Re: Female characters
- From: Erol K. Bayburt <ErolB1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 22:54:31 -0500
On Wed, 30 May 2007 17:53:25 -0700, David Friedman
<ddfr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Some time back, I raised the question of why women warriors were so
common in modern fantasy (including my _Harald_, as it happens). It got
diverted into an argument about how common they were historically, but I
thought it might be worth going back to the original question.
One obvious reason is that there are women who want to identify with the
character and like the idea of being a warrior, but I think there are
others--certainly that wasn't my reason. I think part of it is that the
tension between the conventional view of women and the situation of a
woman warrior is dramatically useful. Part of that is just the effect of
breaking conventions. But a different part is that readers, at least
male readers, are likely to retain the feeling that women are
particularly vulnerable and to be protected, and that makes situations
where they are at immediate risk more poignant than the same situations
with male characters.
Other reasons?
One possible reason: "Why can't women be more like men?" - women
warrior characters are more like men.
Googling for my comments in the previous incarnation of this
discussion, I opined that another reason was that women in the warrior
role threw off "highly desirable woman" signals (healthy, high-status,
a competent protector of her children, etc.)
I'd also like to note, again, that it isn't just *modern* fantasy
where women warriors are found. So I'd bet on the reasons being
multiple, old, and deep.
--
Erol K. Bayburt
ErolB1@xxxxxxx
.
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