#women in fiction

[msunitedstatesjames]

You know, I gotta say, nobody has ever done the immortal boyfriend with a mortal girlfriend trope better than the Emily Wilde books. Their relationship isn't some edgy, drama filled sex romp where everyone is unbelievably hot and cool. (Not to hate on those stories if that's your thing, to each their own.) They're literally two people who respect each other for their respective abilities and personalities. Emily is a devoted academic with little interest in anything but her area of study (which sort of happens to include Wendell). Wendell, despite being an exiled prince of Faerie, is just a lazy, slightly ridiculous dude who likes nothing better than being cozy and following his girlfriend around while she does research. He also happens to be insanely talented with a sword and with magic, but somehow that never makes him seem like a badass, just even more ridiculous.

And though the Fae in this book are often described as sort of unearthly beautiful, it's really never meant to be sexy. They're beautiful by and large in a cold and terrifying way. Like, they might drag you around partying for a while, but then they slit your throat and hang you from a tree with no warning at all, and your friends and loved ones never know what happened to you. And the story does address this as a legitimate concern in terms of Wendell's and Emily's relationship. It's totally possible that he could some day become a mad King of Faerie, and her friends try to warn her repeatedly. Wendell is aware of their warnings, and in some stories the love interest would storm about in anger and disbelief that anyone could doubt him or he would laugh it off, but Wendell being Wendell, he's pleased that her friends care enough about her to voice their concerns and he acknowledges that this is a real threat. In the end, he knows Emily is a genius, and he trusts her to stop him from tumbling headlong into disaster, as she's done time and time again. And Emily does consider these concerns as well. But if Emily is anything, she's confident in her knowledge and abilities. She doesn't refuse to believe that her beloved is incapable of being like other Fae, quite the opposite, she acknowledges his occasional strange, uncanny otherness multiple times and the fact that he could go mad. She does everything in her power to keep this from happening, and we have every reason to believe that this will continue to be the case.

Then there's the age old issue of human/immortal age gaps that so many similar books face. Emily Wilde books side step this issue nicely by making Wendell very similar in age to Emily. He's not some 500 year old dude hitting on a 30 year old, he's a teenager when he's driven out of Faerie, and he ultimately comes of age in the human world at about the same time as Emily. This takes away the kind of creepy aspect of someone hooking up with someone young enough to be their great-great-grandaughter, and it gives a nice excuse for Wendell to be less cruel and mad than other Faerie monarchs as well.

And even though I keep saying these books don't make the Fae sexy, that's not to say the books are sterile and chaste. Emily and Wendell do eventually have a sexual relationship, but it comes along very naturally, from people who start out as coworkers and academic rivals and grow to become friends and then partners and then co-rulers and spouses. When they have sex it just feels like two people who love each other and enjoy each other's company, not like some wild outburst of edgy, sexy, repressed desires. (Again, no hate if that's your thing.)

And maybe the best thing about their mortal/immortal relationship is that Emily doesn't have to change herself or abandon everything she held dear for Wendell. Emily goes through a brief phase where she tries to fit into the beauty standards of the Fae, and then she quickly realizes that's stupid and she's better off being herself. And Wendell never cared about any of that at all, he's too busy just adoring her scholarly obsessions. Many stories ask the mortal heroines to leave behind their loved ones and lives for their immortal lover, but again, Emily Wilde does it better. Wendell immediately recognizes that academia is Emily's first love. He sets her up with a library, endless journals, and most importantly, multiple points of access to the mortal realm, where she can go to research in peace, continue her connection with Cambridge, publish her work, and of course, present at the occassional academic conference now that her career has taken off.

Emily Wilde got her man, a throne, and a flourishing career. Our girl really can do it all.

[brittanyearnestauthor]

Writing Strong Female Characters

Creating compelling female characters can be challenging, especially when media has often misrepresented women as incapable or reliant on male counterparts. However, that's far from reality—women are multifaceted, capable, and deserving of thoughtful portrayal. This guide will help you craft strong female characters while avoiding common pitfalls that could undermine their potential.

What Makes a Strong Female Character?

A strong female character embodies qualities that highlight her inner strength, independence, and integrity. Some key traits include:

- Standing up for themselves: They don't allow others to take advantage of them.

- Standing by their beliefs: They have convictions and aren't afraid to defend them.

- Taking action: They actively shape their own paths and don't wait for others to rescue them.

- Being independent: They thrive on self-reliance and making their own decisions.

- Being knowledgeable: They display intelligence and competence.

- Taking accountability: They own their mistakes and learn from them.

These traits ensure that your character commands respect and feels authentic.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

To make your female characters truly shine, steer clear of these overused tropes that might weaken their portrayal:

- Being overly emotional or sensitive.

