4 Tips For Breaking The "Strong Female Character" Trope - a guest post by Christine Smith

   Today's the day on which I post the final guest post of the blogoversary bash (I'll be posting the blogoversary wrapup tomorrow)! The wonderful Christine Smith is here to talk to you all about creating strong female characters, and I can tell you all that it's an epic post. SO (after a quick aside in which I say that today's the very last day to enter the writing contest AND giveaway! ;)), I'll step out of her way, shall I?

   *exit Savannah*

We see them everywhere. In books, TV shows, movies—the Strong Female Character. But are they actually strong? Or just girls who are good at using their fists...unrealistically?

Here's the thing, we do need strong female characters. We females want heroines we can look up to, females conquering battles and inspiring us to rise up and be better people. But, sadly, this culture's view of “strength” seems to have stopped at the physical definition of the word and rarely goes deeper. These girls slapped with the label “strong female character” are, in reality, just “action girls”. Girls who run around punching and kicking and throwing out rude sarcastic remarks every time they open their mouths. I don't know about you, but that doesn't exactly inspire me to be a better person. I want real heroines. Actually real females, instead of some unrealistic macho girl trying too hard to be a guy.

I am so honored to be on Savannah's amazing blog today to share with you guys 4 tips on how to break away from this action girl trope and write actual real, strong FEMALES.

1.) WITS BEAT STRENGTH ANY DAY

As I've already ranted about, most “strong female characters” these days are just girls who can punch really, really hard. Rather unrealistically hard... I may get in trouble for this, but here it is: Girls don't have the same build as guys. There. It's been said. Yes, girls can be strong and do some serious damage. Absolutely yes. But I just don't find it realistic when like 87% of females in fiction can easily take down 20 guys with their bare hands. Besides, that's rather...boring. When I'm reading, I love to see the characters come up with utterly convoluted and clever plots to taking down the baddies. Instead of just...beating them up.

Let's look at Katniss from The Hunger Games. She didn't go into the arena with plans of facing everyone with her bare hands. She knew she couldn't beat Cato in hand-to-hand combat. Of course not, that'd be absurd. So what did she do? She used her wits and the actual realistic skills she did have. She used her archery skills to shoot an arrow into the explosives to destroy Cato and the Career's food supply. She set up traps to get her own food. She used her small size to her advantage to climb up trees to get away from the enemy.

Katniss survives the Hunger Games in a realistic fashion because she used her brains and know-how instead of just diving in there and beating everyone up. That would have been a pretty short and lame story if pure physical strength resolved everything.

Again I say, females of course can be physically strong. But let's please stop putting all value in muscles and leaving smarts and wits behind. If I read about a girl taking down 20 bad guys via her wits I am much more inspired than watching her unrealistic punch them all to death.

2.) LET THEM HAVE EMOTIONS

This is the big one, guys! This world seems to be putting shame on girls for actually feeling things. We're just weak, puny things if we as much as shed a single tear. There's this misguided view that holding in your emotions is strength. No, no, no, no.

Having emotions is strength.

Hating people and locking yourself away is easy. But showing love, kindness, being selfless—that's where true strength comes in. And don't we love characters who are deep and complex and feel things? Yet, strangely, this world seems to be demanding all females be presented as the emotionless, macho type. Because if they're anything else, they're weak.

What's funny is, fangirls go crazy when a male character shows any type of emotion. But when a GIRL shows emotion? Welp, let's pull out the torches and pitchforks because how dare the producers create such a weak female character?????

People feel things. Male or female. God gave us emotions. Emotions are a good thing. And I'm insulted when girls are presented as these stone-hearted things.

So let your female character cry sometimes. Let them love. Let them just be HUMAN. Because humans feel things. And God created females to be nurturers. Most of us have that in our nature, and it's nothing to be ashamed by.

Now, if you have a character who purposely locks away their emotions for whatever reason, that's okay! (I've written a female or two like that myself.) Just remember, most people who lock away their emotions have been through trauma or some sort to cause it, and probably are actually full of emotion. And I'm allll for the sassy, sarcastic girls. Sarcasm = LIFE. But if a character is only there to give snarky quips and rude comments, they can feel really flat and boring after a time. I've seen so many female characters like this, and it gets tiring when there's no heart within them at all.

