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I recently read an article that said Joss Whedon is not a feminist writer because he often shows his female characters emotionally vulnerable (it was phrased in a more patronising way, but that was the gist) and I didn't get it. For those who don't watch his shows he is known to show ALL his characters at times like that, not just the women. He focuses heavily on loss, tragedy and overcoming adversity, and I just don't understand why in shows that have every character facing vulnerability, pain and weakness it's un-feminist that some of those characters are women. I actually think the person who wrote that is being sexist against women, because it shows the opinion that for a woman to be strong she has to give much more than a man should to be strong.
There seems to be a surprisingly large amount of people who think the way to write a good feminist character is to make her perfect in every way. She should never make mistakes, never have the nerve to cry when she is suffering and never under any circumstances love her boyfriend (heaven help her if they split/he dies and she has the audacity to be sad about it). In my opinion that's not writing a feminist, that's writing a...
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Image Credit: a-lanna @ Deviantart.com
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Born into a post-apocalyptic dystopia, Katniss Everdeen became an adult at the tender age of 11. After losing her father to a mining accident and her mother to a resultant diblitating depression, young Katniss is forced to step up and become the sole provider for her family in a world where every day is already tinged with want and poverty. But Kat is a survivor.
Recalling happier days spent with her father, she teaches herself to master archery, trains herself to forage for edible plants, and allies herself with an older boy to learn how to set snares. Even though hunting is illegal, by age 16 she is skilled enough not only to keep her family from starving but clothed as well. Which, for their district nestled in what used to be Appalachia, is akin to being upper-middle class.
Strong and independent, Katniss is still a paragon of self-sacrifice. Every year she signs up for the tessrae, an extra stipend of grain and other neccessities that can only be claimed by entering her name multiple times into the annual lottery. A Shirley Jackson-type lottery - the person selected must travel to the Capitol along with Tributes from the other Districts to fight...
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Review by 
Cinders
posted
3 months ago
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Bethany Sloane, played by Linda Fiorentino
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Not-Your-Average Role Model
When I think "female ass-kicker," Bethany Sloane is not the first person who comes to mind. She's not physically as strong as Buffy Summers or River Tam. She's not intellectually as strong as Temperence Brennan or Hermione Granger. She's just a normal, lapsed Catholic who works at an abortion clinic.
In fact, the only thing that makes Bethany Sloane even the least bit extraordinary is the fact that she is the last blood relative of Jesus Christ.
That, in itself, shouldn't qualify her for membership in the "strong women" club. A person's lineage and situation doesn't make them a hero-- it's their actions that do that. Harry Potter may be famous because he survived the Dark Lord-- but he wasn't a hero until he destroyed Voldemort for good.
Bethany is the protagonist in Kevin Smith's hit movie Dogma, a movie that both parodies and emboldens the Christian and Catholic faith. While the movie itself is controversial, and Christian and Catholic reactions to it have been both positive and negative, the positive...
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