Never watched Xena, and I'm a classics major so (based on plot summaries I've read) I never will because I really don't think I'll be keen on how they adapted Greek mythology. Who's Susan Ivanova?
they don't come across as helpless victims
I feel like it's more that there's an either/or thing - either female characters are strong, or they're not. There's more flexibility with male characters because in that case we're working *against* stereotypes about masculine strength rather than resisting stereotypes about feminine weakness. To put it another way, there's more to lose (from a feminist standpoint) by trying to make a female into a woobie and it's harder to write her as a woobie than as just another female victim.
And I think that if I keep going, I'm going to have to write a post of my own.
no subject
they don't come across as helpless victims
I feel like it's more that there's an either/or thing - either female characters are strong, or they're not. There's more flexibility with male characters because in that case we're working *against* stereotypes about masculine strength rather than resisting stereotypes about feminine weakness. To put it another way, there's more to lose (from a feminist standpoint) by trying to make a female into a woobie and it's harder to write her as a woobie than as just another female victim.
And I think that if I keep going, I'm going to have to write a post of my own.
Do it! Mm, lovely meta : )