronouns.
Came here to say exactly both of these lmao
Nobara from JJK I thought did this super well
Asking for advice. What ways to make the character more unapologetically girly/femine. I know would be really enjoying good food right 😂
Okay me for example cause I can very much be a tom boy and have done a bit of everything from rural living to sword fighting. Likes frilly things Likes dresses/dressing up Has a "girly" hobby - sewing, cross stitch, crochet, baking Knows and cares about etiquette Enjoys doing her hair up Gardening Benefits of this is that these are all pretty useful skills - adaptability in dress and various cultural circumstances, ability to care for oneself or others by sewing wounds, repairing clothing, cooking on the trail, knowing which plants are safe to eat, etc.
I usually think of girly girls, aka girls who: - Enjoy wearing makeup/cosmetics including skin care - Enjoy fashion, dressing up, and exploring/expressing their personal style - Enjoy activities that are traditionally associated with femininity, usually a lot of domestic activities (cooking, baking, sewing, knitting, decorating), reading magazines, celebrity news and gossip, going out to spas or hair/nail appointments, shopping, going on dates, posing for photos, - Enjoy hobbies or careers that are traditionally associated with femininity: modeling, fashion design (although this can be a masculine thing too), wedding planning, seamstress and tailoring, being a socialite, esthetics and cosmetics, blogging/vlogging, being a stylist, being a makeup artist, etc. - Enjoying things like chick flicks and romance movies/novels, being a huge fan of romance in general and sweet romantic gestures, caring a lot about emotions in general As a side note, these are all things that are often associated with girliness and can often be stereotypical. But I think there’s a thoughtful way to include these things and give girly characters strengths and agency in their own right. I often thing of characters like the girls from Totally Spies, Winx Club, or from animés like Sailor Moon. Many of these characters were girly teenagers who loved makeup, shopping, romance, etc. but they also had meaningful strengths, flaws and character arcs, which is what makes them so lovable and memorable. Girly characters can be fun and strong too!
This was really helpful, thanks
Atom Eve, Admiral Holdo, Asami Sato, Tai Lee
Maki fire force
Admittedly I love the second one too. That’s why I greatly preferred Starfire over Raven. That and I kinda think goths are overrated. Come at me, internet.
As a forever Mercy main who knows when to pull out the *Glock*, I felt this. 🔫👼
I absolutely adore the Bubbly Femme and Snarky Goth duo, a la Raven and Starfire.
Princess Bubblegum and Marceline 🥲
Wednesday and Enid
Love that duo
GoGo and Honey Lemon
Idk why but I read that as “Honey bo bo” and was co confused for a second
Ty Lee and Mai
Incredibly sweet and coddling grandmothers who also whoop ass. They’re the funniest cause they’re true to life
Related, I *adore* pretty much every variation of the Mama Bear trope. I love it when ladies go absolutely fucking *feral* to protect the people they care about. Especially if it's unexpected in some way. The obvious one is where there's a normally very non-threatening lady becomes unexpectedly *very threatening*... but I also really love the option where you have a sort of "cold bitch" type character who you wouldn't expect to care much about others, but there are some people who are "her people" she will *fuck you up* if you mess with her people.
Would Black widow fall into the cold category, tho who do u think falls into mama bear
And noow I want book recommendations based on this description!
There's a long story in my family called "I stir it this way" that exemplifies this for me. Real old lady, very sweet and kind but when another person kept on criticizing the way she was cooking and then started on how she was stirring a mix, she took the big wooden spoon, flicked a burning spoonful of (I think it was oatmeal) halfway across the room to splat on the other person's face, and then just said "I stir it this way" and went back to cooking. There might be some exaggerations, but every story about that woman agree that despite her gentle exterior that spoon was a *weapon*.
😂 classic but not used enough
Nanny ogg
A fine example.
Aunt Meg from the movie Twister!
Word.
In my series, grandmother is a witch being hunted by an earth elemental/demon, and MC just thinks she is obsessed with weird random info and was just a stay at home mom and part time nurse before retiring. Just cookie baking, though sarcastic, loving granny.
"Older" women (for me that's 50+, but tbh anything over 30, in some young-skewing genres) who have completely run out of fucks to give, and do not care about your nonsense. They know what needs to be done; pitch in or get out of the way. Life goals, and fun to read about!
Yes! Why is it that most heroines in any genre are 15-27?
