Q: Why do you write strong female characters?
A: Because you’re still asking me that question.
—
Joss Whedon (via eventuallythebirdsmustland)
I will always reblog this when it comes up on my dash.
^Truth. We’ve reached an interesting point in time, though. Define, “Strong.”
No, really, define what strong means, in a female character.
A strong female character may be a mother, a daughter, a wife, a lover, heterosexual, bisexual, lesbian, physically tough, emotionally tough, determined; she may be sexual or not, maternal or not, display emotions typically or atypically, she could be asexual/genderqueer/transgender.
Strong, to me, means writing a character that isn’t about how the author views women (regardless of whether or not they are one) but about writing the character as the character.
Yes, I want women to be portrayed as tough and kick-ass, but that’s not the whole picture.
I want the whole picture. I want to see women who can beat the hell out of a villain and who are capable of being tender with a lover or child or friend, and I want those things to also be seen as strength.
Most of all, I want any lens turned on a woman to be intent on portraying that woman and not what the person behind the lens imagines the audience wants to see.
Two of the most powerful film experiences I’ve had in the past two months are seeing The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Shame. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is stunning. It is brutal and truthful in its portrayal of how institutional vulnerability is used to attack women sexually. It also ensures that its protagonist fights back. Most importantly, the nudity in the film is never sexualized, not even during scenes depicting consensual sex.
The other film that left me staggered, was Shame. Not because of Michael Fassbender’s body, but because this is a film that could easily have played to a male gaze in viewing women as sexualized for the audience, through the eyes of a sex addict and instead, it portrays an incredibly painful point of view. It further doesn’t leave the audience off the hook, because it looks at the male protagonist in an equally washed out, grainy light.
