Writing Strong Women vs STRONK Women

[@delphilily]

Finally someone saying it. I absolutely hate how modern media basically says "if you act like a woman, then you cannot be a strong woman"

[@nevaehhamilton3493]

It's a type of sexism.

[@andrewgreeb916]

feminine strength is real and needed

[@xxkankala1671]

Who said that?

[@jondoe8350]

@@xxkankala1671Hollywood, have you seen the recent movies and actors, most specifically the one who wanted to remake Snow White

[@Kejmur]

They make them act like men. And toxic men at that. Stoic to the point of absurdity, sometimes with actions and commentary that leave you confused and offended. Does someone still remember Captain Marvel slapping that grandma scene? Or worse, in Peter Pan's live-action movie Wendy slaps Peter Pan in the face. What a way to go to promote violence in a children's movie. You can 100% write a badass woman, with FAULTS and make it sensible. Black Lagoon is an old anime I recommend, as it shows how to write strong, female characters. Several different versions of Wonder Woman or Black Widow do it well as well. Older Tomb Raider series as well. You get the point.

[@khfan4life365]

Also, gentle characters do not mean weak. Sometimes, the strongest thing you can do is be gentle.

[@camillesharem]

Precisely. Sometimes, the gentlest characters are the ones who make the greatest difference. People such as Sam Gamgee, Mrs. Brisby, and I'll even throw in Ashitaka for comparison as the guy who realizes that fighting will not solve the problems in Princess Mononoke.

[@saturated3821]

Oh gosh, I needed this comment right now personally :D my toddler refuses to go to bed right now since moving away from the crib and going to sleep is a 1,5-2hr adventure of frustration and incredulity at what shenanigans a tiny tired human can come up with instead of just. Going. To. Sleep. And let me tell you, the strength required to not start shouting profanities at your child is immense (hence why so many parents fail at this), and the source of that strength, if you can tap into it, is all love and gentleness.

[@silverjohn6037]

@@saturated3821 My mother gave me a piece of advice from raising me and my four brothers and sisters. You may think you can get things done while the baby is asleep but don't. If the baby is asleep you should be asleep. Any chores can wait and be done when the baby is awake anyway.

[@saturated3821]

@@silverjohn6037 I completely agree with your mom and I did try to live by that when kiddo was a baby. Ofc it's a bit difficult to be asleep when the child's refusing sleep 😅

[@robinthrush9672]

When asked for his inspiration for the voice of Optimus Prime, Peter Cullen will tell the story of him about to head out to the test reading and talking to his brother about playing a "hero truck". His Vietnam veteran brother told him to be a real hero, not a Hollywood action hero; to "Be strong enough to be gentle".

[@TheMormonSorceress]

Disney's Mulan (not the remake) is a good one as she went into war in disguise to save her father and with her brains, she saves all of China. All because she loves her father.

[@camillesharem]

Mulan is a great example! She's a girl who doesn't even want to be a warrior, but she wants to save her family and make her father proud. So, she sacrifices herself to go to war. Something she is clearly NOT ready for! But she learns, grows, and even overcomes bad relationships with the other men and earns their respect. It's a fantastic story with a great character arc. As a kid, that part where she and Mushu are confessing to each other in the snow really shook me. It's powerful moment after riding such a high!

[@camillesharem]

Mulan is a great example! She's a girl who doesn't even want to be a warrior, but she wants to save her family and make her father proud. So, she sacrifices herself to go to war. Something she is clearly NOT ready for! But she learns, grows, and even overcomes bad relationships with the other men and earns their respect. It's a fantastic story with a great character arc. As a kid, that part where she and Mushu are confessing to each other in the snow really shook me. It's powerful moment after riding such a high!

[@yohanesbobbysanjaya3541]

Mulan is the epitome of gender equality, not only she disguised herself to help her father but her friends also disguised themselves as concubines to save the emperor. So how the hell this new "progressive" Disney screwed Live Action Mulan so damn Bad.. for such a woke company who go war with US state for LGBT Right... how the hell they screwed the LGBT Icon Li-Shang.... and for a company who loves to suck CCP's money... how the hell Disney doesnt understand that : 1. Chi is not the force from star wars 2. Witch is not exiled in china, its european things... heck even if you are a women you will get high status if you are a "witch"...(heck the cultural definition is so damn different i dont think chinese has their own word for stereotypical witch) 3. Emperor will never take on a fight.... I can go on and on and on damn

[@ianesgrecia8568]

Mulan is a great example. They start with a song about the women role and stereotype, then at the camp we get the men role and stereotype. And in the end what wins is mulan using her wits and A FAN TO BLOCK THE SWORD. The fan here being a WOMAN ACCESSORY. Too bad that Holywood now can only see women as strong if they behave like stoic men. Not even men in general, just stoic men.

[@camillesharem]

@@ianesgrecia8568 What is really great about Mulan using her fan to beat Shan Yu's sword is that combines her knowledge of women's accessories WITH her military training and overcoming Shang's trials. Both worlds and experiences give her everything she needs to defeat a guy who almost brought down China.

[@jessh.7431]

I think Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle counts as a strong female character. Her presence in the film really makes everyone be their best self, even when she herself has been cursed out of her youth.

[@SpectreBagels]

And Chihiro from Spirited Away

[@camillesharem]

Sophie absolutely is! She's even better in the book! Haha! Sophie really drives the plot of the movie, though. And even though she is cursed and gives up everything from her old life, she still stays true to who she is. Her acceptance of getting old always makes me laugh.

[@camillesharem]

@@SpectreBagels Chihiro is a great example! Especially because she is so young. Miyazaki did a great job giving a little girl in a fantastical situation realistic growth as an individual.

[@usonohoshi6165]

Most. If not all women in Ghibli are different levels and kinds of strong. Even the more quiet stories.

[@mittag983]

She's also so relatable she has no friends only her sisters hates herself doubts herself just wants someone to understand her is hardworking is accepting of her situation etc she's an icon when she said Howl has no idea how it is to be ugly or something similar I had tears in my eyes and I'm the opposite of emotional

[@nullings.]

I think Bell's strength is that she doesn't take the Beast's bs, no matter what. She's terrified of him and devastated about losing her freedom, future, and family from one moment to the next. And yet when he says "EAT DINNER WITH ME!!!!!", she's like "Hell, no." 😂

[@camillesharem]

Yeah, Beat severely needed the humbling, and Belle was the one to give him that.

[@_zenith_139]

Bell and Beat...😂

[@natalya402]

The women from Avatar: The Last Airbender are great examples of strongly written female characters. Yes they can kick butt with their powers, putting them on equal footing with male benders, but they grow and overcome struggles just like anyone else. Even insanely powerful benders like Toph have moments of struggle, like when she was captured and being taken back to her family. But that moment was used to show how ingenuitive she is. And though she is tough, she has emotional issues she has to learn to overcome as well, so I'd hardly say she is a Mary Sue. Suki is a good fighter, but not because she can throw a man across a room, but because she is quick and intelligent, and she doesn't win every fight, especially against benders. And Katara just has a great arc where she learns to become a great bender, but also matures as a person, overcoming her emotional issues and traumas and comes out all the stronger for it in the end.

[@mk_wizard]

I am both a woman and an author, and this put a smile on my face. Thank you. Mrs. Brisby is strong, Aunt May is strong, classic Mary Jane is strong, Harriet Winslow from Family Matter is strong and funny, and there's so many more.

[@camillesharem]

Yay! It's always great when another author finds our channel! :) Please feel free to share your work or promotionals for your books here! You're right that Aunt May and Mary Jane should also be on this list of strong AND strongly written female characters before the year 2,000. I sadly didn't stress that beyond a throwaway comment in the video that I was looking for examples from before this debate around strong women really picked up steam. I sadly never watched Family Matters. My folks weren't fans of sitcoms, so those kinds of shows were not a part of my life growing up. Come to find out years later that a lot of these series were monumental in inspiring people! Looking back at it, the 80s and 90s were a golden age for authors and creators to start writing strong female characters without the bland, hollow pandering. But there were already great examples even before then!

[@NobodyC13]

Aunt May has shown she can be strong and cunning without having to punch bad guys. There was this famous issue where the world knows Spider-Man's identity and the Chameleon decides to invade Avengers' Tower (where the Parkers are staying) wearing Peter Parker's image. Only Aunt May is home and she's immediately suspicious of "Peter" on the elevator ride up. She makes "Peter" oatmeal cookies and interrogates him with trick questions until "Peter" starts feeling funny, only for Aunt May to casually tell him he's been poisoned by the cyanide cookies she baked him (they're actually loaded with crushed sleeping pills with lots of almond flavor to mimic the taste of cyanide). Aunt May lays down all the mistakes Chameleon made while impersonating Peter, from all the wrong answers he gave to her trick questions to accepting cookies she knows Peter dislikes: "I suspected you weren't Peter on the elevator ride up. After all... what kind of mother wouldn't be able to tell her son from an impostor?" And during her interrogation, Aunt May was knitting a sweater and at the end of her summation, she turns it around to reveal she knitted the words "GOTCHA!" in big blocky letters to which the Chameleon succumbs to the poison and is knocked out at her feet.

[@robinthrush9672]

Here's how strong of a character Harriet Winslow is: Family Matters was a spin-off show because she stood out so much on Perfect Strangers as an elevator operator.

[@mk_wizard]

@@robinthrush9672 Exactly. It isn't muscle that makes you strong. It's personality.

[@maxis2k]

Family Matters is such an underappreciated show.

[@nullings.]

