We’ve all heard about the "epidemic of men writing terrible depictions and approximations of women. People teasing male authors about writing the same female characters over and over again: useless femme character used as a prop for the male main character or sassy, sexy, brutish woman with a respectable skill taking down bad guys. Nothing terribly wrong with characters like this, but when we look deeper, the cracks start to show.
Obviously, it’s a stereotype and not every male author is doomed to write utterly bland female characters until the end of time — but the stereotypes do come from somewhere. There are countless examples in recent media to point to for this phenomenon. And men aren’t the only ones who could learn a thing or two about writing better female characters. So, here’s how to avoid the common pitfalls and write female characters that are actually well developed, dynamic and interesting in their own right.
Embrace Femininity
Something every author could do better right now is not portraying femininity as “weak” or “evil”. Quite commonly, femme women are by default the meek, submissive love interest or the mean girl (think Fifty Shades of Grey or Mean Girls, respectively.) Femininity doesn’t have to be either of those things. Sometimes it’s a purely aesthetic choice, other times it comes out in personality traits one may not expect from a traditional femininity standpoint.
Think about the actual women you know, your friends, partners, family members, coworkers, etc. Ask yourself:
How do they act?
How do they speak?
What do they do?
What do they prefer to wear for comfort?
Ask them about their personal experiences, their hobbies, what makes them feel feminine. I guarantee each person will give you a different answer, but each answer will give you a better, well-rounded idea of what female characters could and should look like on the page.
Another tactic would be to consider common female archetypes in media. Just like there aren’t just two ways to be a man, there aren’t just two ways to be feminine. When writing fiction, it's a good idea to look at what other writers have portrayed the very concepts you want present in your stories. Here are a few popular femme character archetypes:
The Sultry Feminine
A female character that gets what she wants through...alternative means. She has confidence and sex appeal, and she uses her smarts and the expectations men have of her to get what she wants or needs. A common place to see characters like this is in female spy narratives.
Personality Traits: brave, confident, sexy, intelligent, cunning, capable
Example: Catwoman, Jane Smith from Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Catherine Trammel from Basic Instinct
The cutesy feminine
A female character that has a bubbly disposition and a generally cheerful approach to anything she does. She may be shy or outgoing, but she is always a ray of sunshine even in the most grim situations — until you cross the line. Then this character may or may not...kill you. Often found in anime/mangas and comics, but she may also pop up on other fictional narratives.
Personality Traits: sweet, shy/outgoing, optimistic, kind, patient
Example: Elle from Legally Blonde, Starfire, Knives Chau from Scott Pilgrim
the mothering feminine
This female character is...you guessed it: the mom. She doesn't have to be a mother, just ultimately takes on a "mother" role with the people she surrounds herself with. She is the one people come to for advice or a shoulder to cry on, and she will listen with a comforting ear. She or may not accept help from others, and will opt to suffer alone. This one is found in pretty much any fictional narrative you can think of, but she makes a constant appearance in Black narratives.
Personality Traits: empathetic, nurturing, intelligent, kind, strong
Example: Aibileen Clark from The Help, Hermione Granger, Rosaleen Daise from The Secret Life of Bees
the aloof feminine
Female characters that are aloof are often called "the cool girl" by media. They seem more mysterious because they are either short with people or seem to think carefully about everything before they say speak. They may be a bit guarded and not let people in, but once past this they can open up and take on a seemingly opposite personality. These characters often pop up in romance narratives with male protagonists or YA dystopian novels with a female protagonist — odd combination, but correct.
Personality Traits: calculating, shy/quiet, mysterious, untrusting/insecure
Example: Amy Dunn from Gone Girl, Ramona Flowers from Scott Pilgrim, Katniss Everdeen
The chaotic feminine
These are your strong, independent women; high-powered mothers, or hurricane-types. They seem to be doing everything imaginable all at once, and never seem to slow down. Even when you think they're running out of steam, they seem to pick back up and carry on. This may leave them frazzled at times and prone to lashing out, but it's just because they care so much. You can find her in Biopics, Dramas and Literary Fiction.
Personality Traits: independent, intelligent, heroic, determined, skilled
Example: Katherine Johnson from Hidden Figures, Ellen Ripley from Alien, Annalise Keating from How To Get Away With Murder
These are just a few archetypes, there are more and not every woman or female character has to line up exactly with these types. They should only serve as a jumping off point to write feminine characters in ways you wouldn't expect.
Now, this isn’t to say you can’t write masculine women, or women who prefer to be, in their own words, masculine. But there is also some research to be done there as well. How masc women express their masculinity is often different than how men tend to express their masculinity. Research is definitely the key.
The Common Pitfalls of Female Main Character Writing
Female Anatomy
Speaking of research, please don’t write things about the female body without doing your research. Hopefully, if you are being published, your agent and editor will pick up on these mistakes — but sometimes they won’t. Alternatively, if you plan to self-publish, researching is the one thing stopping you from being “made an example out of” on the internet.
Simple things like how periods and breasts work and what is physically possible to be shaped as, are completely disregarded in what is meant to be realistic fiction or reality-based sci-fi or fantasy. There are some exceptions on body shape for art style leeway, but things can only be taken so far before there are questions. Here are a few examples of this kind of writing and why they're...not good:
Her taut skin glowed with the light rising from the furnace of her ovaries. - Viet Thanh Nguyen, "The Committed"
There are several things wrong here: ovaries are just a part of reproductive organs, they do not in fact produce light nor do they generate enough heat to be considered a furnace. Even in hyperbole, ovaries do not make any discernible difference to a woman's looks.
