Rhiannon Lee - The Science of Strong Women: The True Stories Behind Your Favorite Fictional Feminists

T HIS BOOK IS INTENDED TO BE INCLUSIVE TO ANYONE WHO IDENTIFIES AS A WOMANBECAUSE THE MORE STRONG WOMEN THERE ARE ON THIS PLANET THE BETTER!

Copyright 2022 by Rhiannon Lee

Illustrations 2022 by Alice Needham

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by David Ter-Avanesyan

Cover illustrations by Alice Needham

Interior design and layout by Chris Schultz

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-7087-4

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-7088-1

Printed in the United States of America

Heres to strong women.

May we know them,

may we love them,

may we be them,

may we celebrate them.

Foreword

T hroughout these pages you will find the fictional characters I treasure the most, all of whom have helped shape me in a small way, expanded my world, and taught me what it means to be a strong woman.

While writing this book, I found it extremely hard to narrow the scope down to just fifty inspiring female characters. A glance at my overflowing bookcase or a look back in my Netflix history shows just how obsessive my consumption of strong fictional women is! I wanted to feature characters that not only represent a variety of genres, but also a variety of backgrounds and periods in history, with each character representing different qualities and perspectives on what it means to be a strong woman. It would be easy, for example, to fill these pages with feminist superheroes, but there is a lot more to being a strong woman than donning a flattering spandex suit and high kicking your problems away.

The time in history and the places in which these characters exist are key to understanding what make them strong women. With our views on feminism and gender constantly evolving, what made sense two hundred years ago can seem wildly outdated by todays standards. For example, you wont see Elizabeth Bennet burning her corset or telling Mr. Darcy to shove his outdated gender views up his ass. Nonetheless, for her time and place she was a truly radical feminist icon.

In truth, there is no perfect fictional feminist out there, no goddess-like woman who exhibits every desired trait of femininity and strength (and if there was, what a boring character she would be anyway). The characters featured here are flawed individuals, all figuring it out as they go alongmuch like we are.

Contents

Introduction

I expect that everybody has read a book or seen a show at some point and really identified or felt drawn to a certain character. That feeling of being immersed and seeing the world through a different perspective, gaining an insight into what makes that character tick, is a luxury we seldom have in our daily lives. Even if you are surrounded by friends and family members who are emotionally honest, it is human nature to conceal some of our innermost feelings. Living in a world where everyone says theyre fine, fictional characters can be some of the most transparent individuals in our lives, making them easier to relate to.

The fictional stories we grew up with can play a huge role in shaping our lives and leave a lasting impression. Whether its in books or on-screen, fiction enables us to experience new worlds and characters we wouldnt normally meet and see the inner workings of other peoples mindsall from the comfort of our own sofa. The fictional environment that we are exposed to as we grow helps determine our values, ambitions, and imagination so it makes sense that for many young people, the female characters they encounter influence their own views on femininity, feminism, and what it means to be a strong woman.

In this book I will introduce you to the stories that influenced me throughout my life and to the exceptional fictional women I have met along the way. Whether it is having a crush on someone at school, overcoming adversity, dealing with racism/sexism, or surviving a dystopian future (thanks, global pandemic!), there is a fictional character for every experience. And by reading about or watching their triumphs, fears, and struggles, it can help you with your own.

A strong woman is not just a kick-ass lady who solves her own problems and goes off on her own adventures. She also encapsulates many qualities such as inner strength, bravery, intelligence, determination, and resilience. In a world where much of how a society perceives its women is shaped by the media, its important for books, TV shows, and films to offer positive role models for girls and women to look up to, who can hold their own, and are not just waiting for their knight in shining armor to deliver them to their happily ever after! There are so many strong women who meet these criteria, and the following pages include just a short selection of fifty.

NOT ALL SUGAR AND SPICE AND EVERYTHING NICE

Particularly in childrens literature and media, it is hard to escape the overplayed gender stereotypes of princesses dressed in pink waiting for their perfect Prince Charming to come along and save the day. These lazy damsel in distress narratives have been a blueprint for much of what many of us consumed as a child. From Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty to Snow White , the building blocks for what was meant to interest young girls were always the same: A demure and delicate woman valued only for her exceptional beauty who has no control over her own destiny and needs saving from her hardships by a man. This played out storyline had remained popular since Victorian times when most stories aimed at young girls were supposed to instill a strong moral code with tales of wicked women being punished for their unruly willfulness while virtuous women are rewarded with a happily ever after. Im happy to report that these storylines are destined for the history books, with even Disney undergoing a feminist reboot in recent years with films like Frozen , Moana , and Encanto showing the next generation that girls are perfectly capable of solving their own problems.

Many of the characters featured in this book come from books which have, over the years, been repeatedly banned from school classrooms or entire countries. For example, The Color Purple , The Scarlet Letter, and To Kill a Mockingbird , to name a few . I find this extremely telling of societys fear of narratives that feature strong women and the often unpalatable stories they have to tell. By choosing to exclude a narrative, it sends a clear message that society is actively trying to silence women. Unfortunately, the problem still persists, and as recently as 2020 a high school in Georgia pushed for the removal of Margaret Atwoods feminist classic The Handmaids Tale from the curriculum due to vulgarity and sexual overtones.