- Being overly reliant on others or unable to act independently.

- Portraying them as unintelligent or lacking confidence.

- Allowing others to walk all over them too frequently.

- Lacking knowledge or competence.

- Adopting a follower role due to insecurity.

While emotions and sensitivity can add depth, overdoing these traits can make the character feel unbalanced.

Example of a Strong Female Character

Lara Croft from the "Tomb Raider" movies offers an excellent example of a strong female protagonist. She is bold, independent, and willing to take risks. She stands firm in her beliefs, fights for her goals, and refuses to let others dictate her life. Her determination and strength make her an inspiring character.

[artist-issues]

I have to stress: it is good to be in distress when there is someone to save you. It is a good thing, to be that character. It means someone noticed when you went missing or when something went wrong for you, and they stepped outside the sphere of their lives and intervened on your behalf, in yours. They didn't have to. They could've left you. But you were worth it to them. (You might have already been worth it, but what's wrong with someone proving that statement? What's worth if it's only for the self to enjoy?) Worth great risk, worth great pains, and they made a statement about your worth that they wouldn't have had an opportunity to make if not for the distress you were in.

It's like if Ariel saved the day in The Little Mermaid. All that would prove is that she can get herself into reckless trouble and then scrape herself right back out again. Big friggin whoop. But if Eric saves her? Oh.

Well, then, there's something worthwhile about her, to him, despite the fact that it would be fair if he just thought of her as "a mermaid, a thing, a creature." Well, then, she's right about humans being capable of caring for something other than themselves. Well, then, she's loved by someone.

Look at all these much-better statements we can make when the damsel is in distress instead of saving herself?

There's nothing weak about being in distress. You're not a goddess. You can't control everything. You're not even right all the time. Sometimes bad stuff happens and you actually can't control the outcome.

And what a delight, when that eventuality, that certainty that something bad is going to happen, is answered by a much greater truth that didn't have to be certain: you are loved.

Distress says: "Calamity befalls you, you aren't all-powerful, you can't control all the variables, and you are alone in me." And the Hero answers, "I love her." And that always wins.

[now-you-sound-like-a-jedi]

My favourite game to play in fandom spaces is the age old "is this female character actually awful or is she just a) outspoken, b) not designed to be palatable to a male audience, or c) the canon female love interest of a male character more popularly shipped with another man?"

[fancyhandsbakery]

My biggest ops are (in order)

Annabeth Chase bashers

Annabeth Chase haters

Annabeth Chase disrespecters

How are you going to type up the most interesting summery and then tag it as 'Annabeth Chase bashing'? Leave that little girl alone. Women can't have shit in fiction.

[karizard-ao3]

Anon who asked me my top 5 women in fiction, you are going to have to give me some time to think about this one because I'm not a natural ranker and I'm really having to think about this and what it is I like in a fictional woman.

[hadesoftheladies]

female protagonists aren't enough! i want more female-centric stories! i want to explore the existential dread a woman feels when she tests positive. i want to explore what it means to a first born daughter to be her father's hero, why she so desperately tries to save everyone in her family. i want to explore the thought-process of what it means to hate the being you bore of yourself. how something of your own flesh can feel so alien and how you can be scared of something you made, something so fragile. i want to explore what it means to pour your love out into someone you thought would eventually love you back and to keep pouring and die pouring into the void that is your husband, your boyfriend, your son. i want to explore life and death from a woman's eyes. i want to explore what it means to fight in a war for a country that treats you as a resource. to be willing to die for it and realize it is only too happy to sacrifice you. what kind of fear overcomes you when the war begins and it means the entire world is now as violent as your house. what it means when the war is over and now your countrymen expect you to recover the population. "as a woman, i have no country." constantly betrayed by your own home, the motherland that hates it's mothers. what fear must overcome you knowing what they expect of all your women now that they killed the previous generation. i want to explore what it means to be a girl parent, having to manage your father, mother and sibling's emotions. the mediator that everyone is grateful for secretly, but no one acknowledges. in family comedies and dramas, the reunions are framed as inventions of the grandfathers and grandmothers or uncles, but it's always the daughters trying to patch up shit. organizing christmas and managing fights. what it's like to be the second-sister and idolize your older sister, not realizing how eager she is to impress you, not realizing how you've both set her up to inevitably fail. how women try to be beautiful even when they're dying. how people congratulate girls for being sick, getting thin, applauding them as they kill themselves. what it means to be devoted heart and soul to a god who's intermediary is a man that detests you. what it's like to be a young girl and the only one enraged at the injustice going around, so you decide to spy, to become an enemy of the state, a smuggler, a rescuer and then you get caught. what it's like to be a child that tries so hard to be good at everything and gets nothing but derision, but instead of "going joker" just keeps people pleasing until she dies a shell of herself. how unrewarding is sacrifice for women. thinking "this time they'll like me. this time they'll appreciate me. this time they'll be glad they had me. this time they'll want me." how futile it is to perform. what it means to survive the worst and be treated like a villain instead of a hero. how winning makes you even more hated than losing. to be loyal and only betrayed in turn. the joy of wearing your first dress sweats, and realizing you didn't have to perform all the time. the joy of buying boy's clothes and finding pockets in pants, hoodies, etc. the relief of taking your heels and bra off. the maddening exhilaration of gaining muscle. kicking the ball into the net!