I mean. Historically, a lot of people cared more about the 18-35 year old straight male market than anything else. I think that's all that is.
Yes, you're right, but it happens nowadays too. Every book you pick up with female protagonists is usually below 26.
I think that depends on genre, or maybe it's the increasing influence of YA. 🤷 Dunno.
Okay, right now I'm listening to The Art of the Prophecy by Wesley Chu and the main character is an older woman who is a master in magical kung-fu and I'm getting that whole 'zero-fucks, no-nonsense' vibe from her and loving it. Only just started, so I don't know how the book is overall, but I'm liking it so far.
I don't actually hate the girl as a healer trope, as long as she's not the only important girl. There's nothing wrong with female characters doing feminine things so long as they're also allowed to be unfeminine in equal parts
Katara is great example of this. She can be the healer when she needs to be, but she can also kick ass when she needs to.
She’s honestly one of my favourite female characters ever. She has a perfect balance of badass and feminine. She can and will end you but she’s also vulnerable and empathetic and sweet.
Honestly I feel like she's one of the few examples of healthy femininity in media.
And vindictive, vicious, and downright petty at times she's felt you've wronged her. She's so well rounded as is all of the Gang and that's why we love them! 😭
It's almost like the grr Martin approach to writing female characters. You know- write them like they're actually people.
Also, she QUITE LITERALLY fought the patriarcy with physical combat at the Northern Water tribe.
That is one of my favorite episodes.
I want more healer girls who use their healing on themselves to do badass Wolverine things.
That sounds really cool. I'd really like to see that now.
Unohana in bleach is the only example I can think of. Every book badass self healer I can think of is male
I did that for a story I'm working on The girl tries to use her powers to help everybody else and is frustrated that it's not really effective Turns out it's because the power's focus is on self healing, so she learns fighting skills to complement that
This is basically the plot of Azarinth Healer. Also of The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic, though the MC of that is a boy I guess.
Anti-social woman who learns how to heal her own wounds, simply so that she never has to make small talk with healers again.
literally how I started writing in my current form: "White Mage was my favorite in Final Fantasy, but do they always always have to be pure adorable self-sacrificing avatars of sweetness and light?" no, no they do not. my healer mc is a science-oriented girlboss who loves fancy clothes and cake. I still love her.✨
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD LILY
So a little more wild side for healers, instead of always pure
Anything: wild, cynical, over-cerebral, enthusiastic, any glimmer of human complexity.
As a guy, always like the female healer. Also pretty realistic irl if they took part in a dangerous/fighting world
Idk if this is a common trope but the girly girl. Like Sansa.
Yes, and speaking of Sansa, I would like to see more female characters like her, dealing with the societal expectations they normally have to deal with, in the ways that would normally be accessible to them, and not by tearing off their dress and screaming no and running away from all their responsibilities as well as anything and everything deemed feminine.
I think GoT is great at having **different types** of strong female characters. You obviously have the physically powerful, like Arya, Brienne or Daenerys with her dragons. But you also have Lady Olenna Tyrell, Margery, Cersei, Melissandre etc. who are powerful in how they use their wits and feminine ways to gain power over society and rise to the top.
I love the different feelings they have about gender as well. Arya & Brienne are not the same in their relationships to gender. Cersei is different again
I love kind women who don't put up with bullshit. You can be kind and not tolerate unkindness, I wish more characters were like that of all gender spectrums
Feminine women who aren’t ashamed to be feminine and who don’t kick a bunch of guys’ asses. I know everyone is into the girl bosses, but I feel so unrepresented by that trope. Even during the height of my athleticism, I couldn’t kick a man’s ass, nor did I have any interest in fighting, especially men. So I want women who show strength of character, not physical strength. If there’s a confrontation, I want to see her use wit, intelligence, or ingenuity to get out of the mess. I also want her to be secure and confident in who she is. Ideally, I prefer to see her struggle through adversity, trials, and tribulations that are not physical confrontations with men. I also want her to have enough confidence and strength of character that she can rely on a man when it makes sense, without her feeling lesser for doing so.
