I was the seventh of eight children, but my closest-in-age sister was five years older. So, for all playing-pretend purposes, I was the only girl. I remember playing Star Wars with my brothers - who were 7, 13, and 15 to my 11. They had a wealth of characters to choose from. I got one choice, Princess Leia. The only other female in that movie was Aunt Beru and she died! Leia was cool, but wanted some options. The later movies didn't help, either, as the new characters were all male. I was a girl, I had to be a female character. If we played Superheroes, I had to be Wonder Woman. Star Trek, I got to be either Uhura or Nurse Chapel. I did get to play at "Charlie's Angels" but only when the neighbor girls came over. Some of my earliest writing was, for all intents and purposes, Fan Fiction. With lots of girl characters. So I'd have options when playing with my brothers.
Granted, my world was small. My mother had very strange idea about what TV shows and movies were okay for her kids... I remember seeing "Porky's" with her, but not being allowed to watch any show with a laugh track. I thought Ken was Barbie's brother.
Now, little girls have lots of options. Star Wars and Star Trek have huge expanded universes. There are even girl-focused things like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But now, I've noticed, little girls have a different problem. Apparently, their options can't just be female - they have to be Feminist. Any female character who is married, has children, or cares about their appearance is considered bad for girls. This leaves out Princess Leia - since she eventually marries and breeds, she is a terrible role model. Tolkien's Eowyn and Arwen are also guilty of marriage and breeding. They are bad role models.
I've recently become a fan of "Firefly". There are at least two strong female role models on this show, but the one I hear called a Role Model is River Tam. Somehow she is considered better than the veteran soldier or the genius mechanic. Zoe and Kaylee own themselves, but apparently the fact that they like men makes them bad role models. They own themselves, they choose to be with a man and possibly breed. Neither of them is defining herself through their men. They are way more feminist than River, if only because they are women and she is a girl. River doesn't know who she is. Zoe and Kaylee do.
My world is still pretty small, so I'm sure there are lots of strong female characters I don't know about. Of the ones I know, many of them fall short of the Feminist Ideal. Robotech has lots of strong women, but since most of them hook up with men, they must not be good role models. In the new Star Trek, is Uhura any less admirable because she's got a man? In Harry Potter, we have Molly Weasley. Is she any less of a role model because she's chosen to be a wife and mom?
If she's strong, capable, and happy with her choices, I consider any character to be a good role model for my female minions. A healthy sex drive, a romantic interest, and a maternal instinct do not a weakling make. In fact, the scariest enemy I can imagine is a mother defending her young. Let these characters be complete women. Stop limiting their choices. Isn't Feminism about women having choices? If being a Feminist means a woman can't desire marriage and children, it's just another form of misogyny.