I like Touru Honda from Fruits Basket for being the prime example that traditionally feminine traits and being strong/badass are not incompatible. It's through her caring nature, her unwillingness to give up on people, and her ability to provide them with comfort and emotional support that she single handedly saves the lives of A WHOLE FAMILY of people who otherwise would have drowned in despair.

[@camillesharem]

I still need to finish Fruits Basket, but I've heard that it is absolutely incredible by the end.

[@nullings.]

@@camillesharem I agree! :)

[@Rosefire]

Tohru is indeed a wonderful character. She's pure of heart without a shred of resentfulness or jealousy in her soul. She can't lift the Sohma curse but can be the loving mother figure they need. And in return, they give Tohru a home and make her part of their family.

[@emmathenerd147]

My personal fav is Yona from Yona of the Dawn. She starts out a sheltered princess, but she goes through some serious stuff. Instead she uses that hardship to help her kingdom. She's incredibly feminine and sensitive, but that doesn't take away any strength from her character because her sensitivity and kindness is what drives her development and the plot. Long story short Yona of the Dawn slays and people should watch/read it.

[@camillesharem]

I seen some of Yona of the Dawn, but not all of it yet. it was a good story. Camille, our fearless leader, absolutely LOVES Yona! It is also one of the few manga she actively reads.

[@SizzlingSocks]

ooooh I wanna watch that

[@frostfiredirewolf8517]

Have we gotten season 2 yet?!

[@emmathenerd147]

@frostfiredirewolf8517 Sadly we haven't, but the manga has been ongoing ever since. There'd be so much material to work with and it would be awesome though

[@lunashadowingeclipse630]

YAAAASSSS ANOTHER YOTD FAN

[@theenchantedrose3861]

Finally, someone mentioned Belle. (She’s my favourite Disney Princess as the username suggests haha) She’s such an underrated character who is often overlooked or worse mislabeled as weak. On that note, all Disney Live Action Princesses have this problem of unnecessary over correction. Belle didn’t need to be an inventor, she was already intelligent. Jasmine didn’t need to be the sultan, she was already outspoken. Mulan didn’t need superpowers, she was already proactive. Ariel didn’t need to defeat Ursula, she already saved Eric. Overall, great video and great analysis. Couldn’t agree with you more.

[@robinthrush9672]

You may be interested in The Authentic Observer's videos on femininity in media.

[@cmrobbins88]

Chihiro/Sen from Spirited Away is another great strong female character. She starts off as meek and bratty and then through circumstances out of her control she’s wisked into working at a bath house for the witch Yubaba in order to save her parents and escape the spirit world. Instead of going on some magic quest to confront and kill Yubaba and free her parents, her trial is enduring the hard work, learning to trust others, empathizing with some of the characters and showing kindness, and facing danger her own way without having to gain strength/weapons/power or repress emotion. Comparing the scene where she’s crawling down the stairs of the bath house slowly and then running and screaming when one breaks, to a day or two later running straight across a rusty, unstable heat pipe that’s falling apart on the outside walls of the bath house, barefoot, all to save Haku while he’s bleeding out at the top floor is definitely an example of how strong she is. Not only a strong female character, but a strong adolescent character as well.

[@zenfirebird5360]

Duck from Princess Tutu is an example of one. Rather than using violence she tries to talk it out through the medium dance. Same with cardcaptor Sakura in the manga as she tries to help the cards rather than fight them and Jo from Kid Cosmic as you see her being the voice reason while having learning moments of her own. I think the problem lies in what some people think it means to be strong and that ideal tend to be an impossible toxic standard...or is it ideal.

[@camillesharem]

The Japanese love exploring the concept of strength in their stories. It's such a vague term that can be applied in many cases, but too many western writers have taken that to mean put bulking muscles on a girl and make her Dirty harry meathead. Which completely misses the point of Dirty Harry... But generally speaking, being strong is a good quality. It's when that is used as an excuse to mistreat others that it becomes toxic. Duck and Sakura are both excellent examples! I haven't kept up with Kid Cosmic, but Jo was awesome from everything I saw. I like how she kept everyone together. Her character arc in the first season was really good.

[@renjiai]

Personally I’m a fan of strong female villains. Maleficent, Azula, Ursula, Shego, Catra. If I think they would murder me I love them.

[@camillesharem]

I do love me a strong, bad girl who could fold me in half. Hahaha!

[@DjPrimeVideos]

You lost me at Catra

[@boi1825]

I love the kind of women that could actually just kill me.

[@joyc.e.7511]

@@DjPrimeVideos They lost me a little too, but then I also think of Azula. I get it, in concept.

[@eow4317]

@@DjPrimeVideosCatra lost you but Azula didn’t? … ok …

[@SuperCosmicMutantSquid]

I keep using Sailor Moon as an example when people bring up strong women for a very important reason; Sailor Moon's cast is so massive it allows to show off a variety of strength from a variety of different girls and women which is what we should be 'encouraging'. Bur the general idea of STRONK is ONE personality and it's usually the worst traits of bullies (there are GOOD traits of bullies?) like needless aggression, the demeaning of others whom you deem as weaker, main character syndrome and a plethora of other shit behavior. Their 'girl bosses' are more 'mean girls'.

[@camillesharem]

I honestly didn't appreciate how positive Sailor Moon was as a series until I was an adult. It's definitely an anime worth going back to. What we want to see promoted is more positivity in portraying female characters and not glorifying bully mentalities and awful personalities. Somewhere along the line, it's like people thought that Regina George was the real hero of Mean Girls...

[@SuperCosmicMutantSquid]

@@camillesharem The obsession with that movie is the reason why we have so much bad writings. I honestly think people are more concerned with being considered 'the next Mean Girls!' than just making something entertaining.

[@camillesharem]

@@SuperCosmicMutantSquid Yes! I do like Mean Girls, but that is a very specific kind of story with specific characters that only work in THAT story! We need to move on and explore other types of teenage heroines. Which has been one of my smaller goals with my own flagship series, The Legend of the Ten Lords.

[@Manola-tu7wk]

Sailor Moon is a great anime! Another good anime with good female characters is InuYasha.

[@Solus3D]

​@@camillesharemUsagi (Serena in Latin America) is a nice example. She is weak, coward and cry all the time. And still, she face the evil to save people. The figth against Sailor Galaxy is the best example.

[@the-reclining-roleplayer]

The linking thread here is this: the women you have listed here are strong /for others/. The 'stronk' version is 'strong for themselves'. It's a selfish strength where people benefit from their strength as a perk, not as the goal. Any character, regardless of age, gender or background is strong when they are empowered by virtues that are born out of selfless desires, is strong and empowering for everyone--themselves, their fellow characters in the story and we, the audience. That's why even the most obvious choices (Ripley etc) are remembered; their selflessness empowered us for real by virtue of being virtuous. Not because it told us 'You too can punch aliens in a mech suit' but because it taught us 'You too can slay a monster if you are courageous and selfless'

[@camillesharem]

Bingo! Being strong for others is what makes you powerful. Gaining power for yourself, whether it be physical, political, spiritual, magical, whatever, if done just for yourself it will lead to corruption and toxicity. But being selfless for others, using whatever strengths you have to help them and save them, that makes you virtuous. Hollywood and too many modern authors have forgotten this, and instead use that strength to bring themselves vicariously some self-satisfaction by destroying a villain who embodies an aspect of the modern world they don't like. That is not in and of itself bad writing, but it's a mindset that leaves much room for self-reflection and making a story or characters that can be more appealing and relatable. Such as using their strength selflessly for others.

[@spacedinosaur8733]

@@camillesharem That's why many manga/anime is crushing western media.

[@camillesharem]

@@spacedinosaur8733 It's one of the many reasons. And there's actually a very necessary and deep discussion that NEEDS to be had about the strengths and weaknesses of Eastern storytelling and how both the West and the East can benefit by learning from each other.

[@ExtremeWreck]

@@camillesharem " how both the West and the East can benefit by learning from each other." For the East most of the lessons would be from Western European comics since American films(or more accurately, Californian films & animation) tend to suck these days & can often be a showcase of just how selfish the unions can be towards those from other US states.

[@camillesharem]

@@ExtremeWreck I was thinking in terms of storytelling. For instance. Eastern storytellers LOVE isekai, and they are great at pitches and concepts for it. Unfortunately, so much isekai these days is copy and paste videogame blandness... However, western portal fantasy writers understand the innate purpose of isekai/portal fantasy, what it is supposed to mean for the characters and their growth. If you could merge Eastern inventiveness with western character archetypes from portal fantasy, you would have a powerhouse story! It's all about what qualities we can learn from each other and the inspiration that we can take that will enhance our storytelling. Though Hollywood could learn a thing or two about working on a fifteen million dollar budget. Looking at you Godzilla Minus One! That was incredible!

[@CallaSoreon]

Absolutely love this. It has bothered me for a long time that the only strength that seems to matter to people is physical strength when talking about strong female characters. There’s nothing wrong with female characters who are physically strong as long as they’re more than just that. And there are so many different types of strength that could and should be explored more. Akari from march comes in like a lion, is one of the first that I think of when it comes to strong female characters. She’s just a regular lady doing her absolute best to give her little sisters the best life possible. And she exhibits so much emotional strength in doing that

[@camillesharem]

Lars here! I'm the only one in the Harem who hasn't see March Comes in Like a Lion, but I've heard from everyone else how incredible it is. And it's good to know that it has a great character who displays the the qualities that really make a female character strong. :)

[@lloydlego6088]

I also nominate Hina from same series. Even though she is being bullied she refuses to take any of the blame, and not back down. She feels guilty that she could not protect her friend, but stood beside her until the friend was so traumatized her family had to move. I can’t recommend the anime and the manga enough. It is also the slowest burn romance I have ever seen.