no one can understand any of it. no one knows the horrors of any of it like women and girls. there's a whole universe of human experience that no one ever sees. that few ever explore. you don't know, you don't understand, like can you even? everything changes when it's a woman. quests for power in male centric stories are about greed and selfishness. but a woman going on a quest for power would be virtuous, justice. sacrifice for a man is glory. sacrifice for a woman is mundane. to a man, beauty is a gift. to a woman, beauty is a curse that damns you to the sharks. every story, every theme changes when it's a woman. because women and girls live in a society with very different rules for them. every philosophical question transforms when it's a woman it's being asked to. that's asking. even the morals change. "forgiveness and mercy heal society" NO! the moral for little girls should be "don't ever fucking forgive or forget. justice at any cost!" "power corrupts" NO! YOU AS A GIRL MUST CHASE POWER FOR FREEDOM IS INFINTELY MORE VALUABLE THAN BEING LIKED. "love conquers all" NO! love should only be trusted to the worthy! NEVER give your love to someone irresponsible with it! "selfishness is bad" BE MORE SELFISH GIRLS! BE SELFISH WITH YOUR TIME AND ENERGY ESPECIALLY! "violence is never the answer" VIOLENCE IS OCCASIONALLY THE ANSWER. GET A FUCKING GUN! "blessed are the meek" FORTUNE FAVORS THE BOLD! "family is everything" FREEDOM IS EVERYTHING! You are not bound to any blood, build or find the community you deserve! That actually helps you prosper!

we live in different worlds! what men tell the boys does not apply to you! THEY AIN'T US AND THEY AIN'T BEEN US AND THEY CAN'T FATHOM THE STRUGGLE.

you wouldn't get it.

[neyafromfrance95]

loved babygirl 2024. it perfectly delivered on what it set out to achieve. reminded me of mrs. fletcher 2019 and love and leashes 2022 a bit. we live in puritan era where ageism against women is at all times high so no wonder it made many people uncomfortable, but that's exactly why we need more female leads over 50 in the media and the dynamics that have been dominated by men for as long as patriarchy has existed.

generally speaking, i will always advocate for the stories that center women over 50, especially the genres that have historically excluded older women from their narratives - erotica, romance, fantasy, adventure.

our culture is overwhelmingly dominated by the narratives that dictate women over 50 to be invisible, expired and forgotten and this has an impact on every facet of our experience in society. ageism against women is the final boss of (often internalized) misogyny and is deeply engraved in the very foundation of patriarchy, conditioning us to have biases against stories centering older women. unfortunately, it's no surprise that internalized ageism in gen z women coincides with the rise of the tradwife movement and recently... the fertility contests on social media.

it all comes down to patriarchy reducing women's value to their beauty and allowing women to be beautiful only in their youth bc that's when they are fertile, reduced to being a means to fulfilling their sole purpose - reproduction.

this has never been the case with men. and this double standard is also deeply engraved in the foundation of patriarchy and systematic misogyny.

susan sontag's essay is still relevant:

for women, only one standard of female beauty is sanctioned: the girl.

the great advantage men have is that our culture allows two standards of male beauty: the boy and the man. the beauty of a boy resembles the beauty of a girl. in both sexes it is a fragile kind of beauty and flourishes naturally only in the early part of the life-cycle. happily, men are able to accept themselves under another standard of good looks — heavier, rougher, more thickly built. a man does not grieve when he loses the smooth, unlined, hairless skin of a boy. for he has only exchanged one form of attractiveness for another: the darker skin of a man’s face, roughened by daily shaving, showing the marks of emotion and the normal lines of age.

there is no equivalent of this second standard for women. the single standard of beauty for women dictates that they must go on having clear skin. every wrinkle, every line, every gray hair, is a defeat. no wonder that no boy minds becoming a man, while even the passage from girlhood to early womanhood is experienced by many women as their downfall, for all women are trained to continue wanting to look like girls.

older women have been relegated to the role of the mothers in the background. we have been brainwashed into feeling revulsion at the idea of older women leading our stories, but if we open our minds and allow some curiosity in, we will see that there is a great potential in placing older women in all the roles beyond motherhood and exploring this uncharted territory.

