#Thank you Professor Archery for the opportunity for contemplation.

[thebiballerina]

This is so fascinating! The part about body types in particular got me thinking: Are there other types of female fighters which are disproportionately depicted due to media's attachment to a single body type ideal for women?

Here are a few I could think of that might fit the bill:

The woman as a mystical/magical/powered fighter while the mundane warriors in the same setting tend to be men.

The woman as an agility/flexibility-focused fighter. This can be a few different martial arts, and tends especially towards dance- and gymnastics-influenced fighting styles.

The woman as a thief, spy, assassin, grifter, or otherwise covert operative who relies on stealth rather than the direct approach. This character may have some head-on fighting skills to get out of sticky situations, but often relies on the element of surprise and concealed weapons that will quickly incapacitate an opponent, like a disguised taser or poison injectors.

I'd like to point out that all three of these archetypes also provide opportunities for characters to be depicted in stereotypically feminine and/or sexualized outfits.

For the magical fighter, impractical outfits seem less ridiculous, because the character isn't primarily relying on a range of motion or close-quarters combat.

For the agility/flexibility-focused fighter, female characters tend to be depicted in tight clothing, particularly in visual media which enables their gratuitous views of their bodies in action. I would like to point out that this isn't entirely true to life; while loose or heavy clothing can be an impediment for a fighting style like this, the type of tight clothing which emphasizes one's assets is not quite the same type of tight clothing with a good range of motion. In particular, if you're wearing any bra other than a sports bra, this is one of the worst fighting styles to engage in. Also, you don't necessarily want a lack of armor/protection so much as lightweight armor/protection in this scenario, since you are still fighting in close quarters, and performing high-impact movements as well.

The covert operative also has appeal for people wanting certain types of outfits: someone on a stealth infiltration-focused job might be depicted in similar tight outfits as described for the agility/flexibility-focused fighter, while an undercover-style job can often call for stereotypically feminine clothing. The latter depiction actually does make quite a bit of sense, since the character's success depends on their appearance and how others perceive them, so drawing attention with more practical clothing could be more trouble than it is worth. (However, I would like to point out that there are many ways to optimize or alter a stereotypically feminine outfit so it doesn't draw undue attention, but still enables easier movement. That's a separate post, though, and I can't give away all my secrets or people are going to be afraid to allow me into formal events again.)

"Why are there so many female archers in fiction?"

Please forgive the clickbait-y title! This is a super complex and interesting topic that I barely scratch the surface of here, but I hopefully will be able to do more justice to things like this in the future!

Also, it's not the point of the video, but I had fun with the outfits in this- do you have any faves?

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