[@ajdynon]

Heck, I love female-led action stories, to the point that I've sought out DVD copies of crappy 80s Sword and Sorcery movies just because they had female fighters in them. Maybe it's because I'm on the autism spectrum, maybe just part of growing up, but it took me longer to come to recognise and appreciate other forms of "strength", but it eventually happened.

[@camillesharem]

@@ajdynon I love me some good Sword and Sorcery! And the leading ladies there are awesome! After doing this video, I have considered a deep dive into Red Sonja, because Hollywood is looking to "reimagine" her.

[@ajdynon]

@@camillesharem Would love to see that. I tried searching KZbin for Red Sonja a while ago, and the results were a bunch of dudebros complaining that the new movie was going to be "woke".

[@spacedinosaur8733]

'Snow White with the Red Hair' is an excellent anime with great strongly written female character.

[@MoRPho151]

Oh my god thank you so much for this video!! And thank you so much for adding Tolkien to this discussion, because something that bothers me too much about this is how some people treat Tolkien as a misogynystic writer just because there were very few women in Lord of the Rings. First of all, you are judging an old traditional author by today’s standards and that is wrong. Second of all, he went to war and was an academic that liked mythology, both of this things were dominated by men. It was actually a surprise to see him writing so good female leads like Galadriel, Luthien, Elwing, Luthien, Melian and other women of the books. Even if they are so few, all of those characters are very good and the majority are very powerful and they let a strong impression in me as a young teenage girl reading this books. I am also tired to see just Ripley and Sarah Connor in this discussion. Even if we just talk about physically or fighting kind strong women, What about Kill bill? Mulan? Furiosa in Mad Max? Of course they were fewer than men buuut they were doing them right… and I feel the people that complain about the classical action movie where the main hero saved everyone and got the girl as if it were a price (the style of maybe Transformers or other similar movies) do have a point that this is some kind of trope that reduced women and was overdone for male fan service… But I feel that this is talked about in a way as if this was something present in ALL movies and that is just not true. Not all movies and stories have being like that in the past. For example, in Matrix Trinity is not saw as a price that Leo won, but is like his companion and complement, and she is as capable as him.

[@camillesharem]

There are so many great examples of strong and strongly written women in stories! And yeah, Mulan, Furiosa, the Bride from Kill Bill, Ariel from the Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, all the gals from Lone Star, and many more easily fit into the category and before the current and aggravating fights over female representation. And yeah, we cannot judge older authors solely off of our modern standards. We can say their work isn't for us if we want, but Tolkien wrote fantastic women into his stories when he did make them a focal point. People who say otherwise are hoping to get clout... As for treating women like a prize, that has happened in some stories, but I would argue that it was based more on a obligatory trope from Hollywood, where the good guy gets the good girl. Because a "Healthy" romance was perceived as essential for a happy ending. You don't need a romance to make a story good, and I think that is a good thing to point out. But now we have too many people trying their best to avoid all romances in their stories OR they swing towards glorifying toxic romances, which in turn degrade potentially strongly written characters! Instead, we need to find that happy middle ground where characters are written well and placed appropriately into the overall story you want to tell.

[@merrydiscusser6793]

I agree with you on almost everything. Just not about Ripley and Sarah Connor. Those earned their muscles. If you go back to the first Terminator and Alien movies, neither really had that much raw muscle power or weapon knowledge. The characters were strong before they got stronk. Especially with Sarah Connor, her getting buffed and trained on weapons is a significant part of the second movie. Not that sure about Ripley. Though yeah, I would definitely count them as a valid and good examples for a strong woman even though they also get some muscles because they basically need them.

[@camillesharem]

@@merrydiscusser6793 I guess I could have been more clear on this. Sarah Connor and Ripley are great female leads. They really are! The problem is that in nearly every discussion about "good" strong female characters, they are the two who are always referenced, and it's done because they are motherly figures with muscles who kick butt. They're great! But they are not the only versions of strong female leads. The ones I referenced in the video should be mentioned alongside the kick-butt heroines, but who are strong because of their determination, values, brains, charms, and wits, and not because they can kill terminators and aliens. Strong women come in many flavors, so in future debates that others have about what makes a strong female lead I'd love to see some of these other awesome gals thrown into the ring and properly explained.

[@merrydiscusser6793]

@@camillesharem In Terminator 1 Sarah Conner was a normal waitress. Not a trained fighter with a lot of muscles. So she definitely also fit the "strong woman without muscles that beat her enemy with wit" category for me. I agree that both she and Ripley are a bit overused as an example of genuine strong woman. That might have something to do with that both are very famous classics that everyone knows about.

[@EvilPatata]

Thank you for talking about Dororo. She definitely deserves her name on the title ✨

[@camillesharem]

She absolutely does! If it wasn't for her, that story would be nowhere near as good or palatable!

[@Brotherofthe4thCompany]

Whenever people talk about Dororo (The anime), they talk about the horrors Hyakkimaru endured, but they don’t mention Dororo’s pain. With the hell she’s been through, and how she overcame that, being a positive force in his journey, I would say she’s strong. I loved the anime. I didn’t even care that I watched it subbed. It was a beautiful anime with a cathartic ending and at the center of it was the dynamic between Dororo and Hyakkimaru.

[@camillesharem]

@@Brotherofthe4thCompany It was an incredible anime! And Dororo was both Hyakkimaru's heart and strength throughout the journey. I also loved all the times that she was the face of the group, fast talking and thinking about how to profit from every situation. Which then shows how generous and good she really was because she could have taken advantage of sooooo many people along the way!

[@alissaandry1332]

Im so glad you brought up Sailor Moon, i know its very popular but i haven't seen many people talk about how the characters are written. My favorite has to be Sailor Jupiter and how she is both masculine and feminine. She practices martial arts, she stands up for herself and others, and absolutely kicks ass but she also likes flowers, cooking, and falling in love. She's a lot like me in that sense, liking things of all types. I'm tired of different kinds of women bringing others down for being different, Sailor Moon would never.

[@camillesharem]

I want to especially highlight what you said there at the end. We should not allow the portrayals of different women be torn down or derided to prop up just one or two "types" above all the others. I remember when the media vilified Alita because she wasn't a carbon copy of Captain Marvel or the 2016 Ghostbusters. Hollywood wanted Clint Eastwood women or bumbling, empowered buffoons. But being so narrowly focused removes all the other types of women that can enrich and lead a story.

[@alissaandry1332]

@@camillesharem It's like what Uncle Iroh said, "it is important to draw wisdom from different places. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale."

[@StevenCardona-t9f]

People don't hate strong women. They just hate bad writing

[@camillesharem]

Amen!

[@CrookedClover]

agreed as a woman I hate it when people say that the guy the hates strong woman but no he just hates the writing

[@StevenCardona-t9f]

@@CrookedCloverLike how Captain Marvel just effortlessly destroyed her mentor, the very person who was supposed to help her train her superpowers.

[@Solus3D]

USA producers hate strong womans. A lot of times a good writing is destroyed by the producers. In the movie Silence Hill, the producer force to introduce male protagonist and make female caracters loos more week. This is why the movie is so weird is some parts. Producers ruin a saga because they want only strong mens.

[@SymphoniaFly]

My pick for a strong female character is no doubt gonna raise some eyebrows, but... Nokia from Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth. She's a massive girly girl and I totally expected her to be the damsal in distress when I first saw her and then not only did that never happen but she became one of the strongest and most proactive characters in the whole game, without ever changing her personality.

[@smugsneasel]

Oh it raised my eyebrows alright. In disbelief that I found such a statement about Cyber Sleuth here and one that's incredibly correct at that. I thought I'd be tired of dealing with Nokia at the beginning but the game kept going and I kept wanting to see what the heck this girl was gonna try next. Ami/Takumi might be the muscle and the one with the special power, but in my eyes, Nokia is the protagonist.

[@SymphoniaFly]

@@smugsneasel She is the true gogglehead of the game. 😌

[@WildArmACF]

That moment where Nokia steals protagonist's rights and makes omegamon/omnimon with pure force of will. Phone girl is impressive

[@Lady_ETHNE]

Thank you so much for highlighting Disney and Tolkien in this video, as both LOTR and Beauty and the Beast are my favorite movies. Belle was such an inspiration to me when I was younger and the female elves in Tolkien get so overlooked. These ladies aren't fighting on the battlefield in the films they are in but they are strong, kind, wise, and great feminine role-models for younger girls. You've earned a new subscribble.

[@camillesharem]

Wow! Thank you for subbing! :) I had to include Belle in the discussion for more than just her smarts. In literally every online and podcast discussion about strong characters, she's always reduced to her brain. And the Disney remake did the exact same thing... But Belle was more than that! Her kindness, her strength of character, her love for her father, selflessness, blended with her adventurous spirit and mischievousness make her a strong lead. It's clear that she's more than just a brainy gal! And Tolkien's pantheon of characters IS largely packed with men. That's true. But people take that to mean that he didn't understand women. Just because the guy was a WW1 veteran didn't mean he was blind and heartless! Haha! When he makes any women a main actor in his stories, he treats her with the same depth and consideration as he does the other leads. Arg! I just had to settle that score with websites like Screen Rant who clearly have an agenda and aren't looking at many of these stories from the position of a writer.

[@RoseBaggins]

*claps with tears streaming down face * yes!! Two of my favorites!! Belle is my favorite Disney Princess, with Ariel and Aurora tying for second. Jane Austen has been the queen of strongly written females for a reason.

[@Lady_ETHNE]

@@RoseBaggins Ariel's one of my favs as well! I've been starting to relate to her more as an adult, as I get obsessed with things really easily and wish I could live in the worlds I watch and read about, or that I could be "part of that world."

