Unlikeable Female Characters: Flawed Female Characters and the Power They Hold

by Anna Bogutskaya

“Proper” or “ladylike,” among other gendered terms, are concepts imbued with the multitude of unspoken rules that women are expected to learn and abide by. You should be pretty, primped, and polite. Read: be fuckable enough to merit attention, but don’t enjoy the attention too much. You should wear makeup and take care of yourself. Caution: not too much, lest you appear to be vain and superficial. You should be smart and well read. But beware: never disagree or have opinions that contradict or are more informed than any man’s. Be approachable and have a personality, lest you be branded basic. But, you know, not too much of a personality. Be girly—but not too feminine, because then you seem vapid. Be ambitious—but not so much that it makes men uncomfortable. Be nice—because, more than anything, you need to be liked. Smile—because you look prettier that way.