Books and films with strong female figures can be sexist if 'strength' is interpreted as something male. Some films have taken to having female lead actresses who can perform athletic feats such as felling a hulking man and sprinting down passages faster than anyone. These films actually insult the gender that they are supposed to praise. Books with strong female characters deal with genuine feminine strengths.
The man known as the father of English literature understood the strength of women very well. His most famous character rides on a mule, well dressed, assured and looking about with knowing eyes. She demonstrates exactly the subtle social skills that women have and men lack sadly.
Shakespeare wrote plays which changed the world but did not have many great female characters. It is true that Lady Macbeth was the one who inspired her husband to do what he had to do for the sake of ambition but when it came to facing the music for ill deeds she collapsed into something like a nervous break down.
Jane Austen wrote novels two centuries ago yet she is possibly still the most celebrated novelist and her fame rests almost entirely on strong girls. Her male figures lack depth and credibility but her women live forever because they are people who could be true in any time or place. Usually their strength lies in the fact that they make mistakes but are able to correct themselves and emerge stronger than ever.
In western countries literature has been colored by feminism since the movement began in the nineteenth century. Books by women and for women tend to feature characters who take control of their lives and are independent.
Under the influence of feminism much of western literature books with strong female characters playing roles similar to the traditional male roles. However in most of the world gender roles are not contested but accepted. Sometimes this is to the disadvantage of women. They may yet be great stories translated into in English about women who assert power through the gender roles that they accept happily as did the lady riding on the mule.
The man known as the father of English literature understood the strength of women very well. His most famous character rides on a mule, well dressed, assured and looking about with knowing eyes. She demonstrates exactly the subtle social skills that women have and men lack sadly.
Shakespeare wrote plays which changed the world but did not have many great female characters. It is true that Lady Macbeth was the one who inspired her husband to do what he had to do for the sake of ambition but when it came to facing the music for ill deeds she collapsed into something like a nervous break down.
Jane Austen wrote novels two centuries ago yet she is possibly still the most celebrated novelist and her fame rests almost entirely on strong girls. Her male figures lack depth and credibility but her women live forever because they are people who could be true in any time or place. Usually their strength lies in the fact that they make mistakes but are able to correct themselves and emerge stronger than ever.
In western countries literature has been colored by feminism since the movement began in the nineteenth century. Books by women and for women tend to feature characters who take control of their lives and are independent.
Under the influence of feminism much of western literature books with strong female characters playing roles similar to the traditional male roles. However in most of the world gender roles are not contested but accepted. Sometimes this is to the disadvantage of women. They may yet be great stories translated into in English about women who assert power through the gender roles that they accept happily as did the lady riding on the mule.
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