What makes a female character strong?

[KalaSathinee]

I'm a writer, and the one thing I'm continually told to do is to interview people as part of my research; to get other people's opinions. So instead of relying on only my own opinion of what makes a female character strong, I've decided to pose the question to you.
So. In your opinion, what qualifies a female as strong? Capable? Believable?

[AvatarIII]

I'm a writer, and the one thing I'm continually told to do is to interview people as part of my research; to get other people's opinions. So instead of relying on only my own opinion of what makes a female character strong, I've decided to pose the question to you.
So. In your opinion, what qualifies a female as strong? Capable? Believable?

personally i'd say the same things that make a male character capable and believable.

[Admiral Mappalazarou]

For me personally, any character, male or female, needs to have the ability to be depicted as realistically as they possibly can be by the author. The character has to have a different moral code than the rest, in the case that she is a lead or plays a major role in the story, which highlights her above the other colourful characters. It is imperative that the character has faults, and maybe she has accepted her faults and, as a main character, is learning and perhaps trying to find some redemption for whatever 'sin' she has comitted, or perhaps has accepted her faults and they drive the character into progressing the story's given plotline.

It's important, for me anyway, to have some sort of personal aim or ambition for the character as the story progresses. I think that gives the reader something to hope for when reading the story and following the character through whatever it is that she faces. I am far more interested in a character I believe could exist in modern society, in real life, who is thrown into the centre of perhaps supernatural circumstances and how she reacts to those events, how they change her and whether it is for the better or for the worse. 'Culture shock' as mentioned in Doctor Who.

[WingedPegasus]

For me personally, any character, male or female, needs to have the ability to be depicted as realistically as they possibly can be by the author. The character has to have a different moral code than the rest, in the case that she is a lead or plays a major role in the story, which highlights her above the other colourful characters. It is imperative that the character has faults, and maybe she has accepted her faults and, as a main character, is learning and perhaps trying to find some redemption for whatever 'sin' she has comitted, or perhaps has accepted her faults and they drive the character into progressing the story's given plotline.

It's important, for me anyway, to have some sort of personal aim or ambition for the character as the story progresses. I think that gives the reader something to hope for when reading the story and following the character through whatever it is that she faces. I am far more interested in a character I believe could exist in modern society, in real life, who is thrown into the centre of perhaps supernatural circumstances and how she reacts to those events, how they change her and whether it is for the better or for the worse. 'Culture shock' as mentioned in Doctor Who.

......Wow. That was nice, Mapp. I didn't know you could be that helpful.

[Trek_Girl42]

I'm a writer, and the one thing I'm continually told to do is to interview people as part of my research; to get other people's opinions. So instead of relying on only my own opinion of what makes a female character strong, I've decided to pose the question to you.
So. In your opinion, what qualifies a female as strong? Capable? Believable?

For me strong female and male characters are those who do not conform to traditional gender (or other) stereotypes because "that's what women/men are supposed to do", or if they're forced into the role they don't want, rebel against it some way whether inward or outward.

Strong female and male characters alike are those who take charge of their own destiny or ideals, and do not conform to expectations that are placed upon them just because they are a certain gender/race/whatever.

There's little in this world that is more sad than someone thinking (or telling someone else that they have to be that way): "I have to be like this because I'm a girl/guy" rather than "I want to be this way because that's what I want".


Every time I hear a little kid saying "you can't do/be that because you are a girl/boy", I feel sick with the human race, because generation after generation, right from birth we're teaching kids that if they're a boy or a girl they have to have certain likes, etc. That's no way to create strong women or men, and the damage of this (mostly) subconscious teaching needs to be reversed later in life.

[starshineRoxie]

I'm a writer, and the one thing I'm continually told to do is to interview people as part of my research; to get other people's opinions. So instead of relying on only my own opinion of what makes a female character strong, I've decided to pose the question to you.
So. In your opinion, what qualifies a female as strong? Capable? Believable?

Seeing as I'm a woman who lived with her Mom after my parents divorced when I was 6, have no brothers or close personal male relatives in my day to day life, and basically grew up in an all female household, maybe I should actually attempt to answer this question if I can do it right.

I think I'm a capable female because life has handed me a situation where I didn't have a choice about what happened to me. My Mom was poor and couldn't do everything for me that most parents could for their kids. I was looked down on in school because I was "financially deficient", even though I did get A's. Then my Mom told me something once that made me really think: "These people aren't going to be there when you make decisions throughout your life. After high school you'll never see them again and nothing they do will influence your life ever again." I started to think about the future a lot more then and realized that even though I couldn't do anything about my past, I didn't have to let anything affect how I could contribute to my own future. I accept that I can't control everything, but still deal with the consequences of it because I'm ambitious enough to want to do more for myself. I don't ever want to let people tell me what I can or can't do with my life.