A much better replacement for this sentiment would be "Her taut skin almost glowed, as if [insert positive personality trait] created a light within her" or something to that effect.
Here's another one:
Martha could feel the body yielding and the bones complaining and the breasts, as if they had lives of their own, sagging audibly in the night. -Campbell Black, "Letters From The Dead"
Breasts do not sag in the night and perk up during the day, nor do they make an audible sound when beginning to sag. For this one I would either that part of the line or shorten it to "...and the breasts sagging". Short, simple and way more accurate.
Look, I get it, this is your book, your world, your rules. But there are just some things it doesn’t really make sense to be changed from reality and female secondary and primary sex characteristics are often on that list.
If you really don’t want to have to do any learning about the female body, don’t write scenes where your lack of knowledge on the subject will be on full display. Not everything has to be known about a character, like when she gets her period, how small her waist is, or how her boobs jiggle. When in doubt, just leave it out! Your female audience will thank you. In fact, many of these callouts from women about men's writing of them is just unnecessary details about what a female protagonist would look like having sex, or what her breasts and nipples look like, whether or not she has pubic hair, and/or how distracting her body is. It all leads to oversexualizing — which is a pretty clear indication to women that you don't respect them as people.
Oversexualizing
Now let’s talk about the elephant in the room: oversexualization. Do a quick scan through of your book and highlight sections where you describe a female character or what she’s doing in a sexual way.
How much of the book is like that?
How many female characters do you do write like that?
How many male characters do you write like that?
Don’t get me wrong, there are genres where sexualizing characters is expected and enjoyed (like erotica or sex scenes in romance novels) but if you are not writing a novel where the plot and genre necessitate sexualization, or a passage that necessitates it like a sex scene, there is no need to sexualize your characters, especially your female characters, existing or doing mundane things. In fact, it might pull your readers out of the story you are actually trying to tell. Consider rewriting or getting rid of passages where your female characters are oversexualized.
If you’re having trouble separating out what is sexualized and what is not, consider this checklist:
For the scene in question:
☑ Is there an emphasis on her body or body parts that tend to be sexualized on women (chest, lips, hips, legs, butt, etc.)?
☑ Is the action she is portrayed to be doing mundane but described mainly through how she, or her body, looks doing it (washing dishes, sharpening a sword, walking, standing, sitting, fidgeting, arguing with another character, reading a book, etc.)?
☑ Is the female character’s style of dress impractical or inappropriate for the time or day or activity (bikini armor, latex dresses or dresses with high hems and cutouts for daywear, overly revealing clothing in situations that do not call for it, etc)?
☑ Do other characters actively catcall or make sexual comments about the appearance of the female character?
For the book as a whole:
☑ Is the physical appearance of the female character a fixture of her relationship with the main character or narrator (they only talk about sex, only speak in innuendo, the main character/narrator constantly remarks about her beauty or how sexually appealing she is)?
☑ Do you only describe the female character’s looks and not any of her other traits? Are the physical descriptions longer and more in-depth than other, specifically male, characters of the same importance?
☑ Is the female character’s only personality trait propositioning other characters or saying sexual things?
☑ Do you make intelligent or otherwise strong female characters (that you have clearly written to be this way) clueless or weak in front of male characters?
If yes to any of the above, you are most likely sexualizing your female character(s). If yes to more than one of the above, there is a definite and significant problem with the sexualization of your female character(s) that needs your immediate attention.
Getting a Strong Sense of Your Female Character
As for how to fix these issues, it really comes down to full characterization of female characters. Treat them just like the other characters in your book. Give them backstories, wants, likes and dislikes, motivations and real relationships, platonic and romantic, with other characters in your story. If you want to learn more about how to write better characters, check out our upcoming article on just that! (see Everything You Need To Know About Characterization) We also have a free worksheet that focuses on what elements each character in your book should have here.
Overall, just treat your female characters like you would treat male characters. They should have personalities outside of their looks and sex, they should have their own independent thoughts and ideas, they should resemble...well...real life women. One of the best tricks in writing more realistic characters in general is having specific people in mind as a reference when crafting them, so just listen to the women in your life. What they do, what they like, how they want to be perceived, or having specific characters you want to emulate ready as a reference.
Find A Great Character To Reference
Many male authors may want to have women characters like Black Widow or Princess Leia in their narratives — which is fine! These are great characters, but they can be more than just women to admire, they can also serve as a starting point for whatever characters you're writing. As a writer, inspiration is paramount to your success, because writers are artists. Artists need reference material, inspiration, skill and creativity. So let's get you those references!
Let's take our two examples here: Black Widow and Princess Leia. Both are likeable women with extraordinary abilities and a strong identity. But we can go deeper than that. Here are some questions you should ask yourself when picking your references:
What do these characters struggle with?
What do they hope for? What is their perspective?
How do these hopes affect their decision-making?
How do their perspective affect the plot?
What are some negative traits that they possess?
Do they lack knowledge or confidence?
Are they ill-equipped for the situations they find themselves in?
Do they lose sight of the bigger picture?
What are some positive traits that they posses past the way that they look or their combat skills?
Something that can help with identifying these things is going through the catalog of their stories. For Princess Leia that would be the Star Wars movies, for Black Widow that would be Marvel movies and comics. Seeing as much as possible of how these characters interact with the world is integral to getting a fuller picture. Since your character won't/shouldn't be an exact copy of these women, it's important to know as much as possible so you can pick and choose what feature you think makes this character great.
Just be sure to keep things balanced. Every character should have flaws and strengths that are more than just superficial. Take into account everything we've said so far when curating your female characters and I promise you'll have more well-rounded, believable characters.
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