The chart of doom.
Oct. 12th, 2010 01:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarasvatiSo this chart has been making the rounds lately. It's a flowchart of female characters in the media, and essentially how the majority of them suck because they're not "strong women."
They seem to have real problems defining exactly what a strong woman is, however, because one of their questions is, "Does she represent an idea?" What exactly does that mean, anyway? Are they trying to get across the concept of something like the "wise old sage" kind of character, or something like that? A glorified plot point? Someone from a tribe of all-female warriors who hate men? What exactly does "representing an idea" actually freaking mean?
I wonder, then, if I pass muster as a "strong female character." Let's see.
Can she carry her own story?
Yes, but only if you mean that my life is my own story. Of course then I can carry it, but only because once I'm dead, the story's over. If you mean whether or not someone can plonk me into a wonky situation and expect me to be the protagonist and lead everyone to glorious victory, then hell no!
But for the purposes of this, let's say that my own story is my life. So yes, I can carry it.
Is she three-dimensional?
I'm long, broad, and wide, so I'd say yes to that one.
Does she represent an idea?
Since I have no idea what this mean, I'll say no.
...Maybe they mean "ideal."
Does she have any flaws?
Do I ever!
Is she killed before the third act?
Well, I'm still alive, and given that I'm not precognitive, let's just say yes to this.
Congratulations! Strong female character!
Yay me!
I think I'd be more proud of this if I had any idea as to what they meant by some of their questions. Oh, and if it had any basis in fact. Stick me in any story that you'd see on TV, in a movie, or in a book, and no, I'm not strong. I'm actually rather forgettable. I don't say that with the intent of fishing for compliments. I'm just being honest as I see myself. I'm rather shy and reserved, prefer to keep my own company, prefer reading or playing video games to doing just about anything else. I knit and sew, I can't fight, I don't talk back much, and when I get in arguments I often get quite emotional and end up crying because I'm so frustrated at not being able to properly express myself and for making the other people angry.
Throw that into the equation, and I'm the very opposite of a strong character. I'm a weak nerdy little forgettable person who's probably just in the story to make the other characters look better by comparison.
Doesn't make me any less of a valid person, though.
But let's assume, for argument's sake, that I answered differently to any of those questions, because I kid you not, answering the way I did is the only way to get to being a strong female character according to that flowchart. So let's assume I answered differently, and see where I end up.
Villain?
I may have played a lousy double agent between factions of my friends in high school, but those days are in the past, I've grown. I would say that at the moment, I'm not a villain.
Is she mainly a love interest?
Nope. I'm single, and likely to remain that way for a good long while.
Is she part of a team/family?
This is so ambiguously phrased that it's hard to answer. Am I part of a family? Yes. I have parents. I have aunts, uncles, cousins, and a remaining grandparent. But I'm not on any team, or close organization of friends banding together for one purpose, so let's just say no to this one.
How does she feel about babies?
I hate this question. Why? Because of my choices. I can have one, want one, or not want one right now, which has the implication that I will eventually want one, or that I do want one but know that this isn't the right time of my life to have one. The closest option is the last one, though in actuality, I don't want children at all. I don't much care for them, I find it awkward to interact with them, it bugs me when people go on and on about how cute babies are, and I know I'd be a lousy parent because I have too many of my own issues to deal with.
I guess this is supposed to represent that female characters in media, if they aren't automatically "strong female characters" by fitting some nebulous definition of a few vague terms, always want or have children at some point in their lives, and that there's no representation for females who don't want kids. Of course, there are actually such characters out there, but this chart chooses to ignore that option. Probably because it doesn't prove enough of a point.
But since the closest option I can apply to myself is that I don't want them right now, let's follow that path.
Does she get pregnant?
Oh hells no!
Is she in a horror story?
Not in the classical sense...
Is she violent?
I can snap at people sometimes, sure, but I'm not what most people could consider violent.
Is she nearly perfect?
By what standard? But given that I admitted that I have flaws already, and a lot of them, then no, I'm not nearly perfect.
Funny, isn't it, how the same thing, when phrased differently, can have such a different effect. Do I have flaws? Yes. That gives me one point, so to speak, toward being a strong female. But express that same thing if I've said that I can't carry my own story (I could say that legitimately, because at some points in my life it's only been through the help of others that I'm still alive to be telling you all this), then the meaning becomes totally different.
What is her flaw?
I'm looking at all the options here, and the closest one I can come to is "Cat Lady." I'm not a ditz, a klutz, an attention whore, a spoiled rich girl, a slut, a sassmouth, and so on. For all my diversity, for the talents that I do have and all the roles I could play depending on what the story is, I get relegated to being a cat lady.
Not that I'm complaining, hugely. I get to stay out of the way and enjoy life with my kitties. Of all the ending that flowchart could have led me to, this is probably one of the least offensive.