Let's return to the Katniss example. She's not exactly the most kindhearted girl around. She can definitely have a cold-shoulder. And yet she still loves so deeply. She risked her life for her sister. She went through unimaginable trauma to keep her loved ones safe and bring a better world. Katniss lived a hard life so of course her heart is a little hardened too. But she's deep. She feels so, so much. She was scared and cried and loved. But Katniss is by no means considered a weak female character because of these things. She was strong because of her emotions. It's the very thing that drove her forward.

I repeat: People feel things. Everyone has emotions. Everyone has depth. And we like deep characters. If all a character does is beat people up and throw out discouraging snarky comments and show no emotion to speak of, eventually we're gonna get bored with them.

3.) THERE IS NO SHAME IN ASKING FOR HELP

This is a tricky one. Because there is nothing more satisfying than seeing our protagonist solve a problem on their own when it seems as if all the odds are against them. Opposed to when someone comes busting in and saving them at the VERY. LAST. SECOND. No one wants to see that cop-out.

BUT.

There is also no shame in asking for help when you really, truly need it. It actually takes strength to do it! I know personally, because I have a really, really hard time asking people for help. And sometimes I get myself in a jam all because I wouldn't swallow my pride and just ask. It doesn't make me weak asking, it just proves I'm human and can't do every single thing on the planet. And yet, it seems like we expect that from characters. Female characters especially are labeled weak and helpless if they get aid from someone else. Because then they're immediately considered the “damsel in distress.” The “strong female characters” are not allowed to ask for help. EVER. Especially from a man. *gasp* The horror!

But people have different skill sets and strengths. Males and females have different skill sets and strengths. And sometimes, whoever we are, we need help from someone who can do things we can't. And they may need us to do things they can't. That's how the world goes round. We can't all do everything. We put our differences together and form a team. Katniss probably wouldn't have won the Hunger Games on her own if she hadn't have had Haymitch, Peeta, Cinna, and even Effie aiding her along the way. And she and Rue worked together to destroy Cato's and the other Career's food supply. But they were most certainly not damsels in distress.

Asking for aid and forming teams can be a good thing. I absolutely love it when characters end up assembling epic teams and solving problems together. Humans were created to work with others humans. Again, that's how the world goes round.

Of course, if you have a character whose very nature detests asking for help and is a loner, this is different. But then isn't it so satisfying when those types of characters finally do ask for help and form a team? A lot of fun character arcs and climaxes can be created with that!

So yes, it's wonderful having characters who can conquer problems on their own. It can definitely be problematic if the protagonist only ever gets out of a jam because other people are constantly saving them. BUT it's also perfectly fine and good for your character to ask for help every now and again. It won't take away from your “strong female character”. It'll just show she's HUMAN. And is strong and confident enough to accept help from others.

4.) ALLOW THEM TO BE FEMININE

And here we have probably the biggest problem with female characters of today—they're not allowed to be GIRLS. They're all forced to be macho and cold-shouldered and detest things like wearing pink and sewing.

Now, I'm going to say right off the bat that I 100% understand not all females are ultra girly. AND THAT IS FINE. If you have a tomboy-ish female character, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

But if you want to create a girly female character, THAT IS OKAY.

It seems like we're not allowed to have those anymore—female characters who enjoy pretty things or like girly activities or have gentle, caring spirits. But human beings in general were created to appreciate beautiful things. And if someone is shaming you for being kind then there's something seriously wrong.

Not all female characters have to be crude, sword-wielding gals who blanch at the thought of something like dress shopping. Goodness knows we have plenty of those. What I think we need more of are female characters who aren't shamed in wearing frills or sitting at the sidelines healing instead of fighting because they actually don't take satisfaction in beating people up. Girls who take pleasure in providing for their loved ones by cooking and cleaning and sewing, and seeing these things as the important tasks they are and not degrading work. (Because, excuse me, but a world without food or clothes or nothing ever being clean is not a world I want to live in.) To me, that is true strength.

So next time you're worried about giving your female character girly traits, DON'T. Being feminine is a beautiful thing and not something we should ever have to kill off or be ashamed of. Femininity is just as important as masculinity. We need a world with both of these things. Not merely one or the other.

_____________________________

Most of these points applies to both both female and male characters. But they're something I especially see in females. In this new trend of “action girls”.

But when it comes down to it, the key to creating good characters is this: Make them human beings.  Don't try to force some kind of agenda on your characters. Trust me, readers will notice if you do. Just let them be what feels natural. Let them have emotions and cry and love and ask for help when they need it. Let them be real.

And then you will have a truly Strong Character.

what do you think about the strong female character trope?

who are some of your favorite strong female characters?

feel free to chat with Christine in the comments!