Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of Beyoncé, and while jamming to the song “No Angel”, I was struck by how some of the lyrics reminded me of a major trope female characters are often placed in.
Baby put your arms around me
Tell me I’m the problem
Know I’m not the girl you thought you knew and that you wanted
Underneath the pretty face is something complicated
I come with a side of trouble
But I know that’s why you’re staying
I think the reason these lyrics struck me is simply because it’s shocking that women have to explain things like this. We have to say, yeah, I’m not perfect, I’m complicated, I have my own issues I have to deal with. It seems weird that we should have to explain this at all, but with pervasive tropes telling people that women should be placed on a pedestal because they are inherently good, loving, nurturing, and moral, it is a huge problem. This may seem like one of those “not all stereotypes are bad” kind of things, but let’s make the point now that all stereotypes are bad—even the ones that seem “positive”. This stereotype in particular makes women less human and less complex. Even further, this kind of attitude makes women into nothing more than the moral compass for men, and worse still, makes them evil or less than human if they can’t fulfill that role.This is reflected in our storytelling, and female characters in geekdom often fulfill this trope.
Spoilers for all of Teen Wolf below the jump. Also trigger warning for some brief mentions of rape.
Continue reading →