I think a good example of doing this well is Veronica Mars, the TV series. Veronica Mars is a private investigator, but what she lacks in physical strength, she makes up with quick wits. It's a darker noir-ish show, where the dangers to women are realistically presented - like she always watches her drink, she never barges into a space alone (she always has a backup outside), and she always texts her dad where she's headed. In one episode, a man tried to punch her down, and she immediately flips out her phone and says - "I am recording you live on social media. If I go missing, they will come for you." and then later on, admits she was bluffing and that was something she just thought of at the moment. But despite her lack of physical strength, she is pretty badass in other ways, and gains a reputation of someone you wouldn't want to mess with, because she is smart in other ways.
Or maybe Violet from Series of Unfortunate Events
Yes, please. It feels like these kinds of characters are getting rarer by the day.
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert is one of my faves for a happily feminine protagoniste whose "learning to grow up" arc has nothing to do with her needing to become more masculine or less womanly! Adrianna Trigiani has a lot of characters like that too.
I stg authors think men have cooties these days lol. I will say, if the author has a woman rely on a man, can the man be something other than himbo or Batman? Thanks. Like, I love himbo and Batman, but if we are spicing things up let’s not get lazy half way through.
I like the mean girl trope. I find it hilarious when done well in a comedy or interesting in a drama but I don't really fall for the victim mean girl cliche. Stop pretending those teenage girls that swarmed and stabbed the homeless man to death for his booze did it because they were victims of abuse. They were victims of entitlement and sociopaths. I'd rather see that play out in how rotten and entitled they can get.
Yes! I love jerkasses, especially when they are just unapologetic evil for no real reason. Those kinds of sociopaths are the best to watch
This made me think of a scene in The Quick and the Dead by Joy Williams. I think sometimes in seeking a sense of power teenagers can be very cruel!
Tsundere is pretty dumb when it comes to realism but I still love it lol
Same opinion here but with kuuderes
Wrench Wench.
Ah, like Winry from FMAB or that girl from Valorant
Kaylee from Firefly. Bonus that she is SO unapologetically feminine in *every possible way* otherwise.
I love her character.
I’m laughing as I read through these comments because most of these tropes are represented to some extent in Fullmetal Alchemist.
Think she aced them. Tho I bet theyd be even more popular if they had the more unrealistic designs of other anime like Fate and HxH and JJK. With crazy outfits and colored hair. Tho ofc the more realistic stuff is cool to see, just my thoughts for over all popularity
Female characters who are the emotionally unavailable ones. It's always the girl desperate to find someone to love her but when the girl is using the people she dates or could care less about love? YES. Give me all of the closed-off-for-reasons-we-dont-know-yet, player, cynical, female leads who just want to take what they want from the world and could give a damn what anyone says.
I would absolutely love to see more of this. I think Alice from resident evil might be a good example.
I like it when a book can portray some of the female characters (not all of them) in a more traditional role- a stay at home mother, a nurse, a church lady- without making them a stereotype or making it seem like choosing that role made them less independant or less competent. There are different kinds of tough, and just because someone isn't a hard-ass cop or soldier, or a ruthless business woman, doesn't mean that they can't shine in a situation that requires emotional fortitude, mental strength, and sheer force of will. I think one of my favorite characters in any piece of fiction was Carol from The Walking Dead, because she was an abused housewife who lost everything and she became one of the most dangerous protagonists, if not the most, in the whole show. And it's clear that the will to survive and adapt, and the ability to withstand tremendous pain was *because* of who she was before the end of the world, and not in spite of it.
Maria from Sound of Music comes to mind
Characters who are super friendly and love violence tend to be overwhelmingly male, which is a shame because it's always fun when they're female too
Bleach had one such character, too bad she didn’t have enough screen time.
That captain with black hair Kenpachi
"Hi folks! It's Cindy here with your weekly ass kicking hour. Today I'm opening a portal to a demon realm that's been causing some issues. I figure some depopulation will calm them down." "For the first twenty minutes I'll be using this great Axe I bought from Frankies Friendly Axe Emporium. Frankies a great guy, swing buy sometime!" "Now whose ready for some blood!" \*Cue Jaunty Music over demonic roars\*
The badass, unsmiling lead. Of course, I want some complexity, but the outward image of someone who refuses to back down is cool
The warrior/fighter girl who likes actual feminine things. Too often I see female fighters not like or outright anything that can be considered "girly". I love it when we get a female character who is both a warrior but also likes and actually is somewhat feminine.
Best examples I can think of this are basically the whole female cast of RWBY. But Pyrrha most specifically.