[msunitedstatesjames]

The A Woman's Lot DLC in Kingdom Come: Deliverance is so good guys.

First of all, it does what all good DLCs do best, by giving you more of the aspects of the game you like while giving you a unique experience you couldn't have had or that might not necessarily have made sense in the base game. By playing through the opening events of the game from Theresa's perspective, you got all of that. You got more of the middle ages sim feel from the main game, while seeing the world through a whole new perspective.

And that new perspective stood out to me immediately. In the main game Theresa doesn't seem particularly interesting, it often feels like she just exists as a potential romantic interest for Henry or as a connection to his past, but she doesn't have much of interest going on when away from him. This DLC changes that, and from the moment you start it you can feel a shift in the very atmosphere of the world. Theresa is confident in herself and her life, while Henry seems to be fumbling through his day to day, always just dodging trouble or work. Theresa enjoys her life as is, she likes getting up early and doing her chores, she likes spending time with her dog, she likes helping her friends and family even when she thinks they're being ridiculous. Henry, on the other hand, though he loves his family and friends, spends his days dreaming of leaving Skalitz and adventuring, despite the fact that he knows practically nothing of the world around him and has few real skills. Theresa is, in almost every dialogue choice, honest and down to earth, while Henry is often trying to lie his way out of trouble and escape the consequences of his own foolish and immature choices. The only real time Theresa lies is in order to attempt to protect someone else.

And honestly, Theresa's story made me more emotional than anything else up to that point in the base game. Though her circumstances are very similar to Henry in some ways, everything felt heightened through Theresa. Her content is so stressful because she has even less defenses than early game Henry. At least Henry can steal some armor and weapons, Theresa can't wear armor and lacks the strength needed for most melee weapons, forcing her to rely on her limited supply of arrows or stealth. She does have Tinker to help her, but he sometimes is as much a problem as a solution. And playing through the DLC as she slowly loses everyone is just heartbreaking. Her father's death, after her idyllic day of chores and friends is shocking enough, but then she watches her brother die, narrowly escapes an assault, and has to slink through the countryside as she watches her town and friends be ravaged by war. Her brother Samuel's death is particularly painful, as she volunteers to stay back with him, risks everything for healing supplies, sits through a stormy night with him while exposed to the elements, and then wakes to find that he passed in the night despite everything she did for him. And even after all that she chooses to return to town and search for survivors. The scene with Tinker is the one that really got me. It lacks the oppressive menace of earlier scenes, it's just one lone bandit looking to loot, and Tinker just chooses to take a disliking to him, but Theresa is totally helpless to do anything but watch as the man gets irritated and kills the last vestige of her old life. The hoplessness of her tears as her whole world burns around her is awful, and when she chooses to take one final stand to save Henry from the bandits, you somehow cheer for her, even though it's an action that would have killed her if not for happenstance.

I left this DLC loving Theresa. She's braver than almost anyone in the game, she's kind, she's moral, and she'll keep fighting until the bitter end.

[silverpintalssigo]

God forbid a female character raised in overprotective conditions display any hint of spoiled or incompetent behavior (which she will mostly likely outgrow through extremely traumatic conditions during the story) and not be immediately hyper-mature and capable at everything. God forbid female characters be thematically consistent.

[cfparsons]

<Ten Ways to Create a Great Female Protagonist (Without Falling Into the Usual Modern Traps)>

Good female protagonists matter because we remember them differently. They haunt. They heal. They hold mirrors we don’t always want to face. But far too often, they’re written as accessories—or ideals and fantasies.

Let’s stop that. Let's break the cliche one step at a time. This isn’t about “strong female characters.” It’s about building a girl who breathes on the page when you write.

1. Give her contradictions.

The best female characters aren’t consistent—they’re complicated. She can be brutal one day and gentle the next. Quiet in public but dangerous alone. People aren’t cohesive, especially after trauma. Contradiction isn’t a flaw—it’s a fingerprint.

Don’t sand her edges. Let her be jagged. Let her be real.

2. Let her be ugly. Not visually—emotionally.

We’re so obsessed with likability that we forget to let women unravel. Let her make mistakes. Let her lash out. Let her fail. She’s allowed to be petty, jealous, cold, obsessive. Healing isn’t a straight line—and women don’t exist to teach moral lessons.

You want honesty? Then let her bleed wrong sometimes.

3. Make her want something.

She needs more than just “get out alive with plot armor.” What keeps her up at night? What would she risk her name for?