[@camillesharem]

@@RoseBaggins Jane Austen's stories troll so many "feminist" stories today. She was cheeky with what she saw was wrong in her society, but rather than tear it down, she empowered her female leads within that system, displaying their determination, strength of character, their values, and made them relatable to the other women of the time. Belle, Ariel, Aurora are all good Disney leads. Ariel was definitely one of my favorite characters growing up. I have an older sister who adored the movie. I also really liked Pocahontas and Mulan growing up. Disney, how have you fallen!?

[@haven_lady675]

I think that's the problem. Those women are basically toxic masculinity but with boobs added.

[@justordinarynoob5076]

Another strong female character who is immediately glossed over as weak is Snow White. The animated 1937 Snow White. She is a young 14-year-old girl who despite all of the hardships and hurt she faced from her evil stepmother, chooses to remain kind and positive. Even when she runs away, it shows that she dares to choose to leave an abusive household and face the consequences of being alone. When she chooses to stay at the dwarves' cottage, she does not simply let herself in. She makes sure to cook, clean, and take care of the house in return for letting herself in. Even after they allow her to stay, she makes sure to be resourceful and take care of duties that the Dwarves severely lack in doing, such as basic household upkeep. My point is that despite being a rather conventional female motherly character, her nurturing characteristics and other qualities that are traditionally attributed to women are what make her a strong female character.

[@gusty7153]

i heard this was the original intent of mlp friendship is magic when lauren faust initially designed it. six main female characters, each different, each learning how they're strong in their own unique way, and each learning to recognize and overcome a critical character flaw in order to become even stronger.

[@camillesharem]

Yeah, that was the original idea, and largely I'd say that was what drew so many adults to the MLP reboot. It had values and great characters that anyone could identify with. And the earlier seasons brought a real sense of wholesomeness through those characters and their arcs that resonated with older viewers looking for something to relate to. But then... It kinda got outta hand. But I wouldn't blame that on the writers.

[@brokeninfinitysonic1]

So that’s why I like belle more than today’s modern Disney female characters. She’s my favorite! Dude most of the characters you mentioned are characters I really really love! I just started watching the diary’s of apothecary and it’s soooo damn good. ✨✨✨✨✨

[@camillesharem]

Belle is a phenomenal Disney princess! Screw what others say about Stockholm Syndrome! Haha! The Apothecary Diaries has been a real delight this anime season, and I've loved covering it. Maomao is the perfect character to lead that story. Without her, it was just be another exhausting drama like Netflix's Ooken.

[@Kat-qf7ov]

I think OG Jasmine is also really great. I will never forgive how they massacred her personality in the live action.

[@brokeninfinitysonic1]

@@Kat-qf7ov I’m kinda surprised Charlotte is the only Walt Disney side princess who is actually pampered I do really love! I will never see the live action.

[@Kat-qf7ov]

@@brokeninfinitysonic1 love Charlotte, she is such breath of fresh air and a great subversion of an old and dusty trope

[@applejewel7730]

Let’s not forget Miyo from My Happy Marriage. She’s not physically strong but she grows to be mentally stronger. Spoilers for anyone who hasn’t watched the series, but she’s able to stand up to her abusive step family and states what she wants. I haven’t finished the first season but Miyo is sweet and hard working. And her fiancée grows to love and care about her through her sweetness and who she is as a person. He goes out of his way to find out what happened to her and once he does he becomes protective of her. Ensuring she has a better life than her previously one. Seriously go watch the series.

[@kitsunetengoku1467]

Mrs. Brisby is looking terrified most of the movie yet she keeps going regardless for the sake of her sick kid. like she is hella strong.

[@LB-yg2br]

Because courage isn’t “not feeling fear”. Courage is facing fear and pushing through it.

[@kclightman]

Excellent! Strongly written, that's on point. I HATE tropes like the 'ice queen' or 'imperious princess' that some writers try to present as 'strong'. NO. Strongly written and well-rounded, that's much better. The strength of real women is in determination, persistance, and doing what f*ing needs to be done no matter what, the things no one else wants to do. Terry Pratchett is a writer who did a totally awesome job with female characters. Witches Abroad is the only fantasy novel I know of where the protags AND antags are women, and romance is mentioned but not really important because they're all too busy with the plot to care much about it. Sir Terry said that the character comes first, then the gender, which the character generally informed him what it is. Women are people. Writing female characters sholdn't be any more complicated than writing male ones. They might have more experience washing the underwear than men but otherwise, not so different. They take responsibility, and don't pass the buck because there's never anyone else to pass it to. You can't tell me that's not a great foundation for good characters. The phrase 'Someone ought to do something' was not, by itself, a helpful one. People who used it never added the rider 'and that someone is me'. --Susan --Terry Pratchett, Hogfather

[@camillesharem]

That is a fantastic quote! My sister read many of the Disc World books and loved them. I really need to get around to those books. I like what you said, that women are people. So they shouldn't be any more difficult to write than any other person. Amen! There are unique challenges that men and women face, and if you don't know what those are, then ask! But writing how a warrior woman adjusts her bra for battle is nowhere nearly as important or impactful as writing how she deal with personal loss, what her relationship is with her family, what jokes she likes, that time she discovered her favorite food; all of those things are far more relatable and interesting! And that is universal, for men and women.

[@kclightman]

@@camillesharem You are 100% correct, and I absolutely guar-an-tee that a warrior woman would wear something that wouldn't require last minute adjustments.

[@camillesharem]

@@kclightman Yeah, she already knows her equipment and is focused on the task ahead, and the fact that she might die. She's not worrying about boob sweats or if the guy she loves is watching her. Haha! That's one of the many reasons why I thoroughly enjoyed writing Asuka's part of Bleed Steam n' Steel. It was so much fun to get into that mindset of a woman fighting to save her family from destitution and dishonor, and the lengths she would go for that. And there are a lot of situations that make her uncomfortable, but she presses on.

[@JickAudio]

What makes women strong is even in our weakness we persevere. And for men, even with fear they charge head on. Or at least that’s I feel like it happens

[@camillesharem]

That's beautifully put! And I agree. :)

[@ViewerOnline101]

Strong female characters besides those mentioned off the top of my head: Hermione Granger, Princess Leia, Ahsoka Tano, Padme Amidala, Selene (Underworld), OG Mulan, Katniss Everdeen, Catwoman, Wonder Woman, Black Widow, Starfire, Trinity (The Matrix), Princess Jasmine, Moana, Elsa and Anna, Utena Tenjou, Laurie Strode, Rose (Titanic), Judy (Zootopia), Chani (Dune), Caitlyn and Vi (Arcane), Fiona (Shrek), Mavis (Hotel Transylvania). Again, these are JUST off the top of my head.

[@owohscorner]

Venat from Final Fantasy XIV is amazing. Strongest ancient who decided to retire and give guidance rather than return the Star when her job was done. Wise, motherly, sundered the planet in order to preserve it. Remained at the center of the planet, keeping everything together for thousands of years until the main character comes to face the final enemy.

[@camillesharem]

Dedication! That is strength! And the Final Fantasy franchise has a good track record of engaging, deep character, and especially strong female characters.

[@sararatliff7707]

Thank you for your video. Thank you so much. I am an elder millennial. I grew up with a lot of classic 80s and 90s cartoons and video games. Ninja Turtles, Super Mario, Ponies, He-man and She-ra, Jem, Transformers, and the like. I tended to be lean towards more action/adventure style media (still do). Not every woman or girl from these shows were combatants, but I did have huge respect for the ones who could keep up with the warrior boys rather than the ones who were chronically damsels in distress (looking at you, April O'Neil) or just not as involved in saving the day. To this day I question if I am a strong woman because I never learned to defend myself, physically or verbally. I just deal with shit that people throw at me. I hope more girls growing up now are able to see essays like this and see these female characters who are great REALISTIC examples of what a woman can become and what she can accomplish. Interesting that there are so many people pointing the Connor and Ripply as strong characters. They are of course, but in their first outing, they were normal women, Sarah Connor especially. Ripply probably had higher education or training in order to run a space ship, but she wasn't military. It's only in the sequels do they take up arms, which is driving by a combination of mother love and survival instincts. These were not ladies trained to be combatants from birth, they were not army chicks. They were normal women. I think the folks that use them as examples of strong women focus on the badass combat and not on their vulnerability or resilience, and these qualities can sometimes be lacking in media in the 2010s and today. (The Mary Sue action girls that everyone bitches about.)

[@camillesharem]

I also hope that we authors can present more realistic and empowering female characters in our stories. Ones that can speak to any kind of girl, or person for that matter. You don't have to be physically strong or abrasive to be independent, noble, smart, witty, or "strong." Some of the coolest people I know don't have some of the qualities or are even physically inept, but they know themselves, have values that they stick to, and do good for others. And those are high qualities indeed! In my flagship series, The Legend of the Ten Lords, I have a lot of fun with one of my two lead characters, Jessica. Though a popular cheerleader, she is a closet nerd, like some of the cool girls I knew back in high school. Though, I didn't know how nerdy they were until years after we graduated. The hid that part of themselves because it wasn't cool. But as they grew and understood themselves better, they learned that it was NO contradiction to be sporty and geeky. Haha! In my books, Jessica has a lot of growing to do, to find and accept herself. She might have awesome magical powers, but she still makes loads of mistakes, has defeats, suffers at times from depression and self-doubt, changes her appearance and so on. But what makes her strong for me is her resilience, her love for her family and friends, and that she is eventually able to find a good cause to fight for.

