Why Are There No Female Lovable Scoundrels?

tlbodine:

I had a realization the other night about “Strong Female Characters” ™ and the apparent double standard of what we put up with in male characters vs female characters. The reason why, when we see a female character doing something stupid, we judge her so much more harshly and are willing to cut the male some slack. 

And, okay, yes, misogyny. Yes, cultural norms and gender roles and generations of baggage. Yes. 

But here’s a thing that’s super important that I think keeps getting overlooked: Strong Female Characters ™ are never funny. 

Like, look. We are willing to put up with all manner of shitty behavior from our male characters – brooding, mistake-making, emotionally reactive, illogical – because they’re also usually funny and charming. 

The reason why Guy A is a lovable scoundrel and Girl B is an irritating bitch is that Girl B takes herself so damn seriously. She doesn’t seem fun to be around. Guy A is a terrible human and would make for an awful friend, but he seems fun. 

Just something to think about when you’re looking at characterization, whether as a writer or media consumer. 

Let your girls be funny. Let your girls be charming. It might make a big difference.