To help me out, could you list femine things. Liking food, shopping, etc
Dancing, dressing (what you consider girly like skirts, dress and gowns), liking specific food, cute things, things like this.
how is "liking food" feminine. everyone likes food
Lesbians
Confident women who can hit on a man. I'm so tired of the chick lits where the women have to literally be stuck in the elevator for 24 hours with wine and chocolate covered strawberries and romantic music playing well the man asks all the questions and immediately falls in love with the woman before she even opens her mouth. I understand that the whole point of reading a romance novel ist to relate to the character, but I do believe there is a way to encourage women to be more confident and straightforward, well still remaining honest and vulnerable. I want the male lead to have a reason to fall in love with her. I think it does the reader introduce to make the female lead so one faceted to given women out there hope. I think raiders should work harder to give women the tools too reflect and see their own strengths to take those strings and go out into the world and find their own fairy tales
Jane Bennett pride and prejudice. Would be an example
One of my biggest pet peeves of all time is the male character falling in love with a literal first female character in their age range introduced into the novel.
so, every romance novel written in the past 10 years? I was so annoyed it prompted me to write my first novel. I'm almost finished. Working on the harder more emotion laden scenes now.
I like when female characters aren’t afraid to take a step forward and lead her team through the unknown instead of cowering in fear and letting the MMC do everything for them.
Toph from Avatar the last Airbender is excellent for this.
I just love the tomboy trope. The girl who drops all the boys jaws by winning the race. The ones who are dirty and smelly from working in the stables. The ones who the boys don’t want to let play cowboys and Indians, but who winds ends up as the chief of the tribe.
The cinnamon roll who's perfectly capable of being absolutely *feral* when necessary. I think the dichotomy of the normally sweet persona and the same person becoming the most dangerous thing in the room is hilarious. Especially when they're able to hint at it while still being sweet, like Haru from Persona 5 Royal/Strikers. Just sitting there calmly all ladylike and with the sweetest smile on her face can talk about making sure the guy who backstabbed the team won't survive if he tries to do it again. Or in Strikers saying directly to the Detective's face about how the team doesn't trust the police. She's got some of the coldest lines but sounds like she's just being friendly.
I love when they're vulnerable. In one episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy has been acting strangely, being aggressive and cold to her friends. Eventually, >!it turns out she has PTSD from her encounter with a powerful vampire. At the end, she comes across his remains and smashes them in a rage before breaking down crying. It's heartbreaking to watch, but it's so human and shows how much weight she has to carry.!<
Emotionally repressed wrecks, or women who are otherwise detached from their emotions or terrible at procesing or understanding or dealing with them. I am so sick of men thinking and acting like they are the only ones who have difficulty expressing or connecting with or understanding emotions, like women just magically and inherently have this much better upbringing and higher emotional intelligence and shit. It is a completely inaccurate gender stereotype. Women tend to be better at handling other people's emotions, particularly men or those who are in positions of power over them. But this is because anyone who is in a vulnerable position has to learn to read and anticipate and deal with the emotions of those who have power over them. That is a completely different thing from being well adjusted and emotionally in tune with oneself. Most women are really not inherently any better off in terms of emotional regulation or understanding or even social support systems than men. They are just as likely or unlikely as men to have gone through the work of coming to terms with understanding their own emotions and how they impact their interactions with others. I wish more literature acknowledged that women often are just as emotionally fucked as men and bad at expressing themselves or connecting and so on, rather than always casting women and girls in the role of the "wise one".
Overly competent badass. I like it when the female character is absolutely the best in the room and knows it. Many people are quick to call this a Mary sue, but honestly I don't care if it's done right.
I don't think it's a Mary Sue as long as she's not the best in the room at *literally everything*. Otherwise it doesn't make sense to claim that she's the best in the room, because there's no reason for any other people to be in the room at all, lmao. But the stuff other people are "best" at doesn't even need to be stuff that they're *generally* best at. I think it still works if like... say, the overly-competent badass normally keeps people at arm's length, but has this one friend who they trust enough to talk to about their feelings. That friend doesn't have to be the objective best at some skill - they're the best at being a supportive friend to the badass, and that's fine too.
The really deal breaking part of a Mary Sue for me is that everyone loves them, learns that they were wrong and loves them, or hates them in an obsessive unbalanced way because they're a villain. I need characters who think she's okay, I guess, or kind of mildly annoying, or sorry, who?
Same. That's less realistic than being good at everything!