[@squalleonkeneddyheart4191]

A perfect example of a Strong female character(person) is a Vtuber named Hoshimachi Suisei. She began as an Indie Vtuber who got inspired by her peers like Kizuna Ai, She didn't find success for a while and even do Part time jobs like Video editing for other Vtubers like herself and even do labor type jobs just so she can get her dream of being an Idol one day as when she applied people rejected her as she is a Jack of all trades master of None. Time past and she reach to a point that the efforts she gave is no longer worth it with what she gets so she decided to apply to multiple Vtuber agencies Including Hololive but all rejected her, despite being so Talented she is making a demand that no same Vtuber agency would accept, and that is to redebut to someone else that is not Hoshimachi Suisei. it is only when Hololive gave her a call and told her that she can be part of them and keep her identity not cuz they were impressed but because they happen to be opening a new Branch exclusively for Singing and she accepts. You thought it's over?during her begining months in Hololive she gets barely to no Tech/Financial/Staff support and is even close to Quitting...again, It's when her colleagues reach out to her and play games with them is when she showed what she is capable of and then the fated day that her Branch couldn't afford to support her came and she was moved to the main branch and the rest I should say.....Is History. Strong women is not defined by their physical capabilities, it's the strength of their will, Conviction, thier tenacity in which despite they lack of physical means they will make it work through any means necessary and won't give up no matter how tough it is.

[@camillesharem]

Thanks for sharing that story. You're absolutely right; it is the strength of will, character, never giving up, and the tenacity to chase your dreams and make your own life that makes a strong person. In this case, a strong woman. :) And that's really the kind of message that we need a lot more these days.

[@nilawarriorprincess]

This is what makes the series Xena Warrior Princess so wonderful. Both Xena & Gabrielle weren't only physically strong, but were extremely well written as amazing characters who grew throughout the series. Thanks for reminding me of why it's still my favorite series almost 30 years after it 1st aired. Maybe analyzing the show will help me in my creative endeavors.

[@camillesharem]

I definitely recommend it! Haha, I was raised on Xena, which might explain why my weakness is well-written muscle women. But I sincerely hope it does help you with your own creative endeavors and gives you some inspiration!

[@nilawarriorprincess]

@camillesharem Me too! I'm glad I got to watch it in my formative years. It also had a lot to do with why I find men who resemble Ares & women who resemble Xena so captivating, lol.

[@VeniVidiVici_VI]

I'd like to also add to this video that a lot of male characters could also benefit from being more than just written to be strong and powerful and badass. So many male characters bore me because all they have to them is that they're good at fighting and can swing swords or shoot guns and it's so bland that I find myself not caring about them as much as male characters who maybe aren't the best fighters or the strongest, but have deep, complicated interpersonal journeys and connections with other characters.

[@camillesharem]

This is true! Write the men with depth and personality too! Give the badass a heart and some insecurities, and it'll go a long way when done well!

[@benjaminthibieroz4155]

"It's not about how well you fight, it's all about what you're fighting for. When you fail and fall to the ground and feel sick with yourself, wich make no mistake will happen to you eventually, what force drive you to crawl your way back to the top? That my friend, may not be the factor that makes you the greatest warrior. But it makes you someone worth remembering."

[@Nessmess001]

So glad you brought up Tolkien because I was ABOUT to leave a comment about Galadriel. Extremely feminine and also incredibly powerful FOR her feminine qualities

[@bella_daze3092]

12:06 THIS MADE ME SO HAPPY❤❤❤ I LOVE DORORO😭😭😭 I don’t see many talk about it❤ it’s such a wonderful show🎉🎉

[@camillesharem]

Dororo is an underappreciated gem! I regret not covering it week-to-week when it premiered.

[@bella_daze3092]

@@camillesharemDororo is what helped me improve my art skills❤ I’m grateful for Dororo

[@bella_daze3092]

Thank GOD someone talks about this😭😭😭

[@camillesharem]

It's the kind of thing that is easy to rant about. Hahaha! But absolutely, the representation of women in recent years has been flat, and the same old two to three gals are propped up as prime examples of strong women. It's time to look beyond the sexy muscles and see strong women in all their nuance, and then transpose that into good stories!

[@Iso20227]

@@camillesharemI actually have some really high hopes for Pomni in Amazing Digital Circus. Sure, what we’ve seen so far of her has been kind of weak, but I’m expecting her to really step up and take the lead in future episodes. I just hope that she doesn’t have one character trait through the whole season like N did in Murder Drones. Don’t get me wrong, I like N’s character, but after 6 episodes and hardly any character development happening, I’m getting a little annoyed, nervous, and worried for the next 2 episodes. A mental breakdown would be good for him right about now.

[@camillesharem]

@@Iso20227 I am very interested to see how Pomni grows or aggressively stagnates in The Amazing Digital Circus. Hahaha! I agree that N hasn't gotten enough development when compared to Uzi. Which is why I think this poor guy is getting one of the worst endings going into the end of season 2. I have one more theory on that count based on the trailer! But I'll save for that for whenever I get around to that video!

[@maniacaldude]

Thank you for this video. People seem to forget that it's not so much what a character does that makes them strong, but rather who they are as a person. Mrs. Brisby is one of my go-to examples of a strong female character that doesn't fit the typical depiction of such. She goes through these hellish situations and back not because she wants to, but because she has to for the sake of her family. Her courage to keep going in spite of her own fears is what makes her so inspiring, and her warm heart and kind nature are what make her so likable. I will say, I'm kinda surprised you didn't use any examples from Hayao Miyazaki's work, though.

[@camillesharem]

I didn't strongly state it enough in the video, beyond a throwaway line as it were, that I was looking for examples from before the year 2,000. (even though the footage I used from Dororo was very recent, but the manga is from the 1960s) That means that I could have easily brought up San or Nausicaa or Sheeta, but they slipped my mind while I was working on the video. So, that's my bad, but they are wonderful examples! And it's clear that another video could be done to prop up even more fantastic, strong female characters.

[@maniacaldude]

@@camillesharem It's fine, you've selected some good examples for this video. On another note, you know something that really annoys me? The insistence that only women should be allowed to write strong female characters and that men either shouldn't or can't write them. That feels like a double standard to me.

[@camillesharem]

@@maniacaldudeSo anyone who says that obviously must hate all the amazing Broadway songs for empowered women, the Disney Renaissance songs, and even some of the catchy tunes for women these days are written in part by men. So... It sounds like they're depriving themselves of some excellent music!

[@Crazyashley42]

People have forgotten that fortitude, determination, and emotional strength are also strength. Akemi from Blue Eyed Samurai is an amazing example. She starts off pampered and a little naive, but because she was determined in her goal, she carved her own path. She isn't physically strong at all, despite having to kill two men (sneakily while defending herself and some brothel girls, not out in the open) but she uses her brain and her skills in gentility to overcome and make the best of her obstacles in life, growing as a person to become more than her original goal of a country samurai's wife. She's still a wife, but the authoritative and clever wife of the second son of the shogun of Japan.

[@dawnmana5876]

Mrs. Brisby is so underrated. She is an inspiration. She does so many heroic things to save her son despite being naturally afraid of things since she is a field mouse, PLUS she is dealing with grief from losing her beloved husband recently, learning crazy things he never told her, and trying to raise her other three children, ALL AT THE SAME TIME. She is amazing.

[@thesnesgeek]

Blue maiden is also a strong female character. She never back down from a duel and never gave up. Not to mention her final single and tag duel were amazing.

[@somethingsomethingweirdo]

Haruhi Fujioka is my go to for a well written female lead. Her perspective on gender roles and her nonchalant attitude really spoke to me as a kid, and still speaks to me now.

[@WolfShadowmancer]

[My first comment got deleted for some reason two seconds after it posted. Not sure why, nothing in it was against YT TOS? Anywho, here's essentially what I said.] This is my favorite video you've ever made. So much good information and so well written. Honestly deserves way more hype. Two thumbs way up! I love the explanation of autonomy and narrative drive being measures of a character's strength. If we look at strength only as ability to do stuff, then for the purpose of storytelling those are THE indispensable traits. Yes, the character should be well rounded and multifaceted, and there are many ways to show strength of mind, heart, body, or morals, but a character can have shortcomings in all those areas and still be an interesting character we want to read about. I think someone once said we can forgive a story character of any sin except the sin of being boring. Boring characters don't drive the plot-either because they lack autonomy or their decisions fail to impact the story in a meaningful way. So, you hit the nail on the head in my book! A trap I sometimes fall into is only writing a strong character first without factoring in their gender. Unpopular opinion but a character's gender can heavily inform the rest of their development. As much as we may not like it, men and women have had different roles historically and often continue to have very different experiences based solely on their gender, and that's not even getting into trans or nonbinary or sexuality territory. It's not the only thing or even the most important thing, but I think it has to be considered and factored in with certain character development decisions. I sometimes gloss over gender when writing, which isn't always a bad thing, but I do want to draw it out sometimes. A character's gender is often a big part of who they are and how they have and continue to develop, and I want to get better at exploring that. Anyway, loved this video. Favorite from your channel, contender for top five videos I've watched this year. Keep up the good work Lars! -David Murdock

[@camillesharem]

KZbin is weird and deletes a ton of comments all the time... First of all, CONGRATULATIONS ON PUBLISHING YOUR BOOK! And thank you so much for your comment. :) You put it all out there really well. I will say that while gender is an important factor in crafting our characters, I will caution against getting hung up on it. There are certainly plenty of situations that are unique depending on your identity, meaning that they will be perceived differently and play out different according to your gender and sexuality, we are far more than just that. Finding that balance is where people trip up, but so long as we're all trying, that is good progress. Ultimately, if we write a female character, our job is to make her engaging and alive to the reader. Whether she is a hero, villain, or a supporting character, when we give her real personality and a story, the readers will connect with her. If we tastefully and correctly explore aspects of her gender and sexuality where appropriate to the plot, then it fleshes her out even more.