Desire is the engine of every character. Even if she doesn’t say it out loud—you should know.

A girl without hunger is a ghost in your story. Let her want wildly. Let her want too much.

4. Avoid “female character” energy.

If you start with “what should a female lead be like?”—you’re looking at it wrong.

Write a person. Build her like you would any compelling character. Give her history, motive, flaws, rhythm, refusal. Then when you sit back and look at her, you realize something—she’s just a girl.

Write her like a storm. Then name her afterward. Prioritize later.

5. Do not make her the “exception.”

She doesn’t have to be the only girl who can fight battles. Women exist in community. In sisterhood. In memory. Let her be part of a lineage, even if it’s fractured. Let her stand beside others. Not above them.

You’re not just proving she’s “not like other girls.” You’re proving you don’t know anyone like her. You're giving a part of yourself to her creatively. You're giving her your voice.

6. Her trauma isn’t her personality.

It can shape her. But it can’t swallow her. Trauma is a ghost in the room—not the only thing she talks about. Give her humor. Give her obsessions. Let her say weird things when she’s tired.

Women are not metaphors for pain done to others. Let her laugh before she heals. Let her grieve after she turns her back to the camera.

7. Don’t make her perfect to protect her.

There’s this instinct—especially from male writers—to make female characters untouchable. Always right. Always justified. Always noble. But perfect isn’t safe—it’s invisible. Let her fumble. Let her contradict herself. Let her say sorry too late.

If she’s allowed to be wrong, she’s allowed to be real. Because she's human. This is the mark of every great relationship—and that comes with experience.

8. Give her silence.

The most powerful girls I’ve ever written don’t explain themselves. They don’t always narrate. They observe. They calculate. They’re loud in posture. In the way they close a door. Some girls speak with just their absence.

Not every voice needs volume. Some need space to destroy. Some need time to do it.

9. Let her be loved—but don’t make that her arc.

Love doesn’t complete her. It reframes her. Let the relationship be one thread in the story—not the whole fabric. Because her identity existed before the boy. And it’ll still be there if he leaves.

Romance is powerful. But returning to herself is more sacred. Her character arc will cause her to love harder anyway. So make them earn it. You have to trust her.

10. Write her like she’s your favorite character.

Because if she’s not? If she’s a symbol. A vessel. A checkbox. It will show. The best female characters are written with obsession. Reverence. Intimacy. Not to impress viewers or readers, but because you believe she’s worth remembering.

If she’s unforgettable to you—she will be to us.

11. (Bonus) Write what’s missing.

This is my specialty. And in this day and age, there's a lot to be desired.

Build upon the mistakes of others. Make the girl no one else thought to write. The kind who doesn’t fit the mold—because she remakes it.

If the stories you needed growing up still don't exist, build them from memory. From silence. From rain. From fire.

She doesn’t have to look like anyone else.

She just has to feel true.

---

Don’t just write women. See them. Meet them. But not as symbols. Not as saviors. As stories with blood in them.

And if she walks off the page—let her. That’s when you know she’s real.

It's okay to be original. It's okay to be yourself. It's not fiction. It's confession.

[physalian]

This is absolutely going to be taken in some horrible, misconstrued way, but I talked about this elsewhere and can finally articulate what I want to say with less rambling, and here I have more reach so I’m curious if anyone else sees it. I’m aroace and this probably explains a lot but I’m saying the rest anyway:

I recently was recently paid to beta read a sapphic romance novel, and these are not books I would ever read otherwise. I’d much rather read a novel with a romantic subplot over a straight-up romance novel, genders regardless. They just don’t appeal to me.

This is the third one I’ve read by different authors, and something I’ve noticed in this category specifically is how much gender is packed into the subtext, specifically when it’s a woman writing women loving women.

What I mean by this is that I can read—and write—a gay romance between two men, and I’ve read plenty, and the author doesn’t wax poetic about how manly they are, in whichever way they’re romanticizing manhood. Neither is it about how unwomanly they are.

Protagonist isn’t love-struck over his crush and how not-a-woman he is. He’ll probably gush over the guy’s physique and features, but it’s never in comparison to what the man isn’t, it’s always what he is and, more importantly, who he is, even when it’s lust-at-first-sight. It’s also more of a bonus feature than his defining characteristic.

In these three sapphic romance novels, I could not escape the creep of these characters existing relative to men. She’s curvy, unlike a man. She’s got such a pretty voice, unlike a man. She’s so kind and nurturing and empathetic, unlike a man. Fuck the patriarchy, men are trash, women love women because women are superior.