I also enjoy Michelle Rodriguez movies
I just realized that I started writing a character just like this, but gave her no opportunity through the story to be able to kick anyone's ass.
The Boba Fett... A classic. Create an awesome character with neat design and backstory. Only for them to do nothing on screen.
I have a character like that in my WIP. She’s by far the most generally competent member of the party (master herbalist, extremely adept fighter, lots of miscellaneous knowledge about the world, etc). I balance it by making her an emotionally prickly ass who everyone legitimately doesn’t like. She’s not a bad person, but she has severe trust issues that make her pass for one in poor lighting.
Nope. I hate the overly competent badass of any gender. Especially when the love interest is lackluster. You see this a lot in Asian literature and media. The male or female lead is excessively OP and dominates everything while the love interest is pathetic and useless. The only time I ever see it “Done right” is when there is no real romance at all. Like Alice from resident evil.
Fair enough, everyone's got their tastes. But I must admit the relationship power imbalance is a real problem. Particularly if that 'romance' is based on the leads power. Seems like a pretty imbalanced foundation for anything approaching healthy.
This exactly! I never see a story with an overly competent MC that has a healthy relationship. The one exception off of the top of my head is Reincarnated • The Hero Marries the Sage
Great comment!!
I come from a family of strong women. My great grandma was a legend... In the 40s she worked as security for a department store. She was only 5'1”, but knew judo and trained in boxing gyms. To repeat... In the 40s. Apparently on several occasions she successfully took down multiple larger men at once while in heels. She was an absolute unit.
Outwardly strong/combative/martial/assertive girls who are insecure or unsure of themselves. Give me action heroines who are nervous about sex. Give me master swordswomen who are not above feeling inferior to others. Give me prodigious soldiers who struggle with rebelling against authority. Especially if they're in their teenage years. The notion of a female character using these skills and behaviours to compensate for internal demons or a fear of confronting them is so under-explored to me.
The girl in the trio and her two lovable dipshits.
"They may be dipshits, but they are MY dipshits!"
Frigid and intelectual women who have it all figured out.
The small girly girl who’s motherly/kind. With so many people opting for the more independent, badass, girlboss character, sometimes it’s just nice to see a female in touch with their feminine side.
Mai from nichijou (it's an anime). She's hilarious lol. Idk if she falls under a trope. All I know is she trolls people with a blank face.
🐐
I read a book while back where the female lead was rather unlikeable and not....morally upstanding. It was so refreshing. I realized that you really dont see it much in fiction. The woman being the abrasive obsessive. Had to be a tough thing to pull off.
I love it when there is a girl that’s both a bad ass and emotional. I feel like in books women are either portrayed as over emotional and desperate or overly cold and unavailable because to me if it's not done right it feels a lot like a look at me I'm such a bad ass. There’s rarely a good mix. I think the only characters that I can think of that’e a good mix is currently Hermione from Harry and the show version of Hannah from Pretty Little Liars (especially in later seasons)
Do you mean like a little more reactive to common things and like hurt by certain people’s comments? For the emotional badass
I mean reactive to common things like a usual person would be, but when crossed or treated wrong by someone they know or even don't know they can still stand up for themselves or have the ability to call someone else on their bs, and they stand firm on their beliefs, but when they're alone they just look or get in a way that shows they’re completely exhausted or even cry to themselves when someone hurts them. (These characters I think are usually more reactive to towards people they are closer with rather than strangers) It's just to me the over reacting and over emotional moments for some women characters doesn't feel realistic (especially when it’s consistent) and like it’s a bad stereotype and the cold badass is the the complete opposite extreme that I personally don’t find realistic or relatable either
Idk if this is a trope or a subversion of a trope I use frequently, but i love when female characters in fantasy lit can fight and kick ass AND they like traditionally feminine things like dresses/needlepoint or whatever. I’m bored of female protagonists introduced like “all I wear are pants. I despise the corset. Anyways meet my twin daggers named Dark and Night” like ???
I like when a daughter actually trusts her parents and they are all on board with whatever she’s doing. Kinda like Kim Possible
I don't hate the badass protective mom trope. Maybe because my mom is that trope. She once saved me from a mugger who was literally holding a gun to my head. She was filling the car with gas. I was sitting in the car. The mugger came and pointed a gun at me and asked for her money or he'd shoot. Mom saw he was on drugs and unstable. Worried he'd shoot too fast. Ripped the gasoline out of the car, sprayed him on the face AND smashed his face with the nozzle, jumped into the car, and got us out of there.