[@tsubakisato6241]

Love female character like Takiko from Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden by Yuu Watase who is strong not physically, but emotionally with how she both gentle and get tough when she need to. Takiko goes through all kind of both emotions of happiness, sadness, anger, love, compassion, frustration, grief, and hopefulness. Takiko journey always makes me cry with how she is the first priestess along with the celestial warriors of Genbu have to deal with the people anger toward them thinking they are bad omen from the legends. She and her companions are the first to changed it from a omen to a blessing. I try not to spoil too much because Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden is amazing story to experience.

[@yuimaaaru_ai19]

Idk why no one mentions it but in Japan girls had Precure series for the last 20years with strong female leads/friends with all different personalities. Some brush it off saying it's a kids show, but there's 20 series just enough you can find your one favorite, and each sends out a message that even as adults can relate to. I recomend PRINCESS PRECURE or HUGTTO! PRECURE or just start off with the movies

[@smugsneasel]

Being a Precure fan is suffering sometimes. There's so much wealth of storytelling in it but other that fight scene showcases that pop up from time to time, not a lot of attention is given to it. If you're not talking to a Japanese audience, it just kinda feels like it's in its own little corner.

[@samip2212]

One anime I absolutely love is Erin (Kemono no Souja Erin), her life is not only shaped by her mother and that love but by her own choices! It is a beautiful fantasy where Erin's power is created through her relationships with others, her thirst for knowledge, and love of nature. 50 episodes and entirely worth it

[@kolbyking2315]

A strong character is someone who works hard and makes difficult choices for those they love. They are selfless, determined, and autonomous. None of these qualities are gender specific.

[@daeith1233]

That's just one definition

[@kolbyking2315]

@@daeith1233 Did I write multiple?

[@ignorethis214]

I liked the main character, Maggie, from Point of No Return (American remake of the movie, Le Femme Nikita) She starts out as a trashy, rude, cop killer, sentenced to death, but saved and brainwashed to be an assassin. We see her grow and struggle to balance this new chance she has at life with the expectations put on her, and I just love the movie, though i've still never seen the origonal French version. There is also something to be said for redempted characters, or even if she isn't redeemed, we may begin to care for her after closely watching her trials and tribulations. I hated the girl at the beginning, but the execution and the story made me care.

[@camillesharem]

I love good story about redemption, even if the character is not redeemed in the end. If done right, it's such an emotional, immersive journey to watch someone grapple with the sins of their past and try to overcome them. I haven't heard of this movie before, so thank you for sharing!

[@ignorethis214]

@camillesharem691 It has its little place in film history. If I remember right, Victor the Cleaner from either this movie or it's original French version influenced Quinten Tarantino to put his own 'cleaner' character in Pulp Fiction.

[@camillesharem]

@@ignorethis214 Oh! That's fascinating! Looking at the release dates of the movies, I think it's safe to say that the original French film was the first inspiration for Tarantino's own "cleaner." Btw, the I love how Winston controls the whole situation. It's no easy feat to write a scene like that and make it feel believable. Make me wonder how many bodies Tarantino has disposed of...

[@NobodyC13]

And for people who put Sarah Connor on a pedestal for being a strong female character, Terminator 2, the movie where she shines and people use as an example of this trope done right, immediately deconstructs and interrogates this idea. Sarah has been turned into someone who is hard and cold and alienated from her own son, and more or less forced him to not really have a childhood because of her single-minded drive to prepare him as leader for the coming apocalypse. People thinks she's crazy for her claims of a coming apocalypse. And the sequence where she home invades the Dyson family with the express goal of killing Miles is purposely done to show that she's become no different than a terminator: a cold killing machine trying to kill someone before their actions affects the future. And she has a breakdown at this realization.

[@usonohoshi6165]

Kino, from Kino's Journey, is probably one of my favorite female lead. And a great example of what all these woke character COULD be if they were written properly. She's a great gunner. But she doesn't deny that she can get scared, because of the chance that she can die. And when people mistaken her gender. She never feels the need to correct them. Showing confidence in who she is. And the same writer also made LAN from GGO Alternative, who is a different type of strong woman. With her own strengths and weakness. Both are special in their own unique way and are great examples of strong women. With their own unique journeys. Lastly, since you mentioned Galadriel. You REALLY should check out Frieren: at journey's end. Not saying she compares to the original Galadriel. But the Ring of power one. From what I understand that Galadriel is completely different from the original. Meanwhile ROP Galadriel and Frieren have plenty of similarities. From losing their loved ones in episode one. To how they have no mercy towards their enemies. But Frieren is most definitely a more well written version of ROP Galadriel interms of excution. So I do hope you check her out.

[@camillesharem]

Alright, I'll check that out. I saw a video comparing Galadriel to Frieren. After having read part of the manga (I haven't seen the anime yet), I can confidently say that Frieren is a consistent character, while the only thing consistent about Galadriel in ROP is that she is an insane war-monger, which is entirely incongruent with any version of Galadriel that Tolkien wrote.

[@hang_kentang6709]

Dont forget Flamme. The progenitor of mankind's magic age while at the same time making a mockery of being a mage to deceive and destroy demons. She also knows Frieren well enough to prepare something for her, a few hundred years in advance. She may not be Frieren's mother, but she sure loves Frieren like a daughter.

[@johanstenfelt1206]

Hm, fair and valid points and opinions, i can understand where you’re coming from and could agree, this was quite the line of examples, which i didn’t think i would ever see being compared to together. Anyway, this is the kind of thing that makes me prefer Female Protagonists over Males Ones, especially for Games that let’s you choose, because I have gotten the impression that they don’t get enough and if they are well written that would be great too. Also, that Kid was actually a Girl? I didn’t know that, what a well done disguise. Regardless, I hope we get to see more well done Female Characters in the future.

[@SiriusGalilei]

I love Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn because while she is a character who has the ability to beat a number of physically stronger foes than her, she is a strongly written character which is what makes her compelling. She has a core group of traits that at times either help her or work against her. Her story is well written because so far she is going through her own character development, becoming a better person because of it. She may be able to beat foes who are stronger than her due to her wits and determination, but that is not what makes her one of my favorite video game characters, it is because there are moments where she struggles, often due to her own flaws, where she is vulnerable and is able to express that vulnerability to those she is close to, that she is able to grow. That is a strong female character that NOT BECAUSE she is a badass, she is a strong character BECAUSE she is well written.

[@silverhawkscape2677]

I should also Add Furina from Genshin Impact as a Strong Female Character. Proof the Strongest character is not necessarily the Most Powerful.

[@Norbert_Sattler]

Another example of what you said, would be Hitomi Kanzaki from The Vision of Escaflowne. You have all the men wielding swords, giant mecha, magical nukes and what not, but in the end who saves the day? This one teenage girl and her strong personality and feelings.

[@camillesharem]

I love Escaflowne! I had considered adding her to the list, but for time's sake, I just went with Dororo and Sailor Moon. But absolutely, Hitomi belongs on this list!

[@bituinl]

Actually now that you’re talking about it. It would be nice to have more straight hyper feminine men and just straight feminine men and more masculine gay men and etc. there is definitely variety but a lot of them from what I know are either hyper masculine, masculine, or kind of an inbetween leading more to masculine. And hyper feminine gay guys. It would definitely be nice to see people breaking the norms. /lh

[@kailet1997]

I'm recently re-obsessed with Avatar the last airbender, and all the women there are sO greatly written. Katara being her gentle loving self and so true to her ideals of protecting others, Toph overcoming her disabilty and making it her biggest strength and still showing vulnerabilty in trusting others, Suki teaching Sokka that to be a warrior you don't have to be a man, and gosh, Azula being the BEST antagonist in the whole series, showing cunning and power and how all this stress eventually breaks her. None of them are perfect, but that makes them all the BEST. (Shoutout to Yue for giving her life for the world, wish we had more episodes in the north pole with her.)

[@camillesharem]

The Last Airbender really set the bar for so much in terms of great characters and storytelling. When people insinuate that the girls in the series weren't done justice, I'm like, "What? Did we watch the same show?"

[@maxleroux]

My favorite strong female protagonist in fiction has to be Nausicaä from Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. That is how you princess! 🦋

[@camillesharem]

And she had a better fighting scene than ROP's Galadriel. Haha!

[@joyc.e.7511]

Favorite Studio Ghibli movie right there! Almost no one seems to know about it anymore. I love how responsible and firm in her convictions she was. The epitome of a princess.

[@maxleroux]

@@joyc.e.7511 kzbin.info/www/bejne/aH7cq42Lo753mcU

[@insomniaclunatic7516]

Don't forget Winx Club! Not only they are superheroes who protect the universe from evil, but their tale is also one of the best stories centering around womanhood, as becoming a full fledged fairy is a brilliant metaphor for young girls growing up into beautiful, confident and powerfull women. The creators also managed to show various types of girls with their own thoughts and feelings and they never shamed anyone for displaying various traits; from girly-girls, to tomboys, and everyone in between. Also note that despite Bloom, the main character, being told that it is impossible for her to become a full fledged fairy, or save her lost family, she still manages to defy the odds and fulfill her dreams, mostly through the help and support from her friends. That is one of Winx Club's strongest aspects. They went from strangers to friends for life that are always there for each other. Their bond is so strong, that during the life and death situations it reaches the "I Would Die For You" levels of friendship. They're all strong characters first and strong women second.

