Tuesday 1 October 2013

My Naughty Thoughts : Who's Hotter - The Kick-Ass Chick or The Damsel in Distress

Sonja, Selene and Alice. If you love vampires, werewolves or zombies you should recognize these names. What do these women all have in common ... besides black, leather, bodysuits? They kick-ass and look good while doing it. They're the type of women you don't mess with. They can take care of themselves and don't need the hero to save the day. They're an asset to him, not a hindrance. I love these kinds of heroines.

I like strong women who add to the story. She doesn't always have to be able to physically kick ass, a sharp tongue, a rebellious streak, a fearless soul or a woman who, instead of whimpering in the corner, picks up a lead pipe and bashes the villain over the head before he hurts the hero. I think Jessica Rabbit is a great example of a kick ass chick. She's beautiful, sexy and struts around in a tight red dress. If you didn't know her you wouldn't take her seriously as a threat right. But throughout the movie she had her man's back and she was a female no one messed with. A true femme fatal. A red-head with attitude.....

Then there is the flip side of the coin, the damsel in distress. The hero's always saving her, she's easy prey for the villain and she frustrates the hell out of me. You know the type...when the killer/zombie's chasing her she trips and starts crawling on her butt, crying and begging for him not to hurt her, and you're shouting at the book or movie...just kill her already... I quickly lose interest in novels with weak heroines that constantly need the hero to rescue her at every turn. Now this isn't the feminist in me talking, I like a knight in shining armour, but come on. The helpless heroine!!! She's just insulting.

I said in my ginger post that I'm partial to red-heads as my female heroine. The truth is I don't really care what the heroine looks like. I'm partial to red-heads because of the type of personality I'm expecting to see. I like fiery women who gives the hero a little trouble. Not trouble in the way that I'm cursing at the book because I'm frustrated at her stupidity, but trouble in the way that she doesn't make everything easy for the hero, she makes him work for it and she's not afraid to curse him out.

So unlike the heroes, who I'm sad to admit (no I'm not) physical appearance can be as important as his personality, for the women...eh...not so much. She can be gorgeous or she can be a plain Jane, it's irrelevant for me. Once she's strong, intelligent and kick ass.

And that's my naughty thoughts on kick-ass chicks.

Later Loveys

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7 comments:

  1. Great post as always :-) I tend to find that I'm very character focused when I read, and I'm the same with damsels in distress as well, they annoy me no end. I prefer a heroine who at least tries to save herself!

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  2. I'm really tired of the kick-butt chick, personally. It's just not...realistic to me. If I was faced with a hoarde of zombies I'm pretty sure I'd just pee myself. Now, I know heroines are supposed to be special, but I guess I'm just really tired of female characters being strong *in spite of* their femininity, rather than being strong *because* they are female. That's just me, though! The kick-butt girl? Gets on my nerves! Let yourself be romanced, you idiot. (Not you, the character! lol) Great post! Loved your thoughts!

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    1. Thank...for me kick ass doesn't necessarily mean she can take on fifty zombies...just that she can get herself out of a sticky situation..she doesn't whimper in a corner waiting for the hero to rescue her...if she has to jump out a window to save herself she jumps...or at least those heroines who puts the hero in his place if he's being a jerk...

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  3. Just a thought - and obviously not applicable to all writers - but I wonder if more male writers with male protagonists have the helpless damsels (after all someone has to be saved) and female writers with the female protagonists have the kick-ass heroines?

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    1. That is an interesting thought....I sometimes wonder that myself

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    2. I feel like there needs to be a proper mix for true human form, for deep inside of us all lies both :)

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