Later on also, certain males in my life have tried to manipulate me about what I should and shouldn't be. They being from the old school thought of "women are different and therefore not as naturally talented as men", I decided to not let them have that control. It's my decisions that shape what I do and I follow through with what I want to do. I have zero tolerance for chauvinism being as I'm a woman that has and still lives, in a decent place and can pay my bills, and no male ever made that possible for me up to this point so far. The idea that there even is a difference between what a male intelligence and what a female intelligence is worth is completely ludicrous to me. Not only is it possible for women to live and earn money for ourselves as equally competent as men do, but my Mom, myself, and other women have already done it.

In short, a capable woman is wise enough to love and respect men, but not obey them, manage her own money, make her own executive decisions, always reflect on what are really important priorities, and do whatever it takes to become what she really wants to be. Never ever lose faith in yourself no matter what happens. You control you and your consequences.

I'm a woman in pursuit of a career in higher science because I happen to love it, despite stereotypes and cultural expectations. I really don't care how many times people will look twice when I say I'm a Computer Science major and I really want to work in the software industry in the future. I also work currently to pay the bills at a Cashier job because it's flex hours, which is good for school time. I do all this and more because I want to.

[KalaSathinee]

Every time I hear a little kid saying "you can't do/be that because you are a girl/boy", I feel sick with the human race, because generation after generation, right from birth we're teaching kids that if they're a boy or a girl they have to have certain likes, etc. That's no way to create strong women or men, and the damage of this (mostly) subconscious teaching needs to be reversed later in life.

It is sad. I still receive shocked looks when I say I play videogames, because-- gasp-- I'm a girl! Then there are those supposed "girl games". Lots of pink fluffy clouds and sparkly jewels. I don't know a single girl who plays them. All my friends play Halo or Assassin's Creed.
It's also at it's most obvious when parents plan their nursery's decoration scheme based on the child's gender. Girls get pink, boys get blue. What if the boy wants pink, or the girl wants blue? I've always preferred blue.

Thanks for the input. It's nice to get someone else's opinion. I live in a house with a slightly chauvinistic dad, so it's nice to hear some other opinions.

[Trek_Girl42]

It is sad. I still receive shocked looks when I say I play videogames, because-- gasp-- I'm a girl! Then there are those supposed "girl games". Lots of pink fluffy clouds and sparkly jewels. I don't know a single girl who plays them. All my friends play Halo or Assassin's Creed.
It's also at it's most obvious when parents plan their nursery's decoration scheme based on the child's gender. Girls get pink, boys get blue. What if the boy wants pink, or the girl wants blue? I've always preferred blue.

Thanks for the input. It's nice to get someone else's opinion. I live in a house with a slightly chauvinistic dad, so it's nice to hear some other opinions.

I've gotten stunned looks when I say that my favourite place to shop is the comic book store..... (and book stores in general) But then I've never seen another girl in there (which I would have thought to have by now- but I suspect it's just pure chance that I haven't)- aside from a mother buying something for her son. And you wouldn't think there'd still be shock about girls playing videogames, but I'm not surprised that there still is.

Thing is, when you take a little kid into a toy store, it's pretty darn clear which section the girls are supposed to run to and which section the boys are supposed to run to. The girls is all pink (ever notice how anything that isn't pink really stands out amongst girls toys in a store? Even if it is just another pastel colour.). The boys section is.....wow! A lot of colours! Everything except pink. Girls get Barbies, etc. They're taught from very young that girls like make-up and pretty clothes and should have boyfriends. Boys are taught to like superheroes and trucks, etc. And anyone who strays into the opposite interests gets made fun of by the other kids who are all following along with what they're being taught! So toy stores annoy me. Bringing it back to the original topic, strong female characters, this is exactly why we need them. If girls aren't seeing images of strong women who don't conform to "their place", they'll hopefully think twice about what they're taking for granted. Problem is, we're not really seeing enough iconic female characters in programs/books that younger girls can actually watch or read. They have to wait until they're in their teens to watch Buffy and Willow or Starbuck and Laura Roslin or -insert strong female character here- (and I very much think it's the characters and people from television, rather than books or movies, that are the most influential, for negative or positive) which by then they've already had these negative ideas instilled. Thank god for the new Doctor Who though. Which a)proves that younger girls can enjoy sci-fi, b)strong female images (and proving that you don't have to be the typical "Hollywood Beauty" type) for girls to look up to, c)there are a lot of non-gender related ideas that kids can learn from that show. I watched an ep (I can't remember which one there was some major moral dilemma and he Doctor went rather dark) with my 8 year old sister and after it was over she turned to me and said something really smart- and for the life of me I can't remember what it was, but I thought, wow! She's thinking about it and taking something really important away from this!