[@abbasturd]

Strong female character ✨YONA✨ from “Akatsuki no Yona”.

[@TheDoRoBouNeko]

I honestly love Lifa's character so much. Even in the manga, her brief presence always brought me so much joy. This was a woman who was brought down by her own ignorance, blamed herself for the death of her son, and almost gave up her life, until MaoMao pointed out her own desire to live, she accepted her tragedy and came top of it. And every single time she had an appearance, it felt like she's just changing for the better. This one has so much more character development in like, the 5 scenes she appeared. 🤣

[@camillesharem]

She is an awesome character! I love how she changes so much from what I initially thought, and proves herself to be a wonderful, caring woman. I really enjoyed analyzing that episode while doing my reviews. :)

[@ThePrincessCH]

I've seen female protagonists that are similar to MaoMao in terms of pragmatism in Chinese dramas like ShiYi from "The Sword and the Brocade" and SuCi from "Maiden Holmes," but while MaoMao was thrust into to a position where she had little power these women was placed into powerful positions due to circumstances beyond their control. I've seen some people criticize how ShiYi or SuCi don't try to take advantage of their power in spite of the fact that their actions are mainly motivated by their desire avenge their families.

[@camillesharem]

Very interesting. I haven't seen these shows, but a good drama centered on revenge is always worth a watch.

[@camillesharem]

Very interesting. I haven't seen these shows, but a good drama centered on revenge is always worth a watch.

[@ThePrincessCH]

@@camillesharem Have you watched it yet?

[@camillesharem]

@@ThePrincessCH No, I haven't. I've been too busy trying to juggle what shows I can watch between books, writing, and personal responsibilities. It's been a lot!

[@LostWallet]

One Thousand and One Nights. while its basically a collection of short stories, the premised is about a woman, risking her life, and using her wit to save not only herself, but many women who would be executed because of the King order. I say that is strong.

[@camillesharem]

Ooo! Yeah, that is a great overarching story and character! And kudos to her for all the amazing stories, because that isn't easy!

[@shyfoxfeatherhere6446]

I LOVE Secret of NIMH! And I agree, Mrs.Brisby is one of the strongest and one of my favorite I know!

[@mayaha200]

I wonder what you think about Maika from fushigi yuugi? I can't say she is strong, but she not that weak either. Her best friend betray her but she still stay positive and still care for her. While "anime america" love to shit on her, I really appreciate her journey and how much she learn from it. By the way I love your video! Thank you for making this ❤

[@camillesharem]

I haven't seen that anime yet, so I sadly can't comment. But I usually tend to disagree with a lot of Anime America's takes on characters and tropes, so it wouldn't shock me if they don't appreciate Maika. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the video! :) We've had a lot of people asking for advice on how to write female characters based on this rant, so when we release the follow-up I hope you'll find that a fun watch, too.

[@mayaha200]

@@camillesharem it's the anime that started the whole trope "I go into another world and need to find a way home" I guess it what started the whole isekai anime that exist today. By the way inuyasha took a lot of inspiration from it. I hope you try this series someday, it's old but there is something in the storytelling that very fascinates me Cool I check it the follow up for sure.

[@camillesharem]

@@mayaha200 Thanks for the recommendation! I'll have to check it out.

[@greenssus9779]

VLADILENA MILLIZÉ ❤❤ She's so good ❤ she's flawed, she has the naive idealistic view but when confronted she began to grow out of her naiveness and became more bold and strong commander!! Hail Bloody Regina!! Eighty Six is so Good

[@benjaminthibieroz4155]

I am SO GLAD to find a fellow 86 lover in this section. Its lack of recognition saddens me as much as the greatness of the story brightens my heart. Lots of great female characters to pick in it for sure. Kurena is still my favorite, but Queen Lena is fantastic as well.

[@greenssus9779]

@@benjaminthibieroz4155 broo I'm head over heels for this show it is not even a joke 😭😭 SEASON 2 WHEN???

[@hua_tetsu_cat]

Mare from Mare of Easttown is also a very wonderful female character. She's admirable for her competency as cop, her care for others and funny too from time time

[@ariowirawan16]

Most of the woman in apothecary diaries is really strong, it's really impressed me how they use all card they have to make sure they life always under their control As simple as "bed technique" is always keep it secret from man and used by woman to make sure they wanting her and can get benefit from them It's always fascinating to see weak looking character stand up and fight in situation most people even strongest can't handle themselves

[@schuylergeery-zink1923]

I appreciate this as a female author… my first series the Crescent Crown Saga features two main ladies, but many female characters. Arachne is a powerful spider demon who is tenacious and arrogant which is juxtaposed to her vulnerability with the trauma she has experienced. She fights hard for her freedom and she melts to compassion she doesn’t feel like she deserves as she’s sees herself as a villain. Monette is very clever and booksmart but fairly self-absorbed. If she doesn’t think her knowledge and presence is useful, she feels neglected. She’ll fall in love with the wrong people at the wrong times which causes a lot of drama, prioritizing her relationships with the women she falls for over everyone and everything else. Leo has a complex about trying to protect his loved ones and especially his SO Arachne and sister Monette who are independent and get into risky/dangerous situations in pursuit of their goals. Leo is more of a reactionary character to all the crazy things that happen at him while the women primarily drive the story (causing said crazy things), but he has his moments, too. ✨ 🌙 I also face this with Saoirse in “A Promise So Dark & Wicked” on kindle vella. She is a warrior Princess - proficient with bow and arrow, sword, and military strategy. But her true strength and courage come from making sacrifices for her realm such as conceding to get married to the fae her father promised her tho she would prefer to remain single. She survives a sexual assault encounter and overcomes the anxiety and violation of that horror. Strength is not about wielding weapons but about how you preserve your soul when people or life send you through hell.

[@camillesharem]

What you said right there at the end, I couldn't agree more! Very well said. And thank you for recommending your own books. I'd be happy to give them a read. :)

[@BLED555]

Lady Medea from 'YOUR THRONE" and Penelope Eckart from "Villains are destined to die" are to me strong women. And the stories are great too.

[@bituinl]

Psyche from your throne too! She’s super strong and I’m surprised she stayed kind for so long but it really helped others around her grow as well. Which is amazing. Especially the fact Medea helped psyche to be more perspective and less naive while Psyhce helped Medea be more kind and being able to trust more. There are also many others too, but since you mentioned it I had to say it.

[@_waybeom_]

I really love Your Throne! I think that Medea and Psyche are both strong characters

[@darkjelly944]

Not gonna lie, the idea of a teenage anime girl trying so hard to act like Clint Eastwood actually sounds kinda funny. Someone should write that.

[@camillesharem]

It's an idea that could work really well as a heart-felt comedy. Especially if you dive deep into Clint Eastwood's character and history as an inspiration for a girl who would definitely stick out in japan for acting that way!

[@tarnw3301]

I think the idea works marvelously even in a serious context. True Grit has a serious girl seeking revenge. You get a sense that she's mature, strong, and down to business. She has spunk that's matched by the people around her. Adult characters are also wise and have their own reasons to act as they do, so, all in all, it's a good movie.

[@camillesharem]

@@tarnw3301 True Grit is a fantastic film, both the original and the remake.

[@matchamochi781]

Aerith is one of the strongest characters I’ve seen and she often gets pushed off as being the good girl who you save. Switch her for a male and she’d be looked at as a Jesus archetype. It’s the very idea of speaking gently but letting your words have weight. She is so brave and her decision to agree to her own confinement for the safety of another speaks leagues over choosing to punch someone. That’s really stakes, that’s real heroism. Elle woods was also a character who got shit on for a good ten years and I happy people are finally seeing her as the strong person she is.

[@bespectacledheroine7292]

Lol THANK YOU for highlighting Belle in a section. She's not sassy nor is she physically adept and to boot she commits the greatest crime of all, falling in love, so nobody gives a care about her. But I've championed her as a strong female character for years. She saves the Beast in much the same way Snow White and Aurora's princes save them, literally kissing him back to life, but does anybody notice this subversion? Nope. They see sTOcKhOLm sYNDroME and bEsTiAliTy. Give me a break. She's only a "prisoner" based on her word. If he kept her in that tower and wooed her, that would be Stockholm Syndrome sure. But she's FREE. She leaves whenever she PLEASES. God I hate how this supposed children's movie is done so dirty by grown adults. And the other is even more absurd. He's...he's humanoid. He can consent. He's not an animal in any meaningful sense of the word. This romance is beautiful and is so misunderstood.

[@camillesharem]

Belle is a great lead and Beauty and the Beast is so often lambasted and misunderstood. However, that Stockholm Syndrome argument did inspire me to start writing a version of Beauty and the Beast that I'm going to promote next year. :) A quick peek at it: Make the beast truly monstrous. Not even humanoid, but something even worse than a normal monster. AND the curse is active; no one moment breaks it. So the Beauty and Beast characters are in a relationship that very visibly changes, sliding back and forth on how they treat each other. Anyway, seeing some of the people hop into the comments to attack Belle has my mind turning on a potential video to do in February, which is when I usually slot my romance-centered videos.

[@rosethorn7255]

I think we can look to Yona from Yona Of The Dawn is a wonderfully strong character, we see her will and power go for mshattered glass, to a steel sword. She wishes for peace, and despite having left behind her father's pacifist nature, she still wishes to make peace, despite all she has been through. Her companions support her, sure, but it is HER choice once she can stand again that lets her prove herself as a character. The anime only covers so much, but the manga goes on and proves just how strong she became after her entire sheltered life shattering.

[@isabellamarvel9400]

Oooh you forgot psycho pass Akane is definitely strong. Check it out! One more Blade of the Samurai too!