The chart also does some serious oversimplification of characters, too. Tsukino Usagi, also known as Sailor Moon, gets relegated to being the Adorable Klutz. Never mind the large amount of character growth we see in her over the years of the anime and manga. Never mind that despite being terrified very often, she still manages to stand up and stop evil things from hurting people, and that she's saved the world a few times. The entire show is named after her. If you look at her as a character, she actually passes muster for the "strong female character" role. She carries her own story, she's got flaws, she's 3-dimensional (she has layers, and shows a lot of growth as time goes on, even if she's somewhat flighty and lazy at times), she doesn't represent some idea or ideal, and she's not killed before the story ends. Yay, she's actually a strong character!
But to acknowledge that would make the whole flowchart fall apart.
According to the flowchart, there's only one very narrow way to make a strong female character. A villain can never be a strong female character. Somebody in love can never be a strong female character either. Or possibly they can, since that stuff isn't even brought into question until after the prime questions have been asked and answered. But the implication is there. If you're not the protagonist of a story, you're not a strong female character. The only way to be strong is to be the protagonist, be flawed (but not too flawed, or flawed in the wrong way, because admit it, a female protagonist who screams at the sight of spiders isn't going to be called strong for very long, no matter how many times they save the world)
For crying out loud, Molly Weasley's on that flowchart and being the Team Mom. The woman who flipped a bitch when one of the bad guys tried to hurt one of her kids, and who caused fans for miles around to cheer when they read that scene in Deathly Hallows. She's Molly freaking Weasley! The woman who helped raise a large family of intelligent and successful children on less than most people would find comfortable, who's a force to be reckoned with inside her family and out, and anyone who's read the books will know that she's the one who really wears the pants in the family, so to speak. If she's not a strong character, then I don't know who is!
Strength comes in many forms. The woman who willingly has a large family because she enjoys having children around, who raises them well and who enjoys her life, is stronger than me because I couldn't stand that situation for more than 10 minutes without wanting to tear my hair out. The high-powered CEO who sacrifices friends and family to reach her goals is stronger than me because I don't have the tenacity and drive to sacrifice those things. The girl who does Tae Kwon Do every Saturday is stronger, and so is the woman who knits 2 really awesome and complicated fancy lace shawls each week. Strength comes in all forms, and you know, I think it would do some people a world of good to learn that instead of dismissing all those females who don't fit into a very small box that pleases only a percentage of the population.
Oh wow, doesn't that sound familiar...
In a nutshell, these people clearly have no idea what a strong female is.
They seem to have real problems defining exactly what a strong woman is, however, because one of their questions is, "Does she represent an idea?" What exactly does that mean, anyway? Are they trying to get across the concept of something like the "wise old sage" kind of character, or something like that? A glorified plot point? Someone from a tribe of all-female warriors who hate men? What exactly does "representing an idea" actually freaking mean?
I wonder, then, if I pass muster as a "strong female character." Let's see.
Can she carry her own story?
Yes, but only if you mean that my life is my own story. Of course then I can carry it, but only because once I'm dead, the story's over. If you mean whether or not someone can plonk me into a wonky situation and expect me to be the protagonist and lead everyone to glorious victory, then hell no!
But for the purposes of this, let's say that my own story is my life. So yes, I can carry it.
Is she three-dimensional?
I'm long, broad, and wide, so I'd say yes to that one.
Does she represent an idea?
Since I have no idea what this mean, I'll say no.
...Maybe they mean "ideal."
Does she have any flaws?
Do I ever!
Is she killed before the third act?
Well, I'm still alive, and given that I'm not precognitive, let's just say yes to this.
Congratulations! Strong female character!
Yay me!
I think I'd be more proud of this if I had any idea as to what they meant by some of their questions. Oh, and if it had any basis in fact. Stick me in any story that you'd see on TV, in a movie, or in a book, and no, I'm not strong. I'm actually rather forgettable. I don't say that with the intent of fishing for compliments. I'm just being honest as I see myself. I'm rather shy and reserved, prefer to keep my own company, prefer reading or playing video games to doing just about anything else. I knit and sew, I can't fight, I don't talk back much, and when I get in arguments I often get quite emotional and end up crying because I'm so frustrated at not being able to properly express myself and for making the other people angry.
Throw that into the equation, and I'm the very opposite of a strong character. I'm a weak nerdy little forgettable person who's probably just in the story to make the other characters look better by comparison.
Doesn't make me any less of a valid person, though.
But let's assume, for argument's sake, that I answered differently to any of those questions, because I kid you not, answering the way I did is the only way to get to being a strong female character according to that flowchart. So let's assume I answered differently, and see where I end up.
Villain?
I may have played a lousy double agent between factions of my friends in high school, but those days are in the past, I've grown. I would say that at the moment, I'm not a villain.
Is she mainly a love interest?