So I think fiction is very important for kids. And everyone else.

And don't get me started when people automatically presume a baby's gender by the colour of clothes that he or she is wearing..... Or the fact that daughters are still expected, without question, to grow up and get married and have children. And the fact that a woman might not want that still doesn't cross some people's minds! If you're a woman and you don't want kids, there's something wrong with you! Little girls are trained right from toddler age to be mothers when they're handed a baby doll to look after. So why aren't little boys being handed baby dolls too?

[PrioroftheOri]

For me personally, any character, male or female, needs to have the ability to be depicted as realistically as they possibly can be by the author. The character has to have a different moral code than the rest, in the case that she is a lead or plays a major role in the story, which highlights her above the other colourful characters. It is imperative that the character has faults, and maybe she has accepted her faults and, as a main character, is learning and perhaps trying to find some redemption for whatever 'sin' she has comitted, or perhaps has accepted her faults and they drive the character into progressing the story's given plotline.

It's important, for me anyway, to have some sort of personal aim or ambition for the character as the story progresses. I think that gives the reader something to hope for when reading the story and following the character through whatever it is that she faces. I am far more interested in a character I believe could exist in modern society, in real life, who is thrown into the centre of perhaps supernatural circumstances and how she reacts to those events, how they change her and whether it is for the better or for the worse. 'Culture shock' as mentioned in Doctor Who.

Seeing as I'm a woman who lived with her Mom after my parents divorced when I was 6, have no brothers or close personal male relatives in my day to day life, and basically grew up in an all female household, maybe I should actually attempt to answer this question if I can do it right.

I think I'm a capable female because life has handed me a situation where I didn't have a choice about what happened to me. My Mom was poor and couldn't do everything for me that most parents could for their kids. I was looked down on in school because I was "financially deficient", even though I did get A's. Then my Mom told me something once that made me really think: "These people aren't going to be there when you make decisions throughout your life. After high school you'll never see them again and nothing they do will influence your life ever again." I started to think about the future a lot more then and realized that even though I couldn't do anything about my past, I didn't have to let anything affect how I could contribute to my own future. I accept that I can't control everything, but still deal with the consequences of it because I'm ambitious enough to want to do more for myself. I don't ever want to let people tell me what I can or can't do with my life.

Later on also, certain males in my life have tried to manipulate me about what I should and shouldn't be. They being from the old school thought of "women are different and therefore not as naturally talented as men", I decided to not let them have that control. It's my decisions that shape what I do and I follow through with what I want to do. I have zero tolerance for chauvinism being as I'm a woman that has and still lives, in a decent place and can pay my bills, and no male ever made that possible for me up to this point so far. The idea that there even is a difference between what a male intelligence and what a female intelligence is worth is completely ludicrous to me. Not only is it possible for women to live and earn money for ourselves as equally competent as men do, but my Mom, myself, and other women have already done it.

In short, a capable woman is wise enough to love and respect men, but not obey them, manage her own money, make her own executive decisions, always reflect on what are really important priorities, and do whatever it takes to become what she really wants to be. Never ever lose faith in yourself no matter what happens. You control you and your consequences.

I'm a woman in pursuit of a career in higher science because I happen to love it, despite stereotypes and cultural expectations. I really don't care how many times people will look twice when I say I'm a Computer Science major and I really want to work in the software industry in the future. I also work currently to pay the bills at a Cashier job because it's flex hours, which is good for school time. I do all this and more because I want to.

Wow, guys, thats really deep

[Agent_Dark]

the size of her muscles...

[Amann]

how she swears

Vasquez and Ripley from Aliens 2 anyone?

Hudson: "Hey vasquez, you ever been mistaken for a man?"

Vasquez: "No, have you?"

OR this is another favorite line....

Ripley: "Get away from her, YOU B****!"

OR.... the best last words issued by ANYONE

Vasquez: "You always were an ***hole Gorman."

hehe