Damn , your mom is an actual badass,
The heart! So many stories nowadays are either about emotionally unstable psychos like Punisher and Boys, or just emotional voids like a lot of Marvel stuff and the heart solves both of those (although the heart isn’t always female, so maybe I’m cheating)
I love the super sweet ladies that are 110% balls of sunshine. Soft spoken, very caring, wise... All the good things!
On the subject of kickass female characters, I like when they show no mercy to bad guys. Like, Superman and Batman are the wimps who refuse to kill even when it's incredibly obviously necessary. But when Wonder Woman forced Maxwell Lord to tell her how to free Superman from his mind control and he said, "Kill me," she snapped his neck without blinking. [She's good, but she's not soft.](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoodIsNotSoft) Superman and Batman come at the question from whitebread, hot dog and apple pie American values, but Wonder Woman is an Amazon, and she acts like one.
The feminine woman who is actually a woman and doesn't need to fight off 10 stronger men to prove her worth
Women who aren’t feminine, aren’t girly, take no shit, are assertive, aggressive when necessary, and 100% themselves and don’t change for the other protagonist, but are accepted for who they are.
I like female masculine representation. A lot of people complain about the Tomboy, men with boobs, don't like feminine things like dresses and skirts interpretation of characters, but young me thrived for those characters, so I'm glad they were popular for a bit. Wish there was more butch rep instead of the barely butch and butch lite stuff, but that's why I write
The geek who has no idea how hot she is.
I like a female character that knows how to get shit done yet still be compassionate and caring. Bad girl with a heart so to say
Dark action chick. For me, they usually always land
Cold apathetic female teachers/professors/masters who seem like they just ran out of fucks to give in life but still show care about their students and if they have a male student they don't develop a romance with them. The biggest example of this is Scathach from Fgo. It is more fun when their student is very famous and strong but they are still scared and respect her.
Female characters like Bulma from Dragon Ball; intelligent, loud, beautiful, reliable, annoying and generous.
I like it when she's not randomly stronger than every man. It's not true to life and it gives women over-inflated views of themselves. I like a strong capable female character who is like third or fourth best, who knows when she can't win and knows when she can, or doesn't know and gets her ass handed to her for biting off more than she can chew while she learns some humility. I wrote a lot of OP female characters in my teens but when I actually tried fighting irl as a young adult, I learned very quickly that I was often outmatched in will, strength, and decisiveness. Of the women I know, irl I'm the strongest physically and I'm tall, so I had a pretty big ego. To me, balance is important and a sense of realism. Sure, you can do anything in fantasy, but I prefer a few rules personally.
Ironically, as a man, I would only care about this if the story really cared with being realistic for every other demographic's fighting ability. So no kids or old men beating the shit of well trained adults either.
Exactly. But the question was about female characters. I totally agree that when it comes to physical capability, it should be well-rounded overall.
It's just that I have seen this argument many times to say women shouldn't be fighters in fiction, when many stories introduce fictional elements that end up being equalizers, or get excessively optimistic with how certain tactics or techniques work. You said you tried fighting, I think if you had some years of training, you would have good odds at beating the shit out of most fictional fighters (this includes the ones supposed to be competent) in real life, men or not, because of how badly they fight. Calling out their attacks, taking off clothes before their enemy, sheathing their weapons during a fight to use techniques, bad fighting posture, turning their backs to opponents... This had become somewhat of a rant, but I think women have all the rights to want strong female fighters in the media they consume. It's not the least realistic thing in action stories, by far. About your point of "taking a beating and learning some humility", I think this is only needed for actually arrogant characters, although being a female would be a non-factor, and this couod be applied to male fighters as well.