And it’s alienating as fuck. First, because it unintentionally makes it seem like lesbians only exist because they’ve had bad experiences with men and are traumatized into wanting women. Secondly, because these novels take an extremely narrow lane of what it is about womanhood that they’re romanticizing.

I have not read every sapphic romance novel that exists, but it is very strange that these three books are nearly identical, by different authors, in their messages, their mindsets, and the assembly line attributes they emphasize as being attractive.

In these books, they’re all physically fit, skinny, proportioned for a magazine cover, like a bunch of barbie dolls with zero flaws. There’s no women with trade jobs, there’s no weightlifters and bodybuilders, there’s no flat-chested butches or manic pixie dream girls.

Again, it’s only three books out of thousands, I know. They’re making a horrible case for me to ever want to try another one.

But beyond their physical features, it’s the concept of womanhood that is also being romanticized. She’s a girlboss, she’s a caregiver, she’s empathetic, she’s nurturing, she’s kind-hearted unlike a man… as if these are attributes baked into being assigned female at birth and something the other side is incapable of ever achieving.

They’re always “women” first, whatever being a woman means to this author, and then people, second. The heroine falls in love with her lover’s femininity, first, not her personality, her hopes, her dreams, her flaws, her misgivings.

It’s not very feminist of these authors either to limit the scope of their female characters by how well they succeed in being good love interests in comparison to their hypothetical male competition.

This does not include books with lesbians in a romantic subplot—those are just fine and I enjoy them greatly. This is a romance novel dedicated solely to lesbian romance where all the gender comes in.

And, as a woman, every time I have to sit through this, I sure don’t feel like one, and I’m a woman who likes women. I read these books and think both “this is not what I find attractive in other women” and “this is not what I want you to find attractive in me as a woman”.

The gender box that the narrative is trying really hard to sell me is limiting and I’m more than curves, lipstick, and perfume. All women are.

And I think it bothers me in particular because these are women writers, presumably, hopefully, lesbians themselves. They, above anyone else, should get it. These books sure boast about feminist values, and yet, beyond sexist male authors with very obvious reasons for being shit at writing women, I only ever feel like I’m failing to meet the standards of femininity and womanhood when I’m reading these books. A sexist male author will diminish her to a sex object. A... I don't even know what to call it, sexist female author(?) will narrow her to conventional femininity as if it’s both her crowning achievement and something she was born with that took no effort to obtain.

There is probably heavy bias here in me not seeing men treated this way because I don’t identify as one, I’ll readily accept that. If there’s men out there alienated by how manhood is romanticized in gay fiction written by men, let me know—we’ve all seen manhood romanticized by women. I mean a man writing men loving men in such a way that alienates their gay audience.

In sapphic romance, not straight romance or even sapphic characters in either a background relationship or in a romantic subplot, the sound of gender is defeatingly loud.

I’m not the target audience. I don’t like romance novels. I only read these for a paycheck. Anyone who writes this stuff, it’s not a condemnation, like I said I'm aroace. This is personal taste and things I’ve noticed whenever I’ve read these books, and they sure have their audiences and followings.

I write and enjoy romances about people who love people, gender regardless. I write and enjoy romances where people love what their lover is, not what they aren't, and not in comparison to what they could be. This is the only sub-genre I’ve come across where that’s not the case.

[sakuraharuno156]

"I'm a feminist, I believe that women are capable, smart, strong, interesting, independent, carring, hardworking, ambitious, ready to stand for what they believe, ready to make a change, ready to take the world by storm." that is not feminism. Real feminism acknowledges that women can be anything, including people who suck or aren't independent or hardworking or ambitious, and that they still deserve the same rights as everyone else.

"I'm a feminist, which means i hate women who don't fall into my view of what a woman should be" that's misogyny, actually. I fell into that mindset when I was a kid too, hopefully you'll grow out of it.

Hello, it's gonna be long. ❤️

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before I unpack all of that, please let me introduce you to a concept of FICTION.

Hinata Hyuga is not a real woman. She is a piece of fiction, that tries to (badly) imitate a real woman. So, me hating a fictional character, as a shitty portrait of a "woman" is not a commentary on real women.

I don't know if you noticed, but when we talk about real-life potential, we talk about REAL LIFE, not about being born with magical eyes lol.

So Hinata is a sad excuse of a woman IN her specific universe. In comparison with other characters FROM her specific universe. What is pathetic for a magical manga character in magical ninja world IS NOT A 1 TO 1 to real world.

The issue at hand is:

Media portraying women as pathetic in their specific universe, and showing female characters who are lacking in every aspect of their FICTIONAL life as a "way to go" to young, impressionable people, like I assume, you are.

