I play video games. I read comics (when I can get a hold of one). I like action movies with lots of ass kicking. I'm not an ordinary girl, apparently. I dislike romance with a passion that can only be surmised by the fact that my favorite cartoons when I was younger were X-Men, GI Joe, Transformers, and everything else the little boys watched. It's not that I'm not girly. I love makeup, pretty things, pink, and glittery eyeshadow.

And I'm sick and tired of seeing crap touted to girls that is so...stereotypical. Anime that has "magical princesses" who are all giggly and dumb, but manage to save the world and get their one true love make me gag. Romance novels where the only real action is the woman being all emo and trying to get the hunk of a man to sleep with her make me cringe. ROMANTIC COMEDIES ARE BORING. What do they all have in common? A leading lady who's frickin' dumb as pie. Perfect endings, perfect lives (that are really upset through the lead's stupid decisions), perfectly humdrum, stereotypical, predictive plots.

You've seen them once, you've seen them all. So, why do they keep making them? It's like a conspiracy! It's like, they want to keep the girl dumb. Now, I'm not a fem-nazi. I agree with equality between the sexes, however I'm aware that there are simply some things a man or woman cannot do. A man cannot have babies, a woman cannot have a gun while PMSing. I also agree with the notion of chilivery in it's basic form of respect. Many times women over use a man's generosity go get what they want. Many times men overreact and try to help when their presence isn't needed. But, why keep promoting this "dumb, giddy" leading lady to women?

Maybe it was how I was raised. My mom is a very strong woman. She's very opinionated, very smart, and a very hard worker. As well as my father's mom (my Mamaw), my other Grandmother, and most of my aunts (I hesitate to say all as I don't know some at all and others not well enough). I was taught from a young age that I can go out and do whatever I want. I can be whatever I want. It must of been a natural thing, then, that I always chose my favorite characters as women who were very action orientated and had a sense of purpose. It's hard to find those types in the trivial crap they tout to girls.

Some of my favorite characters were:

Storm, X-Men (more so now than before)
Jean Gray/Phoenix, X-Men (more so now than before)
Rogue, X-Men
Psylock/Ravanache, X-Men
Lilandra, X-Men
Emma Frost/White Queen, X-Men
Chung-Li, Street Fighter
Katana, Mortal Kombat
Jade, Mortal Kombat
Melina, Mortal Kombat
Princess Leia, Star Wars
Padme Amidala, Star Wars (Yes, I was in high school when the prequels came out!)
"The General", Star Wars (the game Knights of the Old Republic: The Sith Lords, though I played Revan as a girl too! But, for sake of cannon, only the general was female...I'm a geek.)
Sarah, The Labyrinth
Rei, Sailor Moon (Yeah, it crosses the romantic Anime line, but Rei was a good character! Feisty!)
Buffy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Jem, Jem (from that funky 80's cartoon about the rock star)
Hermione, Harry Potter
Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter
Bellatrix LeStrange, Harry Potter
Catwoman, Batman

I'm sure there was more, I've just forgot. These women were all very strong and went above and beyond to get what they wanted. Yes, all were "good guys" (with the exception of Milena and Bellatrix/Emma Frost and Catwoman are still open to debate), but they were all capable of doing not so good things to get what they wanted. These were the types of characters I tried to model myself after. They had the qualities I valued for a strong woman: Tough when need be, sensible when it was called for, but never backed down when they knew they were right. They knew that what they wanted wouldn't just fall into their lap. Kicking ass and taking names is sometimes necessary, and they don't feel bad about it.

To me, it's funny that these character archetypes of a strong woman can be found in the more traditional markets for boys (with the exception of Harry Potter, Buffy, and Jem). So, what gives? Why are we still marketing the dumb crap to girls? Because it sells well? Would it sell so well if girls were used to the strong figure and not a dumb one? *insert deep breath here* Or, maybe the girls and their parents are so scared to go against tradition that they teach/tell themselves that the comics, cartoons, movies, etc...usually marketed to guys won't have anything of value to a girl?

It's a tough question and I sincerely think the answer isn't definable. It's different for everyone. It's people afraid of branching out. It's people being taught not to like something. It's so many things and yet, it's nothing all at once. My point is simple: We need more female figures who are strong. Romantic Comedies are good, if you enjoy shallow humor, cliches, and want to just relax from every day life. But, in the action flicks, I want to see more women leads! Not the sex-kitten crap like Barberella and Barbwire, but like in X-men and Mortal Kombat!

Hey, you writers! Take a stand and try something new. You never know, you might tap into an audience you never knew you had!


Disclaimer:

I write strong female leads in my stories. I play them in my RPG games. I read enough, watch enough, see enough to know that more and more girls are "coming out of the closet" on this issue. They are admiting they enjoy the more action oriented stuff. I'm just saying that for as far as we have come, there are still things setting us back. This issue is one of them.