Women as Heroines in SciFi/Fantasy

Rachel Weisz was a good heroine in the Mummy movies.

Elaine Belloc is a great female heroine. She appears in the comic series Lucifer, and she?s the half-human daughter of the archangel Michael. She can be pretty cold when she has to be ? her introduction story was pretty chilling ? but in general she?s a kind, polite, optimistic teenager - one that happens to be best friends with the devil, and who is the guardian spirit of everything but Hedgehogs in a parallel multiverse. She?s loads of fun.

No one has mentioned Gabrielle from Xena! She is my fave heroine on TV because she is a real person and she is tough as well!

I definitely agree with the Scully and SG1 Samantha... they epitomize, to my mind, what a sci-fi heroine should be. Not to mention seconding the strong roles Asimov gave to some of his female characters (They didn't necessarily have huge roles, but they were strong...)

:bligatory plug for my fave obscure sci-fi book of all time::
Cyteen (CJ Cherryh) has an incredibly powerful woman as a main character...

As well as Mercedes Lackey's books "Arrows of the Queen", "Arrow's Flight" and "Arrow's Fall" (Fantasy) -- multiple strong women in this series, actually.

I love Buffy and Dark Angel and to a lesser extent charmed and I agree with the argument they are powerful women but they are all written as half naked or just described as 'Beautiful' take Padme for example, a woman who fights for her planet yet when she is described on the Aotc novel the first thing is mentioned is that she is beautiful

Personally, I like Liselle from David Edding's Malloeran series. She's a strong female character, but she has her weaknesses too, which makes her human.

:Targeter:
!Love my Boston Red Sox!

I don't know why it's so limited. There should women heroines. No we have Padme and Eowyn, who give 110%, but I seriously want more in the future.

I haven't really spotted this in anyone's arguments, but I've just started watching Farscape, which has several very strong women characters. Aeryn and Zhaan are both very strong, not always good (Zhaan) and do their share of kicking ass.
In other SciFi series, you've got Starbuck in the New Battlestar Galactica, Zoe and Inara in Firefly, Major Samantha Carter in Stargate SG-1... you see where I'm going with this... there are more female main characters in more recent scifi shows.

I, as a radical male femenist must agree with the initial poster of this very true to life thread. I know...you may bash me for being a male femenist but I'm not such a manly man. I'm very soft pacifist and very slow. I have little talent, and I'm very weak. Socially, metally and even physical. Yet I'm not gay. I'm 100% straight, even though I have absolutely nothing against homosexuals at all. My wife is a very successful powerful person. She has a very responsbile job and is her own boss. While I stay home and take care of the house and the kids and cook and clean. She supports our family. Yet she never wears a leather bound domitrix outfit. To me my wife is a true everyday hero, and strong dedicated person who has helped me through thick and thin. Women to me are more humble and easier to talk to, and open up to. While with men...most of the time there ego rules them and are very selfish.


So it sicks and tires me to see countless male heros and saviors. Nobody gives female there credits. For without the women...there would be no male.

One must never forget...Every man came from a women. This is why I beleive in my honest opinion that if there was a God, it would be female.

Yes there is a lack of female heroes. I'm sure in the future there will be more.

Thank you for your time.

And thank you for sharing, Entity! Strength isn't just physical or being forceful, it's having conviction, and I think your post demonstrated that you have that. I can't stand men who think women have to be weak so that they'll look strong in comparison, even if they really aren't strong in any way!

And that's partly what this thread is about, isn't it? Allowing female characters to take on the roles that show who they really are.

Nice to meet you, Shruken Jedi.

And yes, growing up in an old fashioned family was horrible where my father was the dictater. Alot of family disputes and arguments...It really gave me a bad taste of guys when I was young. I always saw my mom as my real hero. People used to always comment on me being so tall and strong.....And yet those same old ladies predict that femenist are going to hell. Its sick to me. There the real strong people. I'm better fit as a house husband. Yeah I know I'm a wimp.... But I do what I can.

Nice to meet you too

Yeah I guess I am kinda weird...I mean what other guy likes romance novels, peace and HATES sports and fightning?

You want to talk out-of-stereotype, you're talking to a girl who's a rabid fan of intellectual science fiction (but likes some more lowbrow things like SW, some fantasy...), 'smart' even academically but doesn't get great grades, isn't afraid of math, but likes to do art, likes to dress up occasionally but makes no effort at all to impress on a daily basis, can't stand romantic comedy, but isn't butch or athletic or warlike, likes to wear glasses, adores nerds and being one, thinks hobbits are sexy, (but then is only 4'4" herself. (whew. that's about everything relevent, I think.)

What stereotype DO I conform to? Geek-girl? Maybe, but too narrow, I say.

Don't berate yourself!

Size matters not! Look at Yoda! The greatest Jedi ever...

And I guess My stereotype is the weak man? Or the girlie man as Arnold would put it

I think maybe we can just say to each other, 'it's all good' and let the thread get back on track. 'Girlie-men' are the best, and Yoda kicks ass.

Neh?

Ok, I'm sorry..

Sorry, no, dude. Absolutely nothing wrong.

...Except that it's almost 1:00 AM for me and I gotta either work or get some sleep!

strong female kick ass characters seem to be rather a norm nowadays...making it almost boring....cause its everywhere....(and I AM a girl )

btw anyone mention Jennifer Garners Sydney Bristow on Alias???

-Mel

In the words of Sean Connery:

I boobs.

Do not take the breastesess away from me.

The entertainment industry is circular, MARK MY WORDS! Large chested bimbos will return!

I hope only in porn movies

-Mel

I'll drink to that, Emp.'s Protege!

I knew it

-Mel

I said Sydney Bristow! Best TV female action characters:

Sydney Bristow
Dana Scully
Gabrielle
Samantha Carter

Xena and Buffy are terrible characters I haven't liked them since Day 1!

Ciao!

HEY great!
you an ALIAS FAN?

-Mel