So without farther ado, let's unpack.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DISCLAIMER:

Short lesson on history and media literacy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Wording and punctuation are important in decoding a message.

If you would actually read my post, you would know that i didn't say "I'm a feminist so I believe" or "I'm a feminist and that's why I believe".

I specifically worded it as "I'm a feminist, I believe (...)".

I'll break this down for you:

I'm a feminist (I.e. I'm a part of a movement that fights for equally for women)

I believe in women (i.e. I love women and i believe they are incredible)

I believe they CAN be all of those things or some of them. I do believe that each and every one of them ARE most of those things, but i have never stated that "anyone has to earn a right to be a woman, by being those things". I even specifically stated IN THAT POST:

"And it's OK to not be all of those things, but nothing? Seriously?"

I said that women are great and that we need that represented in media as an example for young women.

I didn't say that women are worthy ONLY WHEN THEY ARE AS I WANT THEM TO BE, they just are worthy. Women in REAL life are amazing.

Female characters on the other hand are not all amazing. I would even hazard an educated guess, that most fictional female characters are not amazing, which is AWFUL and if you would actually read my post - you would know that. 🤷‍♀️

2. Feminism is not about being able to "suck".

It's not about being anything you want to be "including people who suck", it's about equality between sexes. Feminism is about fighting for more possibilities for women, not for settling for less.

If you Google the history of feminism, you would know that it's a movement that has its beginning in Women’s Suffrage and it was a fight.

It may surprise you, but the movement wasn't about "being able to suck". It was about being able to do more. To fight for your rights, to vote for your future. Suffragists fought and they fought HARD. Because they were STRONG.

Because they were women who needed more.

All those women fought to give us a chance to:

be able to vote,

be able to learn,

be able to fight,

be able to enjoy HUMAN rights equally to men.

So women can be anything they want, but it doesn't take away from ANY of my adjectives.

You don't have to be in the army to be strong,

You don't have to be a doctor to be smart,

You don't have to be alone to be independent.

You can be a stay at home mom AND STILL BE EVERYTHING I LISTED. You can work on a farm and BE EVERYTHING I LISTED. You can be anyone, in any situation and still be strong, brave, intelligent etc. Because women just are.

No matter of their problems, they just are.

You have to be brave to speak up. You have to be brave to work in male dominated fields. You have to be brave to give birth and take a responsibility for a child. You have to be brave to fight for your marriage and you have to be brave to walk away from it.

Women just ARE.

You don't have to be all of those things at once, but if you are non of them - it IS a problem.

If you are in a happy marriage, that's great, but if you are 100% dependent on your husband - it IS a problem. You have to be your own person. If you eat, sleep, breathe a man - it IS a problem.

If you don't want to be a doctor and put yourself through years of school, that's great, but if you aren't at least trying to better yourself in any way - it IS a problem. You have to be bettering yourself, because the world is spinning and If you are just "standing there", you're moving backwards. If you do NOTHING - it IS a problem.

If you don't want to be a president - that's great, but if your ambition is nothing and you want to amount to nothing - it IS a problem. You can be happy where you are, but if you are nowhere - it IS a problem.

Does that make you any less of a "woman"? No. But it is INDEED a real problem.

But women are not like that. We constantly evolve. We constantly fight. We are strong. In real life - we all are, but that exact fictional character - isn't.

Hinata Hyuga is noone. She did nothing. For a fictional character with magical powers she is nothing.

So no, you can't just "suck". Because women don't suck. Real women are fucking great. All of them.

Women in real world are everything i listed, and your immediate jump from "not being everything" to "sucking" shows me that you, in fact, didn't grow up into a real feminist.

3. Hating a fictional character for being a s*itty example for young people is not "misogyny".

I'm a feminist so (see how I used "so" instead of a comma? That means there is causation) I DO pay more attention in medias portrayal of women. I grow up on little mermaid, who gave up her OWN GOD DAMN VOICE for a guy. We don't need this. We need strong female cast to show to young girls that they don't have to be quiet.

But

I would have THE SAME exact criticism towards a male character, its just not as important because knights save princesses all the time.

So no, my criticism of FICTIONAL female character is not misogyny. It's the exact opposite.

If I hated Tsunade for being "too strong for a woman" - that's misogyny.

If I hated Sakura for not reciprocating Narutos feelings - that's misogyny.

But hating a female character for being a forever pick me girl, a forever damsel in distress who doesn't give a f*ck about anything that is not a guy? That's not misogyny, that's a common sense.

4. Well written FICTIONAL characters are important for REAL women.

I'm a feminist, I love all REAL women and I want FICTIONAL female characters to portrait real women, not that lukewarm goo, that is Hinata.

