There's this flowchart. It ticks me off.

I has a rant.

This flow chart provokes in me an irrationally angry reaction.

That chart has 75* different "stereotypes" for female characters. In other words, pretty much any female character is going to fit onto that chart. Not a problem. You know because pretty much anyone will loosely fit into one archetype or another. But then there's tone in the article that implies that all of these 75 stereotypes (and the women they've chosen to represent, including Tsukino Usagi, Azula, Zoe Washburne, and Yoko Ono) are somehow representations of poorly done female characters. Yes, one of those is a real-life figure.

*facepalm*

I'm all for critical examinations of source material, but seriously? This is the kind of critique that says, "Hey, there's no right way to ever write women," and takes for granted men are more nuanced** because seriously, trying not to write a woman who calls to mind one of those tropes is well, a nightmare, and something of a useless effort.

Oh, and seriously, most male characters wouldn't even make it through the first gauntlet if someone decided to turn a critical eye to them, so why do people set that as a minimum standard for female characters? I don't even know. We already have so many rules and codifications for what makes a good female characters, why is this flowchart needed? And why is the point being proven in the accompanying blog post that somehow there is a lack of development/variety/nuance in female characters? Why don't male characters get the same level of examination?

I may be a touch bitter because it's the type of thinking displayed in the making and presentation of that flowchart that also seems to fuel the excuses for not wanting to read/write/watch female characters.***

*sigh*

This touched a huge sore spot.

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* I counted. Even if I'm off, it's still a lot of archetypes/characteristics that are being painted as stereotypes. Also, if you're curious, 56 of those "stereotypes" don't even require a love interest.

**Oh, you do not want to hear me rant about much of a myth the "nuanced male character" is. Really.

*** I honestly have no problems with people preferring to focus on male characters, but it's definitely something I'd rather not see people not try to justify beyond "This is what I like," and how they personally relate to male and female characters.

ETA: I've been linked on the metafandom delicious. The text accompanying their bookmark is irrelevant and kind of hilarious.

How to Be a Nuanced Male Character*

There are so many guides and resources out there for writing complex and dynamic female characters, and I was thinking that maybe the male characters and their writers are feeling a bit left out. In a sea of white male characters, there needs to be something about each particular one that makes them complex and unique individuals worthy of an entire narrative. After all, if there's one thing we've learned from studying female characters, it's that the merest whiff of a stereotype or archetype on them can condemn a character to the pile of uninteresting paper dolls.

So if you are, in fact, a male character who is perhaps a little doubtful of your status as a well-developed and three-dimensional fictional being, the following list will help you and your creator develop you into a nice, round character that everyone can relate to.

( Male characters are so complicated. )

( *Footnote is footnotey. )

Oh, and just to let people know, I'm really not up for debating whether or not male characters are inherently more nuanced than female characters in this space. Nor do I care that the male characters you like the most are an exception to the points on this list; I know the male characters I'm actually interested in tend to be. If you really want to let the world know how awesome he is, you can make a "Fuck You He's Awesome" post in your own journal. Nor do I care that my list doesn't completely encompass every possible male/masculine narrative.

Anyway, I'm probably not going to answer every comment that comes my way. Between some RL issues, and some fannish stuff, I'm not hugely into wasting my time and energy on male characters.