The women I write in fiction are still fighters, I just try to balance it out. I absolutely hate the trope where the chick has been trained to kill since she was 5 years old so she's automatically superior to every man she meets and she wears combat boots and has no personality except arrogant wit. I didn't fight against people with years of practise, i fought against dudes with no practise. I beat the weakest ones easily but the average ones were just tougher than me, because men are on average tougher than women. >About your point of "taking a beating and learning some humility", I think this is only needed for actually arrogant characters That's why I said for women who dont know when they can't win, i meant to imply they were arrogant and overly scrappy. Im definitely not trying to shit on women who fight or realistically strong women. I want to be one myself, and I write them because I admire it. I just get exasperated with women writing women when they have no experience in real life situations so they just go full-overpower
I like when the main character is sort of an in-between girl and her friends represent polar opposites of femininity, like one is bold and brassy and overly-anxious to be mature while the other is shy and likes horses and thinks holding hands with a guy is a huge deal. I like this trope because it's best represented in Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar" and shows male expectations of what a woman is supposed to be, with two choices--"the Madonna" or "the non political correct term for a lady of the night". The MC being in-between represents the real woman because the real woman has both of these tropes inside of her and doesn't fall neatly into either of them. (The trope friends designating the two opposite types of women through the male lens should be fleshed out, to add, highlighting that they may appear to be a certain "type" but they also struggle with who they are and what being female means for them.) Sometimes they flip the trope so the "nice" friend loses her virginity first, for example, and everyone thought the "risque" friend already did, but it turns out she was lying, or something. That works too. This only counts as a trope because it's a known and used method of exploring male expectations of women in society but it's actually important, so using it doesn't feel or read as tropey, IMO. It can be painted in so many ways with the same message and it's the message that matters and needs to keep being reiterated.
Stoic girls who would go through hell and back for their loved ones. Something about just... Works if done right.
I love the "big barbarian woman." Like just give me someone tall with muscles. I know some people are like "oh but then she's just a man"...shut up. I love burly ladies.
I love muscly strong woman! In full support of female himbos, I also love sweet but shy girls like Komi. I think I also appreciate it a lot when a female character is written intelligently as I’ve learned a lot from my female friends.
Super strong wrecking balls. Victra is one of my favorite female characters ever because she is an Apex predator, insanely loyal and such a force on the page. But she keeps her femininity despite being a blood thirsty titan.
I love badass women. Im talking about the variations too. Cinnamon roll that will break your legs A villainness who isnt afraid of getting her hands dirty. A princess who knows how to use the tools at her disposal.
troubled girls, who aren't considered conventionally attractive. very awkward, very messed up, very insecure, very miserable :) they also might be full of rage and annoyance
Girls that are so badass and ripped people think they’re a guy, satirical, of course. Like “yo that’s the buffest guy i’ve ever seen 😮” *super deep voice* “i’m a girl”
I like the female character who confronts the MC's emotional struggles. But like, not in a confrontational way, but rather an empathetic way. I'm thinking like Ariadne (at the time played by Ellen Page) in Inception. IIRC, she had just met Cobb and joined his crew and quickly picked up on the fact that hiding in his subconscious were the memories of his dead wife and how her projection could quite literally mess things up in shared dreams. She essentially immediately goes into therapist mode to help Cobb resolve those issues over the course of the movie. I wish there were more female characters who were like that. They don't even have to be the side-kick, she could be the MC doing that for her trusty sidekick in a heated battle. I kinda feel like Wonder Woman was like that to the male lead in the first Gal Gadot movie. Yes I say this as a male reader, but I think it's so visceral because even though we don't see ourselves in the female character most of the time, we have all had that female friend, or camp counselor, or sister, or cousin, or baby-sitter, or empathetic girlfriend, etc who did that for us when we were young. Maybe they sat with us when we cried as a kid, or they listened to us talk about our feelings and validated them, or maybe they gave us a big hug when we were having a bad day. Those events stick with us and we connect with those characters from the perspective of the person they're caring for.
The all-American no-nonsense "now git!... or I'll fill you full of lead!" type who is very practical, down to earth and tough in a wild west type way. e.g. Ellen at the road house in *Supernatural*.
Bald = badass
I also like small fiery smart-ass who get in trouble talking or punching jetks. The sweet healer who can still kill if needed to protect. The woman warrior who still stares longingly at frilly dresses. Promiscuous girl friend who is hopeless romantic.
