Monday, January 02, 2012

Female Heroes--Strong Because They Need to Be?

Please excuse the profanity.  I claim no responsibility for the captions on any but Lt. Col Carter's.

So this internet meme has been going around Facebook for awhile, but this month, someone added to it with Princess Leia, then Janeway and Sarah Jane.  On Dec 14, when I'd posted the Sarah Jane,  my husband contemplated it and said, "You know who really beats them all?  Samantha Carter!"  So I asked him to write it up.

What I like about this meme is that (Bella excepted), it shows that there are strong women in science fiction and fantasy, and they are awesome in different ways.  I have a lot of strong women in my novels, too:  Sister Grace (whom Vern calls his "magical tank."), Neeta Lyffe (who actually considers beheading zombies "just part of the job"), the Rescue Sisters (nuns who do search and rescue operations in outer space) and Tasmae, (charged with protecting her world.)

I never consciously try to create strong women; they just come about in my books when they're needed.  (I also have strong men, and strong dragons, and sometimes all of the above--like in Live and Let Fly.)  I think the key to all of these women, though is as Rob put it in Carter's post " All because it needed to be done."  And I wonder, is that more common of female heroines than male?

What do you think?

2 comments:

Walt said...

As I've remarked about my nearest and dearest, "Strong woman--pull plow, spare horse--good healthy peasant stock." (Why she hasn't done me in yet, I have no idea.) Looking at the pair of us, though--yeah, we do it 'cause it needs done.

Hemden said...

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