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Late last night, about 18K into my Big Bang monster, I realized something that made me stop and boggle a little: There's a startling lack of female characters in my cast.
I think there have been maybe three females that have cropped up in the entire fic, and they've all been minor bit characters: one a waitress, one a secretary, and the HR director. When I looked at that, I squirmed a little, because no, that's not stereotypical at all.
Then the more I thought about it, the more unsettled I became. Honestly, I don't think many people would be reading it and suddenly go "Hey wait! Where are all the women? This is crap!". (Who does that, though?) However it started thinking about the stuff I've written in the past, and how many stories (both fic and original) where I have a woman with a strong lead role -- and I've kind of come up short. I mean, I have one long series of original stories in my head that's told by a female, but I don't think it counts seeing as it's not on paper.
But now I'm just kind of wondering, idly what this says about me. Obviously, it's something I need to work on in the future, along with more setting and character description. I do seem to have a much harder time climbing into female characters' heads than my guys, but is that because they're so much more fleshed out? Or is it because it's that much harder to write a female character that's accepted for who she is without being accused of being a Mary Sue?
Oh, well. I'm sure at least one or two more women will pop up in the course of the story. Maybe I'll write some Teyla fic or something as penance after all of this is done.
I think there have been maybe three females that have cropped up in the entire fic, and they've all been minor bit characters: one a waitress, one a secretary, and the HR director. When I looked at that, I squirmed a little, because no, that's not stereotypical at all.
Then the more I thought about it, the more unsettled I became. Honestly, I don't think many people would be reading it and suddenly go "Hey wait! Where are all the women? This is crap!". (Who does that, though?) However it started thinking about the stuff I've written in the past, and how many stories (both fic and original) where I have a woman with a strong lead role -- and I've kind of come up short. I mean, I have one long series of original stories in my head that's told by a female, but I don't think it counts seeing as it's not on paper.
But now I'm just kind of wondering, idly what this says about me. Obviously, it's something I need to work on in the future, along with more setting and character description. I do seem to have a much harder time climbing into female characters' heads than my guys, but is that because they're so much more fleshed out? Or is it because it's that much harder to write a female character that's accepted for who she is without being accused of being a Mary Sue?
Oh, well. I'm sure at least one or two more women will pop up in the course of the story. Maybe I'll write some Teyla fic or something as penance after all of this is done.
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All slash or slashy inclinations aside, ask yourself this: Could the movies have worked without the women?
And that's what I'm talking about. A character is unimportant when it can be replaced either by a trinket, a perfectly unimportant extra, or altogether removed without damaging the plot. This isn't perfect math, but it's usually the case with some female characters.
Let's suffer a bit.
Let's think of the Batman & Robin movie. A truly horrible, yes, but Batgirl. Tell me now: couldn't they have beaten Uma Thurman and the Terminator without her help? You bet your ass they could.
An example of the opposite would be characters like the one you mentioned. Depth makes them interesting. They make the story richer by being there.
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when it can be replaced either by a trinket
I'm sorry, I'm laughing at the thought of these "spunky females" in these movies being replaced by an equally spunky broom or dust mop and having the same effect on the storyline.
"Oh noes! Dusty Mop's been kidnapped by the bad guys! We have to save her!"
In return, Dusty Mop thanks the hero by spewing dust all over them.
Okay, crack aside, back the original discussion. Yes, both Road to El Dorado, I think, and Batman and Robin could have worked without the spunky heroines.
no subject
And come now, seriously: Remove our heroine for an equally precious object.
Take pirates of the Caribbean. Imagine if, say, some personal keepsake of Will had been taken away by Barbosa. Something really personal. Can't you imagine him getting all caught up going "Damn pirates, I hate pirates, I'm GETTING IT BACK!"?
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I will probably schedule a watching of the Sinbad movie... or just Tivo it or something. My brain is going to be mush by the time August rolls around.