˒⠀S O T T . . . 𝙲𝙰𝚁𝙳𝙸𝙸𝙰𝙲

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❛ JUST 𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑷 YOUR CRYING,
IT'S A 𝑺𝑰𝑮𝑵 OF THE 𝑻𝑰𝑴𝑬𝑺. ❜

writing female empowerment ━━ no. 034
that doesn't feel forced!
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     Avengers: Endgame. The highest-grossing movie of all time. The movie that beat Avatar for the No. 1 position at the box office. It's a great movie. Despite the plot holes, deviations from the main characters' typical behavior, Steve and Bucky's last scene together, and how broken my heart was, I loved it. However, there's one scene that bothered me just the tiniest bit and I know it certainly caused some old, middle-aged white men to complain online.

     We all recognize this scene, right? Good.

     Now, I pride myself on being an intersectional feminist and a woman. Fuck the patriarchy, patriarchal culture, gender norms, the gender binary, and the institutionalization of gender. Fuck inequality. Fuck xenophobia and racism. Fuck it all. I love powerful, take-charge women, and women in general. (If you could not tell, yes, I am also a proud lesbian.)

     The Hollywood Industry needs more representation in all areas, not just gender and sex, and it's gotten better over the years. However, there's a difference between representation and forced representation for the purpose of being acknowledged and praised for being inclusive. This difference is only pointed out on particular occasions. The scene above in Avengers: Endgame is one of those occasions. (Aside from Joe Russo playing Marvel's fIrST gAy cHaRAcTeR, but we can talk about that another day.)

     A lot of people felt as if this scene was forced and unnatural. The two "Don't worry" and "She's got help," lines really triggered some people, let me tell you. A certain corner of Twitter was in shambles and a lot of men's masculinity was threatened, somehow.

     Now, in my opinion, the scene felt a little forced. Captain Marvel had just been released and that had already pissed off some people and then this scene, it was too much for some. During this time period, I remember seeing a lot of forced women empowerment in the media, and that just added to this. I loved Captain Marvel and the women's empowerment that came with it. Although, this scene was slightly too much.

     Speaking as a woman, myself, I don't want there to be more representation of women just for the sake of us being shown and proving that we are allowed to be included in the media. I want us to just be present, naturally and normally. The same applies when it comes to writing.

     I'm not going to lie, it can be difficult writing female empowerment scenes that don't feel forced or unnecessary. However, I have some tips that might help when it comes to these scenes.

     ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝟔 𝐓𝐈𝐏𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 ⸝⸝ ⇗
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀→ ⺌ This section is inspired by a post on Tumblr that has been removed. Credit for this portion goes to them. Disclaimer: I have added my own words, advice, and paraphrased sections of the article.

          ╰─── 𝟬𝟭. First off, never have your characters go on tangents about political topics. Especially if it's out of the blue or completely random. Let your characters naturally experience and instigate female empowerment through dialogue and their actions. This way, it will come off as more realistic, normal, and natural.

          ╰─── 𝟬𝟮. Next, write your female characters with vulnerabilities, insecurities, and flaws. Women can be strong and vulnerable at the same time. Use that to make your character complex and raw. Good examples of female characters who are both strong and vulnerable are Brienne of Tarth from Game of Thrones, Alex Russo from Wizards of Waverly Place, Hanna Marin, and Spencer Hastings from Pretty Little Liars, Bonnie Bennett from Vampire Diaries, and many more. Those are just some generic ones that most people recognize and that I love.

          ╰─── 𝟬𝟯. Remember, female empowerment is not just for cis, straight women. Female empowerment is for anyone who identifies as a female. Don't be closed-minded!

          ╰─── 𝟬𝟰. Create female friendships! Please! Stop with the romantic female enemies that are stereotypical! Stop reinforcing the stereotype that women can't get along or be friends without secretly hating the other or constantly having to one-up the other.

          ╰─── 𝟬𝟱. Next, make sure to always make a counter-argument against what the characters are saying about female empowerment. Not everybody has the same beliefs or opinions, and that's okay! Acknowledge the other side of the argument without making someone involved in the conversation outright evil or immoral. It'll just make you look immature and unable to be open-minded to the other side. Be respectful to both sides.

          ╰─── 𝟬𝟲. Lastly, if you're going to discuss issues that impact women, talk about the ones that affect them on a daily basis that not everybody thinks about. Maybe you can talk about body hair, body shaming, cat-calling, heteronormativity, the feminization of poverty, the second shift, or the expectations of women. There are hundreds of things you can discuss! If you need more ideas or examples, don't hesitate to message me!

     I hope these were all helpful and if you have any questions or want more tips on this topic, let me know!

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❛ THEY TOLD ME THAT 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑬𝑵𝑫
IS 𝑵𝑬𝑨𝑹, WE GOTTA GET 𝑨𝑾𝑨𝒀
FROM 𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙴. ❜
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