We need more than boring and "obsessed over a guy". We need a good representation for strong women.

That's why Hinata is so infuriating.

We can't take stupidity and frame it as "bravery". We can't take submissions and frame it is as "love". We can't take obsession and frame it as "inspiration".

We can't, because in real life women can't afford to do that. If you lose your voice, your personality, your presence - you dissappear. You're becoming a background character in your own life.

Hinata Hyuga is nothing. When you take Naruto away she doesn't exist. When she can't say his name, she doesn't speak. When she can't watch him, she is not there. When she can't imitate him, she doesn't exist.

And it's sad.

No real woman does that and it shouldn't be portrayed as "feminine", because stupidity and weakness are not feminine.

5. If you need more explanation on feminism and what part does media play in its growth - I'm happy to help ❤️

And lastly, because I have to use simplified statements (I don't know you, you asked anonymously, so you can be a 12 yo who knows English as your second language etc.), BUT if you want to learn more about feminism (and I highly recommend, because you seem to be confused) you can see more here:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/feminism

https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/woman-suffrage

OR

You can always ask me directly, because funnily enough this IS my area of expertise lol.

I even did a few presentations on feminism and women's rights for various age ranges, so no matter how your "growing up" went, I'm sure I'll find something you'd understand ❤️

[maxdibert]

https://www.tumblr.com/the-river-nyx/787245729361035264/lily-evans-wanting-to-be-a-mom-and-a-wife-is-so Thought you could use a good laugh

Look, I don’t want to tear down their little fantasy out of spite, but the whole discourse they’re spinning about Lily and her so-called “empowered femininity” has way more to do with neoliberal fantasy than with any kind of actual feminist analysis. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with women wanting to be mothers, wives, or being sweet, beautiful, and brilliant. That’s not the issue. The issue is framing that as if it were rare, disruptive, or somehow revolutionary. As if the mainstream were overflowing with androgynous, angry, disobedient female characters and Lily comes in to balance things out. Spoiler: that’s not reality.

The truth is, what’s actually rare would be a female character not written through the lens of male desire. One who isn’t there to emotionally support a man or function as his moral compass. Because what they’re describing as “a beautiful balance between gentleness and intelligence” is exactly the mold that patriarchy has mass-produced to death: pretty but not too sexual, smart but never threatening, assertive but nurturing, strong but soft… the classic woman who works for everyone but herself.

And the most ironic part is that this model wasn’t invented by feminists, it was literally fabricated by men. And fandom eats it up like it’s some kind of liberating figure when really it’s just the perfect fantasy for the progressive guy™: the pretty, good, brilliant girl who also takes care of him and inspires him. Basically, a maternal muse with a Hogwarts badge.

And on top of that, from the lens of genre media studies and representation theory, characters like Lily aren’t even subversive, they’re structurally useful for maintaining traditional narrative frameworks: women who have no internal conflict, no narrative arc, and no voice of their own. Lily doesn’t speak in the books. Not once do we see her building her own character. Everything we know about her is filtered through men: Snape, James, and Harry. She’s not a person, she’s a memory, written to be remembered, not to exist.

And then, when they says something like, “Lily wanted to be a wife and mother and a politician,” as if that were some radical statement, it just falls flat. There’s no context, no interrogation of gender roles, no real reflection on whether that desire is chosen or imposed. It sounds more like a 2008 center-left campaign slogan than any kind of serious feminist take.

Saying “she can be soft and brave” as if that were the peak of feminist disruption… I mean, come on. The problem has never been that women are gentle or nurturing. The problem is that when they’re not, narratives punish them. And when they are, like Lily, they’re turned into martyrs. Into symbols. They’re not allowed space for desire, for failure, for selfishness, for contradiction, in short, for being human.

So no, what she’s presenting isn’t a feminist discourse. It’s a cozy, palatable remix of the same old gender roles, disguised as empowerment. Basically: gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss Hogwarts edition.

[restlessjm]

Love letter to feral women

I keep thinking about feral women, and I can't stop writing about them.

Women, who are ambitious and cruel.

Women, who are violent and unforgiving.

Women, who are shamelessly selfish.

Feral women embody the female rage, and make it a way of life. They don't beat the system that tries to oppress them, they break it.

I think book version of Cersei Lannister from A Song of Ice and Fire is a great example. Absolutely unhinged, abusive and power-hungry.

Egwene al'Vere from the Wheel of Time is another amazingly feral woman and the darkest Mother. She never apologises for wanting to rule everything and no amount of pain will stop her from reaching her goals.

I just love feral women so much, and fear them.

I'll drop links to my fics about feral women in the future and I also will talk about my feral oc's, but also I'd love to have some recommendations!