Game of Thrones actually has quite the variety of strong women of all sorts!
Oftentimes, the women we refer to as strong are those, that are physically strong. People are in constant demand of this kind of strength in female protagonists and regularly forget, that true strength doesn't need to be muslce.
I myself cannot deny that I too enjoy characters like that - Lady Brienne from Game of Thrones is one of my favourites, not because I want somebody to look up to, but because as someone who works out regularily, prefers physical work over most and who takes grand interest in martial arts, I just can relate best.
But you know, I see all the demands for "strong female characters", especially from girls themselves, but the fact that this only refers to physically strong women is something, I find quite sexist actually.
By demanding strong female characters, when we only mean physically strong, we are actually ... somehow .... saying that women who are not like that, are not interesting or worthwhile and this is about as sexist as it can get. In my quite wide-spread friendgroup I don't know many girls who also engage in martial arts or could survive in the wilderness on their own (let alone to set up a tent) but I would never ever think them to be weak. If anything, I would be ready to fight everyone who would dare to even think something like that.
Isn't feminism about celebrating women as a whole, rather than just celebrating those who are more interested in what society labels as "manly traits"?
...so does Harry Potter
And speaking of which, this also goes hand in hand with the eternal question: what is up with the woman's supporting male?
If a movie has a woman as the capable, "strong" protagonist, most of the times the man at her side somehow is a complete failure. Why. I don't go to the cinema or watch a series to laugh at all the weak men and wish for them to crawl in the dirt; it just really annoys me to be honest. And we are not talking about men who are not able to fight, we are talking about I-ruin-every-quest-because-I-cannot-handle-myself-save-me urgh so painful to watch! Of course, oftentimes it is meant in a "cute", silly way (which doesn't make it much better in my opinion...), but over all, I am noticing a pattern that I don't like.
Right now, it seems like there is an either or situation most of the time, but why not both?
And why not appreciate mentally strong characters equally? Look at Sansa Stark for instance.
No, she doesn't know how to wield a sword unlike her sister Arya but that doesn't make her weak. In fact, I think that especially the character of Sansa shows a lot of developement and strength, mental strength that after all that she has endured, still makes her go on, stay professional and use diplomacy as her tool for survival. She is brave, smart and eloquent and if this is not a strong character, then I don't know who is.
Actually, I see strong females about everywhere.
It is important to get some more ladies on the screen for young girls to look up to or grown girls to fangirl over, but it doesn't always have to be a fierce Merida, it can also be a smart and brave Rapunzel. Diversity, everyone, diversity!
And with this said, the next time you watch a movie, maybe you will mark my words and hesitate, before you label somebody as weak just because their power lies in their wits rather than their muscles.~
Seems like your experiences are quite the opposite of mine. In my family and among friends the word "strong" has always described the character and mental strength of a woman, never her physical attributes. Also, I can't remember any of my female friends ever wishing for a physically strong rolemodel - but then again, I am sure they wouldn't tell me everything about their most intimate wishes :) I for my part think that a strong personality and mental strength are the more desirable attributes anyway, and I am sure that I am not the only one who thinks so.
AntwortenLöschenTaking your two characters from Game of Thrones for example, I agree that Brienne of Tarth is a formidable fighter who towers over most men - but at the end of the day, she is just a servant taking orders from a lady or king. A bit boring. Sansa on the other hand has come a long way from naive innocent teenager to determined and strong-willed lady - it has been a pleasure to watch this character grow, and she has become one of my favourites. And all that without sword or armour (okay she has threatened Petyr last episode, but he had it coming anyway).
And she is not alone, there are so many female characters out there who are a force to be reckoned with. Not sure if their male sidekicks are ALWAYS stupid, and I am not sure if that is even important - they are fictional characters after all, and male protagonists tend to be either total badasses or nerds, there's not much middle ground. What's important is that women are showing that wits and brains can help just as much as a strong biceps.
By the way, if you want a really great female lead with an also great male counterpart, go watch Mad Max Fury Road (don't know if you're into 2 hours of mindless road rage, but at least the main protagonist is a woman :))
I agree mostly. Strong female charakters should not look and act like stronge male charakters. So, being like the male counterpart just with boobs is boring and in my oppinion a bit sexist too.
AntwortenLöschenBut also I don´t like this "in your face-sexy" charakters, meaning both, strong ones or eye candy ones (the latter being also quite boring and sexist too).
So it is a bit difficult to say, what a strong female charakter acutally shoud look and act like. Furiosa from Mad Max is a really good one. Not sexy, not physically too strong not manly (appart maybe for her haircut).
Lucy Lawless as Xena in my oppinion is even though she shows much naked skin also a good charakter (also is Gabriel).
Next ones would be Captain Janeway (Star Trek Voyager), Buffy or Inara and Kaylee from Firefly.
But what about male stong charakters? Superheroes and anti-heros are often quite boring too. I mean, most of them are totally badass, look good, are physically strong and always get the hot chick in the end. This is also quite bad, boring and sexist. Unfortunately this is a topic that get´s forgotten in this kind of discussions.