Welcome, all!
It was only yesterday that, over at das_sporking, I expressed my personal wish that someone create a comm in which everyone who was vehemently against characters like Bella Swan and her (almost) counterpart Ana Steele of Fifty Shades of Grey got a chance to discuss, write, and share stories about female characters who are actually really awesome, and not because they pine for horrible men to notice them and discard every other aspect of their lives when said horrible men begin bossing them around.
Before I knew it, gehayi, rebelatnight, and chibi_regalli were encouraging me to head such a comm myself. Well, the mob has spoken and I obey!
On this comm, you are free to discuss any and all Kickass Female Characters from books, movies, TV, and original fiction. A few ground rules before we begin:
-You can post excerpts from your own work, both fanfic and original, if you so choose, but PLEASE remember that both the LJ cut and HTML are your friends! If you forget to use the cut, I will remind you. (Trust me, nothing kills a flist faster than an uncut 5,000 word excerpt.)
-No trolling, and no feeding of trolls. If you suspect troll activity, PM me and I will see to it immediately.
-Please check spelling, grammar and punctuation before posting a story! If you do not have a beta, get one! Better completely coherent than sorry.
-Tag your fic entries! Use your name, your fic rating, the series you're writing for (name of TV show, book series, or Original Fic) and length of the fic in question.
-Use the proper embedding codes for any and all videos.
-Please make your posts about more than just how much you hate a particular author or their FC. We all know what makes us mad about certain female characters, and you are free to say as much, but don't just bash one FC or author over and over again. Tell us what kind of FCs you like and why!
-No flaming or flame wars. EVERYBODY PLAY NICE. I encourage thorough discussions about why one FC who works from home and raises children is just as good as an FC who likes to forge weapons and be a vigilante warrior. But let's keep our minds open. Here are a few reminders about what really constitutes a weak, passive female character:
1. Can't Find Her Own Damn Lips. The FC can barely speak, walk, or think for herself without somebody else doing it for her. And she does not have the excuse of being physically or mentally disabled.
2. Life Without A Man=Meaningless. The FC obsesses night and day over her boyfriend and makes him the center of her entire universe. His word is law. His opinion comes straight from the mouth of God. He practically IS her God! And when he leaves or a Plot Contrivance breaks them up, her world has no meaning and she doesn't see the point of existing anymore. And no "moving on" for her, because that is only for wanton wimmens who don't know the REAL meaning of love!
3. Boyfriend Knows Best. The FC lets everybody else make decisions for her. She submits her will entirely to what her Man wants her to do--what she wears, what she eats, when she sleeps, when/how they have sex is all up to him, because He Knows Best. She turns down life-changing opportunities because he disapproves of her having a life outside of him, and she adopts all his philosophies and opinions as her own, no matter how archaic they are or how they restrict her.
4. You're Fit But You Don't Know It. The FC's sense of self-esteem is so low that you have to dig for it, if it even exists at all. She self-deprecates all day long and thinks she's the ugliest toad ever, with absolutely nothing remarkable about her except her INEXPLICABLE ability to attract all kinds of men for whom she feels nothing. What causes men to be so drawn to her? She doesn't know she's beautiful, of course! And this lack of self-knowledge makes her appear delicate and pure to men. But she NEVER figures it out for herself--no, no, only Her True Love telling her she's beautiful will make her believe it!
Basically, I want everyone on here to have a good time and talk freely about what kind of female characters they like, love, and wish to see more of in every medium possible. We all know that weak, fragile women who depend solely on awful men are being put up on pedestals all the time. And it's important that we remind ourselves, each other and our readers that our Female Characters will Not Be Having With This.
Have fun!
Before I knew it, gehayi, rebelatnight, and chibi_regalli were encouraging me to head such a comm myself. Well, the mob has spoken and I obey!
On this comm, you are free to discuss any and all Kickass Female Characters from books, movies, TV, and original fiction. A few ground rules before we begin:
-You can post excerpts from your own work, both fanfic and original, if you so choose, but PLEASE remember that both the LJ cut and HTML are your friends! If you forget to use the cut, I will remind you. (Trust me, nothing kills a flist faster than an uncut 5,000 word excerpt.)
-No trolling, and no feeding of trolls. If you suspect troll activity, PM me and I will see to it immediately.
-Please check spelling, grammar and punctuation before posting a story! If you do not have a beta, get one! Better completely coherent than sorry.
-Tag your fic entries! Use your name, your fic rating, the series you're writing for (name of TV show, book series, or Original Fic) and length of the fic in question.
-Use the proper embedding codes for any and all videos.
-Please make your posts about more than just how much you hate a particular author or their FC. We all know what makes us mad about certain female characters, and you are free to say as much, but don't just bash one FC or author over and over again. Tell us what kind of FCs you like and why!
-No flaming or flame wars. EVERYBODY PLAY NICE. I encourage thorough discussions about why one FC who works from home and raises children is just as good as an FC who likes to forge weapons and be a vigilante warrior. But let's keep our minds open. Here are a few reminders about what really constitutes a weak, passive female character:
1. Can't Find Her Own Damn Lips. The FC can barely speak, walk, or think for herself without somebody else doing it for her. And she does not have the excuse of being physically or mentally disabled.
2. Life Without A Man=Meaningless. The FC obsesses night and day over her boyfriend and makes him the center of her entire universe. His word is law. His opinion comes straight from the mouth of God. He practically IS her God! And when he leaves or a Plot Contrivance breaks them up, her world has no meaning and she doesn't see the point of existing anymore. And no "moving on" for her, because that is only for wanton wimmens who don't know the REAL meaning of love!
3. Boyfriend Knows Best. The FC lets everybody else make decisions for her. She submits her will entirely to what her Man wants her to do--what she wears, what she eats, when she sleeps, when/how they have sex is all up to him, because He Knows Best. She turns down life-changing opportunities because he disapproves of her having a life outside of him, and she adopts all his philosophies and opinions as her own, no matter how archaic they are or how they restrict her.
4. You're Fit But You Don't Know It. The FC's sense of self-esteem is so low that you have to dig for it, if it even exists at all. She self-deprecates all day long and thinks she's the ugliest toad ever, with absolutely nothing remarkable about her except her INEXPLICABLE ability to attract all kinds of men for whom she feels nothing. What causes men to be so drawn to her? She doesn't know she's beautiful, of course! And this lack of self-knowledge makes her appear delicate and pure to men. But she NEVER figures it out for herself--no, no, only Her True Love telling her she's beautiful will make her believe it!
Basically, I want everyone on here to have a good time and talk freely about what kind of female characters they like, love, and wish to see more of in every medium possible. We all know that weak, fragile women who depend solely on awful men are being put up on pedestals all the time. And it's important that we remind ourselves, each other and our readers that our Female Characters will Not Be Having With This.
Have fun!