I heard something in my writing group the
other day that made me want to write this.
Cinderella is a weak female stereotype.
She lives with her evil stepmother and is
rescued by her fairy godmother. She’s dressed up in fine clothes, given
everything she needs for one dreamy night, goes to a ball, and falls in love
with a prince. She’s beautiful and mysterious and the prince can’t help but
fall in love with her. So he searches until he finds her, and makes her his
bride. They have their happily ever after.
We all know the story. It’s supposed to be
a magical fairytale about true love. But because Cinderella is beautiful and
rescued by a prince, she’s considered a silly weak girl. How dare she be a role
model for young girls to look up to.
How about this? Cinderella was abused for
many years, dressed in rags, insulted, worn down, belittled by her family, and
forced into slavery. Through all this physical and emotional pain, she’s able
to rise above and find a way out of her cruel predicament.
Kinda changes the perspective, right?
These days there is a large focus on strong
female characters. They should be physically strong, emotionally stable, and
able to kick butt. They don’t need to rely on a man to keep them safe, but it’s
okay to find a bit of love while they’re out saving the world. They have to be
strong willed, but heaven forbid they like the color pink. They need to be
smart, sassy, not too bitchy, but have attitude.
Whew. That’s a lot of heavy load to carry.
So why does Cinderella get such a bad rap?
Is it really so bad that maybe her goal in life was to find love, settle down
and have a family? Isn’t it great that she was able to overcome her horrible
past? Why can’t she get help from a man?
I love the strong female character. I
really do. I write about her all the time. I agree that there needs to be more.
But I think that strength comes in all shapes and forms. Why can’t a girl love
pink and still kick ass? Why can’t a girl rely on (heaven forbid) someone else
to help her in times of need?
So who are your favorite strong female
characters and why?
