Art by Alison Hunt
( I couldn’t avoid this topic. Hopefully, I handled it well, but you never know.)
This is a question I get asked a lot and it always throws me. Personally, I put my heroes through the wringer regardless of gender. If they’re a warrior then they’re going to be in a fight and get hit. They will suffer loss and know victory to put them into an emotional twister throughout their adventure.
The only time I consider gender is when I’m deciding on clothing, pronouns, and romantic interests. Even then, it depends on personality and preferences of the character. Still, I get asked about this because people think I’ve created some strong female characters and I’m male. Let’s keep that last part in mind too. An author’s gender and identity will color their perspective to some extent whether they realize it or not. So, here we go into a topic that always gets a little messy.
Historically, female characters have been reduced to a handful of roles when it comes to fantasy. You do have some big names in mythology, but those were religions at the time they were first created. It’s really hard to view them under the same lens as modern fiction, which is aimed primarily at entertainment. Hence, there’s more freedom in terms of character design and role.
Even so, women tended to fall into the position of damsel in distress, which is typically nothing more than a trophy with a pulse. Any female heroes who appeared were usually part of a group where they were either a sorceress or a healer. You can find several examples throughout mythology and modern fantasy that designate magic as a feminine trait. I think part of this is because women have the ability to give birth, which people can see as bringing them closer to the primal energy that would be magic. That or male authors genuinely believe childbirth is done entirely through magic. Either way, you would find the majority of female characters in these roles with a handful of outliers who are warriors. I remember there being a rise in female protagonists when I was growing up, but then abruptly stopped and restarted only recently. Not really sure what happened there, except we seem to be starting at square one again.
There is a big social challenge when it comes to writing a female character because people are quick to analyze them. With such a lack of representation, there is a lot of pressure to get it right. Unfortunately, everyone has their own definition of what is right and wrong. I’m not going to get into the details of that because this isn’t really the medium. We’re here to discuss how to write a female character who is more than irrationally molded armor or lack thereof. I will admit I did think women had specialized armor for about half of my life because of fiction, which is a problem. You really need to do research here to separate the real from the traditional falsehoods in order to get the proper depth.
These days, people will swiftly call you out because there’s plenty of resources to help avoid these mistakes. You are bound to make a few on some level, but that will hold true for any character. It’s just that female characters come under more scrutiny due to a history of misuse, trivialization, sexualization, dehumanization, or plain ignoring. So, research is worth the time and effort. If you can’t go wandering the Internet for this information then sit down with a woman and talk to them about what they would like to see in a hero. Tell them what you’re planning and show them your creations to get their insight. It will make these characters more believable and less likely to come off as stereotypes.
Legends of Windemere 
I appreciate the efforts you went to with your female characters—to make them warriors. It’s sad that this is a hot button topic now (like many other topics). I watched a behind-the-scenes video of a well-known animation studio where a woman worked with someone to develop an algorithm for how many speaking roles males and females had so there would be equality. 😊 So yes, scrutiny is happening. Personally, I’m tired of the battles nowadays. I like a well-rounded character—male or female. Reading about damsels in distress made me desire to write females in heroic roles. But I still enjoy reading stories of male heroes too. 😊
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Well-rounded is key, but I see things going in the opposite direction. Fewer female characters are given flaws or they’re made to look strong by surrounding them with evil or idiotic men. It’s tearing down one side to raise the other then being confused when there’s backlash. Same goes for surrounding male heroes with useless women. Not sure what to think about the speaking thing. I’ve always been a fan of quality of quantity. For example, Sari talks a lot more than Timoran, but that doesn’t make him weaker or less important.
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I hear you! I don’t like how far the pendulum has swung. People forget how characters iike Ripley and Sarah Connor grew into strength. They didn’t start off that way. A female doesn’t look strong just because everyone around her is made to look weak. If she’s the leader of a troop of weak soldiers, what does that make her if she chose them?
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And is she really strong or simply strong by comparison. Same goes for men too. You’re judged by the company you keep.
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This is the story of my life, Charles. I hear men complaining about being judged, but I can’t help feeling it just isn’t that hard.
First of all, we never have characters in the story for no reason. They should fulfill their purpose with dignity.
Second, if we put ourselves in the character’s shoes, using even a shred of empathy, then the flaw in their purpose becomes evident.
It’s like writing people of color or another culture. If you aren’t sure, do research. Ask the people in the community and be willing to really listen. Don’t argue with feedback that you asked for. (Unwanted feedback is different. I think we all know how that feels.)
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Research is definitely key. I’m not sure what you mean about the judgement not being that hard though.
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Great advice about talking to a woman. In fact, before I write women characters, I talk to several.
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It definitely helps.
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I agree with everything you say, Charles. Women seem to be either weak and helpless, or strong and forceful.
I do have one of my women as a healer, but she is a strong character, and speaks her mind. Another is a warrior who tends to look down on others not of her class and she has a touch of racism, too. A third is impulsive. She is a thief, supposedly reformed.
I hope I’m not stereotyping any of them.
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It’s hard to avoid stereotypes at times. I think a reason it gets tricky is because the tropes or at least their hallmark roles are still useful. A character being weak and helpless is one that can grow. Even if it’s a situational weakness, they can grow out of this. Once you put a female character in that role, you get pushback. I remember that I’d get complaints whenever Nyx had to be rescued in my first series. She had the power to take on armies, but still needed help against certain enemies. Seemed realistic to me, but others disagreed. The sillier part was that one of the male heroes (Luke Callindor) was getting rescued much more and nobody had issues. 3 of the 15 books even circled around the story of saving him. So, there’s definitely a lot of sensitivity out there, which might prompt authors to make unstoppable female heroes with no flaws.
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I write a lot of female characters these days. I try to write them as people first, with their own issues and problems. Fantasy is always a degree different, because costuming is important. It matters everywhere, but you’re right about the armor issue.
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People first really should be key.
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Diana Peach and Teagan Geneviene are two fantasy writers who hit women characters spot on! I have the opposite problem – writing about men. It’s led to some interesting discussions with my critique group.
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I’ve actually never heard of people having trouble writing men. I think most consider my gender to be rather basic and simple.
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Hah! You aren’t!
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