[@jlouisa]

Thank you for calling out Mrs. Brisby. She is always my favorite strong character. Also with Belle, i feel that folks are stuck on the gross belief that the Disney animated version is about Stockholm Syndrome. I mean, did they even watch the movie. She didn't go to change and fall in love with Beast. She went to save her father who was sick when he got captured and would have died if she didn't take his place. She only gave Beast a chance when it was he choice to change himself. The original story was for the women to prepare for arranged marriages. The story had to update. Also want to call out all the ladies from my favorite video series the PlayStation, Lunar: Silver Star Story and Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete.

[@jjhh320]

Jessica is best girl

[@jlouisa]

@@jjhh320 Yes!!! My favorite is Jean.

[@jj-sc1kq]

"She didn't go to change and fall in love with Beast." Just an observation, the original people for which Stockholm syndrome was named after didn't get themselves taken as hostages for the purposes of changing and connecting with the bank robber. Stockholm syndrome was partially the result of the victims spending so much time with the criminal, that they got to know him, and his situation. From there they began to sympathize and even care about what happens to him. It's been a long time (2 decades and change) since I watched the movie. At the time I didn't know about Stockholm syndrome so I couldn't think about it in that light. However, this feels like it checks out from my memory. She spent a lot of time with him, she learned about the rose and his past. His anger and rough edges became understandable. He stopped being a monster in her eyes and started becoming someone that she could have sympathy for and from there, care what happens to him. But of course, please take my words with a "grain of salt" (or even have a whole shaker handy) after all, it's been sometime since I sat down and watched that movie.

[@inkchariot6147]

Matoi Ryuko from Kill La Kill is the greatest. Now that's a strong woman.

[@KyleLyre13]

I'm only at the end of season one, so I don't know if they'll eventually fumble it, but Aeryn Sun from Farscape is a great example of a character going from "Stronk Woman" to an actually strong female character.

[@FoolMisinfo]

I personally really loved Merida from brave, yeah sure might not have been a good movie but I really love how Merida didn't need to change much about herself in order to prove that she's strong and capable which is one of the points from the movie. Her mother believing that her daughter is unable to protect or be capable enough herself unlike the warriors or other men and trying to marry her to a strong capable dude but Merida doesn't want that and it's made clear in the movie that it's not that she doesn't want to get married nor have a husband or anything of the likes in the future. She just wanted to prove that she is strong and capable herself to lead and be a great queen.

[@mattirrodraca2807]

My go too strong female character is Samus Aran from metroid

[@brittanyparks8242]

Man I remember secret of nihm I watched it a couple of times as a child and as I was so young I, naturally, didn't understand any of the nuances of the story. I understood that she put herself in danger for her kids but that was it, so I didn't watch it again. I've been wanting to watch it at some point for the last few years since I remembered it but don't really know where to find it. 😕

[@camillesharem]

You should be able to get it on Amazon, both streaming and hard copy. Amazon bought up MGM's entire catalog of movies, which is where Secret of NIMH is last I checked.

[@markmatthews2391]

So one of my favorite strong female charters in modern storys does fall into physical stranth mereoleona from black clover hell she is probably one of the strongest characters in the story but she plays off with her brother vary well

[@ladwigs]

Ascendance of Bookworm / Saving 80k Gold, both have fem lead characters

[@RowanPrice-p6o]

Just wanna mention the Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce, bc its so good for this

[@BushidoRoad]

If you want strongly written female characters, check out Black Clover. They have a bunch of female characters that stand out on their own, especially Noelle and Meroleona.

[@joyc.e.7511]

Heck yeah, someone who agrees with me! Black Clover was a pleasant surprise. Not just because it's really enjoyable, but also because Noelle is allowed to be the powerful, independent main character she is. Shounen tends to limit their female characters, always making them weaker/giving less focus than their male counterparts. But Noelle is a powerhouse and evolves right alongside Asta and Yuno. Shouldn't be as rare as it is in shounen, but here we are. And Meroleona's just OP and too strong to go down. And I love that about her😤

[@sleepycCh]

I think for a long time a large portion of people have considered strong female characters to be defined by physical strength because it’s physically attractive. But it seems to be treating women as objects to look at much like lots of media, especially older media. The only difference physically strong women being considered masculine in the past. Another large portion of people though consider a strong female character to be one with agency. Or one that subverts the audience’s expectations of what a woman should be, which would be archetypes of women we’re used to seeing. Often women are portrayed in a way that caters to male audiences or they don’t get equal portrayals because lots of female characters in pop culture are written by men for men. As a consequence, sometimes they might even be written in such a way subconsciously, they’re limited to often patriarchal expectations of women. So soft bodied, fitting to beauty standards, soft spoken and unthinking. That’s why women who use their wits or are assertive are strong female characters. As are female characters who don’t happen to be “beautiful”. But people have yet to talk about female characters that subvert our expectations in the looks department in any positive light and it often seems to be frowned upon to include characters like that unfortunately.

[@baonguyenxuanthai711]

I agree with this 100%

[@dranoradragonqueen1494]

thankyou for pulling out and fighting for sailor moon and secret of nim. Some of my fedorite films.

[@camillesharem]

Absolutely! They should not be forgotten!

[@paytonturner1421]

I think Debbie from the invincible series on the show invincible in bodies, another type of strength is mental strength. The way the showrunner characterizes as a woman that can be strong in a different way when it comes to being a parent and going through the realization when the truth was revealed, about Omni-man murdering the guardians of the globe and her reaction to Nolan calling her a pet. Yes, she broke down in tears but she got back up again with some encouragement and was strong. In my opinion, that's another way of being strong without being physical. And that's what I believe in when a woman character can be strong without physical strength Mental strengths are important too.

[@SpringteapRepanjolion]

I lover eriko kamata and eva,eva is has the greatest character development ever,while eriko have a good development,but both of them is good character,eva is strong woman despite bitch in the beginning story,eriko is bitchy too,but thsts why i loved both of them characters,not always female characters needed to be kind hearted

[@lordtraxroy]

A strong women have to suffer and have also weakness rather than just being a girls boss or rather than just the quote a women dont need a men

[@kelleyceccato7025]

While I love all the characters you mention, I also appreciate a character like Clarice Starling from "The Silence of the Lambs" -- someone who puts herself on the line and uses her wits and tenacity to capture a killer, NOT because she has a personal stake in the matter (a sweetheart or a child in danger) but because it's the right thing to do. Heroines shouldn't have to have personal stakes in a situation in order to be proactive. I enjoy seeing female characters stand up for an ideal or a principle, and I wish we saw more of that in popular culture. I want my fictional ladies to be less like Dirty Harry and more like Atticus Finch. Perhaps the character who most closely resembles the kind I want to see is the magnificent Nausicaa from Miyazaki's "Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind." Her personal stake goes beyond a desire to save one or two specific people; her COUNTRY is in danger, and she feels it's her duty to save and protect it. Moreover, she doesn't punch her way to a solution. Intellect and empathy are her weapons. More heroines like Nausicaa, please.

[@riddlekillerkiller]

They should just maybe...write a character.

[@LimegreenSnowstorm]

I literally just watched The Secret of Nimh and clicked on this just because of Mrs. Brisby. I love her character!! A young mom and a widow?? You never see that! I can’t think of any other stories with a protagonist by that profile.

[@ryanw531]

My personal pick would be Lunalia from "The Faraway Paladin", she used her charm and wit to dismantle a sinister plot to assassinate the hero and turn the world against him, a plot that she was tricked into putting in motion that would have doomed her city. She did all that without lifting a sword or casting a spell, instead solidifying her victory through sheer will and persuasion.

[@camillesharem]

I haven't gotten far enough into The Faraway Paladin to have met her yet. But that's something to look forward to!

[@UnseelieFaelass]

My favorite woman in animation that I consider strong is definitely the Unicorn/Lady Amalthea from The Last Unicorn, both the novel and film. I'd also say that Molly Grue(from the same book/movie) is also a strong female character.

[@dreamer9398]

Finally! Somebody recognized Mrs, Brisby! Ps: I also to make a shout out to Cure Grace from Healin Good PrettyCure.

[@hibikuokudan]

Winx Club (the first three seasons) also show strong female characters! Each of the six girls are different, they have their own flaws and work together to overcome them. They each have romances with different conflicts, they have different interests, and they SUPPORT EACH OTHER.

[@CleverFoxStudios]

I've been saying i want more of women like Queen Elinor; elegant, proud, well spoken and of quiet presence. The way she walked into and through a sea of fighting, rabid scottsmen who stopped and bowed out of her way, and wrangled the instigators without a single moment of fear is still awe-inspiring to me. Those men stopped, applogized, and Fergus bowed his head without her raising a hand or voice outside of dragging them out of the fray. I love that scene and i want more feminine, queenly women in media.

[@kingjalon7591]

nowdays when people talk about strong women, people are talking about clint eastwood women and sometimes actual men...weird times we live in

[@thgritic102]

A looooot of people keep forgetting about mental strength (and smarts) is a great strength to have especially for women. Hell, history proved it time and time again showing badass women who made history used their smarts first to access what's going on, and then, in some cases, using their strengths as the finishing blow. It's always been about intelligence and having a strong mental will (think Cinderella) for women to overcome a lot of things, especially in a patriarchal world, when they dont have physical strength to protect them. I really do hope and wish more authors go down this route instead of "I m stronk woman hear me roar XD!" Oh, and my favorite strong female character is Sawako from Kimi Ni Todoke. The way she is pushing through HS despite what people said about her, and they soon changed their mind to a positive one of hers was so heartfelt 😭