Something that's been bugging me for awhile...
So, a few years ago now I was having a conversation with a friend about women in anime, and he pointed me to Nausicaa (of Nausicaa of the Valley of Four Winds fame) as a good example of a feminist heroine because according to him, she actually felt like a real woman and not just a stereotype or a man in a woman's body.
Now, I'm not about to deny that Nausicaa is a good feminist heroine, but to me that kind of attitude misses the point of feminism because it implies that all men and women inherently act in certain ways, and that if a female character doesn't have enough "womanly" qualities she automatically fails to be a good female character because she doesn't count as a woman, just as a macho man in a woman's body.
What troubles me more is that this attitude is common. I've run across internet commentators who have tried to argue that Revy from "Black Lagoon" fails to be a worthwhile female character because she acts too much like a man to be believable (I, for one, have no problem believing a woman like Revy could exist--at least no more than with anything else in "Black Lagoon"). It just seems like another way of excluding women from discourse about feminism in fantasy, in much the same way as some people seem to think a woman can't be too sexy or cute and still be a good feminist character.
Now, I'm not about to deny that Nausicaa is a good feminist heroine, but to me that kind of attitude misses the point of feminism because it implies that all men and women inherently act in certain ways, and that if a female character doesn't have enough "womanly" qualities she automatically fails to be a good female character because she doesn't count as a woman, just as a macho man in a woman's body.
What troubles me more is that this attitude is common. I've run across internet commentators who have tried to argue that Revy from "Black Lagoon" fails to be a worthwhile female character because she acts too much like a man to be believable (I, for one, have no problem believing a woman like Revy could exist--at least no more than with anything else in "Black Lagoon"). It just seems like another way of excluding women from discourse about feminism in fantasy, in much the same way as some people seem to think a woman can't be too sexy or cute and still be a good feminist character.