I should totally be headed to bed right now, but this topic is on my mind and sort of refuses to geroff. I can only hope to dislodge it through writing
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I was thinking of making another companion post in which I list some female characters that I have really bonded with, and whom I see as exceptions to this trend (?), and Roslin would definitely have made the list. She certainly turns out to be steely enough (and I have no problem whatsoever with women who rise to the occasion or are adaptable in a crisis!) but it was totally believable, especially back in the beginning, that Roslin had never been an especially aggressive or power-hungry person and would have been content with a much more modest life. Plus, I loved the way the show permitted Roslin to be visibly nervous and even to giggle or to cry at certain times. Her character didn't seem specifically purposed to shout at you, 'Look! A woman who is not a weenie! (Even if that is all that we know about her!)' like some other characters seem to me to be doing.
It occurred to me today when I was further chewing over this topic (and some of the responses) that my rant was confusing two separate but possibly intertwined issues. One is a too-narrow view of what it means for a woman to be portrayed as 'strong.' The other is my suspicion that ass-kicking is often substituted for genuine character development when writers want an audience to be interested but don't know how to go about writing a complex woman. If they create a woman who is The Tough One in the story, or The Violent One or The Analytical One or The Emotionally Illiterate one, I think sometimes they get confused and think their job is done. Like, 'Look! Look1 She's not a feminine stereotype! That means she's interesting!' But female badass is itself becoming a stereotype and a creative crutch, and none of the above are complete characterizations, regardless of how valid they may be as kernels of inspiration.
I think my post also, to some extent, confuses my personal flaws and weaknesses with my general personality profile - though I see the two as intimately related. I don't know that I require female characters with exactly my laundry list of flaws, but I do miss seeing interesting women of a gentler sort given the opportunity to take on challenges as serious and complicated as the ones they seem to throw at the more naturally gung-ho types.
I've observed that the women I'm almost always drawn to as close friends tend to be on the tough-minded, analytical, emotionally-reserved side, and I'm aware that there are a lot of ways culture rewards me for being more female-stereotype-compliant, heh. So I'm always really glad for the existence of female characters who thwart expectations, because my friends deserve model women who share some of their properties. I guess maybe all I'm saying, then, is that I wish we would make more room for more variety.
Duh. LOL.
(Supporting characters, for example, work just fine for me. I only mentioned POV characters because they *tend* to be better-developed and more exposed to the audience than supporting cast members need be).
Meanwhile, about the necklace: thanks! I'm glad you've found use for it!
And about the attraction issue: I don't seem to get much further on that one, no matter how I try to analyze myself! It's weird, see: I'm definitely at least kind of attracted to a lot of the male characters with whom I also identify. But then I also find it confusing that my strongest feelings of attraction for fictional males tend to be directed toward characters who are more or less the male me, when the men I like in real life almost always have personalities that significantly contrast with (or balance) mine. What does that mean? i kind of want to fall in love with myself but not really? It's a headache and a bad dream rolled into one!
It occurred to me today when I was further chewing over this topic (and some of the responses) that my rant was confusing two separate but possibly intertwined issues. One is a too-narrow view of what it means for a woman to be portrayed as 'strong.' The other is my suspicion that ass-kicking is often substituted for genuine character development when writers want an audience to be interested but don't know how to go about writing a complex woman. If they create a woman who is The Tough One in the story, or The Violent One or The Analytical One or The Emotionally Illiterate one, I think sometimes they get confused and think their job is done. Like, 'Look! Look1 She's not a feminine stereotype! That means she's interesting!' But female badass is itself becoming a stereotype and a creative crutch, and none of the above are complete characterizations, regardless of how valid they may be as kernels of inspiration.
I think my post also, to some extent, confuses my personal flaws and weaknesses with my general personality profile - though I see the two as intimately related. I don't know that I require female characters with exactly my laundry list of flaws, but I do miss seeing interesting women of a gentler sort given the opportunity to take on challenges as serious and complicated as the ones they seem to throw at the more naturally gung-ho types.
I've observed that the women I'm almost always drawn to as close friends tend to be on the tough-minded, analytical, emotionally-reserved side, and I'm aware that there are a lot of ways culture rewards me for being more female-stereotype-compliant, heh. So I'm always really glad for the existence of female characters who thwart expectations, because my friends deserve model women who share some of their properties. I guess maybe all I'm saying, then, is that I wish we would make more room for more variety.
Duh. LOL.
(Supporting characters, for example, work just fine for me. I only mentioned POV characters because they *tend* to be better-developed and more exposed to the audience than supporting cast members need be).
Meanwhile, about the necklace: thanks! I'm glad you've found use for it!
And about the attraction issue: I don't seem to get much further on that one, no matter how I try to analyze myself! It's weird, see: I'm definitely at least kind of attracted to a lot of the male characters with whom I also identify. But then I also find it confusing that my strongest feelings of attraction for fictional males tend to be directed toward characters who are more or less the male me, when the men I like in real life almost always have personalities that significantly contrast with (or balance) mine. What does that mean? i kind of want to fall in love with myself but not really? It's a headache and a bad dream rolled into one!
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