Paperback's Pondering's is a weekly discussion when I take a topic and well, ponder about it! This week's topic is all about strong female leads.
I have a love-hate relationship with romance novels. On one hand, I love the chemistry, fluff and of course, otp's that you can get out of a good romance. However, the reason that some of them don't appeal to me is because they can sometimes portray girls to be weak and helpless without a guy. Now this is not just limited to romance! There can sometimes be that problem in fantasy, dystopia and more, where the girl is swept off her feet by some gorgeous guy, who seems to make everything better.
Luckily, I haven't read a book with this problem in a long time, but it is still an on-going thing that I think needs to be talked about. My first question is: why is it always a girl? Who says that a magnificent heroine can't swoop in and save her partner, who is in distress. It doesn't always have to be a damsel.
I have a huge admiration for The Hunger Games series, because I've always thought of Katniss to be very independent. She doesn't need a "strong" man to come do all the dirty work for her, she is her own person. I don't like it in books when they portray a girl to be weak, because let's be honest, no girl is!
I think that it is not only great to have a kick-ass female lead, but I also think that it would be great if more YA books didn't have a girl falling in love at all. Who says that you necessarily need to find a boyfriend? Yes, it can add a great deal of cuteness to be the plot, and I'm not saying that a love is a bad thing, but wouldn't it be nice to just change it up a bit?
I absolutely love how the world is advancing in the issue of feminism. Girls are seen as strong, independent, and a force to be reckoned with. This is what I love to read about.
I'd love to know what you think about female leads! What are some of your favourite books that feature these women?
Emily @ Paperback Princess
I do agree with this. Whenever there's a random love interest, I'm like "why is this relevant?" So many of these girls have character development to do and when a guy is introduced to either speed it up or make the girl happy, I'm like... is that COMPLETELY necessary??
ReplyDeleteIt isn't necessary! I'd love to see a girl develop in more than just relationships.
DeleteI love strong female heroines because GIRL POWER. But I totally get where you're going. Nowadays, I have barely read any book with a female protagonist who can't seem to live life to the fullest without a boyfriend; the last book I read that had this particular aspect was Twilight, which I read 4 years ago. (Which *shudders in horror* I somehow seemed to like, in retrospect. Haha.) But anyway, I don't seem to have a problem with kickass girls like Celaena in Throne of Glass because I like how they portray themselves to be brave and selfless. But yes, I think it would also be kind of cool if they laid back the romance just for a little while :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Jillian @ Jillian's Books
I think I didn't like Twilight for the reason that Bella was portrayed like this :( Celaena seems like a great heroine! I think I would love to read about her. Thanks Jillian!
DeleteI agree girl! I'm 25, and it's honestly a struggle to read YA sometimes because authors are making the heroines so freaking dependent on the " love interest ". Now don't get me wrong, this happens in New Adult as well, but I always seem to come across the aspect in young adult. A perfect example of what I like my female protagonist to be would be Skylar from I'll Meet You There. There was romance of course, but it was so well done, and incredibly realistic. They didn't depend on each other, and if this book didn't have any romance at all, it still would have be amazing in my opinion! Great topic to discuss. This needs to be talked about ALOT more in our community.
ReplyDeleteThanks Martika! I've heard so many great things from I'll Meet You There, and it seems like a great romance without the girl being too dependent.
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