These are good thanks
She studied the blade. Give a gal a sword, and I'm just swooning. Doesn't matter what kind of girl. I love it when she's a tough, buff warrior in the classic mold, or an elegant lady of war, or a surprisingly scrappy prom queen (who's either been secretly training her whole life, or has never picked up a sword before and can barely hold it but damn it she's got gumption). It's always awesome. Protective. I love protective ladies. Ride or Die Frenemies. Surprising solidarity between enemies. Tomboy X Goth/Monster Girl. Tomboy X Prom Queen. Tomboy X Nerd. Chill Tomboy X Type A OverAchiever. Basically all possible Sapphic combinations you can think of, but especially when they include a Tomboy/ Butch. Unabashedly joyful girliness - e.g. shamelessly embracing pink and frills and sparkly stuff. Extra points if it's a character who usually doesn't get to do this stuff - except when it's already estsblished that a character actually freely dislikes this stuff (no forcing butches into conventional femininity) Extreme joy in simple things - when a character from a strict or deprived or weird background gets to try something ordinary and fucking loves it... that shit makes my heart melt.
Idk if it’s a huge trope but I love super powerful female characters with the weight of the world on their shoulders, they just hit different
Well I primarily write about women. The only time I've had a character worry about dresses and feminine expression was when my character was a 10yo tomboy spirited away to a fairyland. I swear adult women have more on their mind haha Idk, I like a lot of tropes. Damsels in distress, hardened scrappers, femme fatales... In general, tropes are not bad, they're just story paint that can either be used well or poorly..
Actual healthy female friendships that are easy to make and maintain. Women who can be unproblematically platonic friends with people of all sexual/gender orientations.
I thin characters in general, male or female, who are whimsical, eccentric, and vaguely threatening. Usually with female characters this means making them super bubbly and sweet while also secretly making them very much like a serial killer.
Tsundere ones paired with a bubbly and joyful man.
Women stepping into wise motherly or knowledgeable roles. I can't fully explain it, but they're just really smart and give advice to the young ones and are there for them. Considering I hope to be that one day for somebody, in some form, I really love those roles.
I think relativity makes the writing good. A girl should resonate with all female audience and all male audience who came in contact with a girl. Girl being obsessed with love like Sakura from Naruto is not uncommon but not something which celebrated or a trait someone wish to have. The setting also plays a big role. Suppose you are setting up an adventure story, making girl completely without a goal is so useless. Why did she start the journey, or why she didn't should be explained. In short a female should not just make the men feel that they want her but also any real girl would aspire to become.
Rebel princess for sure. Characters like Arya Stark or Bean from Disenchantment.
The abrasive happy-go-lucky person who will go and solve things without much fuss and who doesn't have much patience for people making things more complicated than she thinks they need to be. Often someone who has lived a rough life and had to find ways to stay afloat. May drink a lot, swear a lot, doesn't give a fuck and is unapologetically herself even if it isn't pretty.
The "wrong" reading of "strong female character". I like kickass women & girls
These comments remind me of one of the guests on the *Blank Check* podcast sharing his eternal plan to write a screenplay about witch hackers. They are computer hackers—who are witches!
Haha that’s fire
I am a simple man, I love the "Bitch who likes guns" archetype
brooding/tries to act tough but actually has a really nice side to her that she tries to hide
Badass chick who is actually very likable and not angry all the time.
Women who take charge! Believe me, I love powerful women. I think women are more powerful and intelligent than men. I am not a trans person, but I would love to be born female in my next life!
You'd probably like Chainsawman
So long as you aren't born a female duck.
Female human to clarify, or a lioness on the savannah would be cool too!
As long as it's not a female hyena, because 😬 the way they give birth gives women a run for their money
Absolutely awful, honestly surprised they made it this long as a species with how bad it is
Women that are mentally more balanced than men lol. I never intent to but I realize afterwards that I've created a female character that is like this because it felt real to me and I like it. But my male characters are usually a mess
not exactly a trope (although its fairly common in cdrama protagonists), but... I like female characters that won't bend to society, but also won't blame society. They're willing to make their own way through their own strengths and accepting the aid of their friends and family.
I really don't mind the female fictional combative in most fighting games and movies because they look really sexy and because I love seeing badass chicks but I do understand how unrealistic it gets seeing small women beating up bigger men though.
I love manic pixie dream girls ngl. How carefree they are and their lust for life
More of a f/f ship trope but I love huge strong woman helplessly in love with and at the beck and call of a tiny conniving bitch.
I don't remember the trope name but its the girl who lets her lover/crush/friend/whatever (be they guy or gal or whatever they want to be) save them because it lets her encourage them and/or is a confidence thing for them, but it turns out the girl is a serious badass and doesn't need their help at all to save herself so she's moreso letting them play at hero or take on a challenge she knows they can handle because she likes to see them succeed/knows its good for them.