Nope. I'm single, and likely to remain that way for a good long while.
Is she part of a team/family?
This is so ambiguously phrased that it's hard to answer. Am I part of a family? Yes. I have parents. I have aunts, uncles, cousins, and a remaining grandparent. But I'm not on any team, or close organization of friends banding together for one purpose, so let's just say no to this one.
How does she feel about babies?
I hate this question. Why? Because of my choices. I can have one, want one, or not want one right now, which has the implication that I will eventually want one, or that I do want one but know that this isn't the right time of my life to have one. The closest option is the last one, though in actuality, I don't want children at all. I don't much care for them, I find it awkward to interact with them, it bugs me when people go on and on about how cute babies are, and I know I'd be a lousy parent because I have too many of my own issues to deal with.
I guess this is supposed to represent that female characters in media, if they aren't automatically "strong female characters" by fitting some nebulous definition of a few vague terms, always want or have children at some point in their lives, and that there's no representation for females who don't want kids. Of course, there are actually such characters out there, but this chart chooses to ignore that option. Probably because it doesn't prove enough of a point.
But since the closest option I can apply to myself is that I don't want them right now, let's follow that path.
Does she get pregnant?
Oh hells no!
Is she in a horror story?
Not in the classical sense...
Is she violent?
I can snap at people sometimes, sure, but I'm not what most people could consider violent.
Is she nearly perfect?
By what standard? But given that I admitted that I have flaws already, and a lot of them, then no, I'm not nearly perfect.
Funny, isn't it, how the same thing, when phrased differently, can have such a different effect. Do I have flaws? Yes. That gives me one point, so to speak, toward being a strong female. But express that same thing if I've said that I can't carry my own story (I could say that legitimately, because at some points in my life it's only been through the help of others that I'm still alive to be telling you all this), then the meaning becomes totally different.
What is her flaw?
I'm looking at all the options here, and the closest one I can come to is "Cat Lady." I'm not a ditz, a klutz, an attention whore, a spoiled rich girl, a slut, a sassmouth, and so on. For all my diversity, for the talents that I do have and all the roles I could play depending on what the story is, I get relegated to being a cat lady.
Not that I'm complaining, hugely. I get to stay out of the way and enjoy life with my kitties. Of all the ending that flowchart could have led me to, this is probably one of the least offensive.
The chart also does some serious oversimplification of characters, too. Tsukino Usagi, also known as Sailor Moon, gets relegated to being the Adorable Klutz. Never mind the large amount of character growth we see in her over the years of the anime and manga. Never mind that despite being terrified very often, she still manages to stand up and stop evil things from hurting people, and that she's saved the world a few times. The entire show is named after her. If you look at her as a character, she actually passes muster for the "strong female character" role. She carries her own story, she's got flaws, she's 3-dimensional (she has layers, and shows a lot of growth as time goes on, even if she's somewhat flighty and lazy at times), she doesn't represent some idea or ideal, and she's not killed before the story ends. Yay, she's actually a strong character!
But to acknowledge that would make the whole flowchart fall apart.
According to the flowchart, there's only one very narrow way to make a strong female character. A villain can never be a strong female character. Somebody in love can never be a strong female character either. Or possibly they can, since that stuff isn't even brought into question until after the prime questions have been asked and answered. But the implication is there. If you're not the protagonist of a story, you're not a strong female character. The only way to be strong is to be the protagonist, be flawed (but not too flawed, or flawed in the wrong way, because admit it, a female protagonist who screams at the sight of spiders isn't going to be called strong for very long, no matter how many times they save the world)
For crying out loud, Molly Weasley's on that flowchart and being the Team Mom. The woman who flipped a bitch when one of the bad guys tried to hurt one of her kids, and who caused fans for miles around to cheer when they read that scene in Deathly Hallows. She's Molly freaking Weasley! The woman who helped raise a large family of intelligent and successful children on less than most people would find comfortable, who's a force to be reckoned with inside her family and out, and anyone who's read the books will know that she's the one who really wears the pants in the family, so to speak. If she's not a strong character, then I don't know who is!
Strength comes in many forms. The woman who willingly has a large family because she enjoys having children around, who raises them well and who enjoys her life, is stronger than me because I couldn't stand that situation for more than 10 minutes without wanting to tear my hair out. The high-powered CEO who sacrifices friends and family to reach her goals is stronger than me because I don't have the tenacity and drive to sacrifice those things. The girl who does Tae Kwon Do every Saturday is stronger, and so is the woman who knits 2 really awesome and complicated fancy lace shawls each week. Strength comes in all forms, and you know, I think it would do some people a world of good to learn that instead of dismissing all those females who don't fit into a very small box that pleases only a percentage of the population.
Oh wow, doesn't that sound familiar...
In a nutshell, these people clearly have no idea what a strong female is.