This tackles the currently undermined problem in media which is toxic female representation and why we shouldn't settle for it.

1. WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT
IN MEDIA

2. I. Introduction
I. Introduction
Female characters in
mainstream media
has always been
prevalent. From the
well known Disney
Princesses, to the
rising of popular
tropes such as
femme fatale.

3. Here's the thing, if female characters have
been prevalent in media throughout its
history, then, what's the problem here?

4. Female representation in mainstream
media was in no way perfect throughout its
years. However, this problem seems to
have risen in visibility nowadays wherein
"women-empowerment" movies are being
released by famous production companies.
So then, let's discuss it shall we?

5. In an era wherein people have been critical of
societal issues occurring for the past years such
as racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism,
etc., it is no doubt that people want progression.
Different people with varying sexualities, gender
and nationalities want to be represented in a
proper way, with no prejudice and bias, rightfully
so. However, this action gave way to the one
concept that popular media companies jumped
into to milk money out of which is...

6. FEMALE REPRESENTATION

7. II. How the Current Media Handles
II. How the Current Media Handles
the Concept of Women's Empowerment
the Concept of Women's Empowerment
Introducing:
THE "EMPOWERING"
FEMALE LEAD
In most of current cinema, female characters
have one common trait: stoic and strong. By
having them constantly fight and show their
powerful persona, they prove that they too, can
stand on equal footing as what men are usually
portrayed as. This makes them delve from the
submissive sexist stereotypes that they are weak
and whose sole purpose are to become objects
of pleasure for men.

8. There's nothing wrong with
portraying women as
physically strong, something
that society dealt with proving
in the past with a plethora of
sexist history. Looking at it
from a rose-colored lens, there
shouldn't be anything wrong,
should it?... WRONG. As it
turns out, leads like this may
look good and empowering at
hindsight, but they're actually
bad and quite frankly,
problematic and insulting to
femininity as a whole, which is
ironic.

9. III. Why it's Harmful, Bad,
III. Why it's Harmful, Bad,
and Quite Insulting
and Quite Insulting
It Limits Character Diversity
1.
When I talk about character diversity, I am not only talking about races,
sexualities, genders as such. I am talking about character individualities,
quirks, personalities, what makes each of them unique to the other. If you
think about it, the media using this tactic is lazy writing of itself especially
when these characters have zero personality apart from being a strong girl.
Now, in order to make my point clearly, let me use an example...

10. MULAN 2020
Forgive me, design messiah, for using
the same format twice.

11. This movie is atrocious in the best possible
way, and by that I mean it is the perfect
example I can use for this presentation.
Mulan 2020 is a remake of ballad classic
Mulan 1998. The purpose of the movie is to
create a more historically accurate piece
and by that they probably mean angering
Chinese netizens by filming on
concentration camps and adding random
stuff irrelevant to Chinese culture but that
is not my point. Mulan in this film had also
been remade as a whole new character, a
stronger one. However, when compared to
the original ballad, Mulan loses a lot of
character.
Instead of working her way up and seeing
her motivations, it is handed to her on a
silver platter, simply because she is already
gifted in the beginning. Her only struggle is
she just have to believe in herself and
because other people don't want her
powers which is not much of a relatable
struggle in terms of femininity. From a
writer's standpoint, it gives us no reason to
root for the character. Not only that, a
character's process of working hard is
where you get a glimpse of their
personalities, a glimpse of how they think
and how they act. This problem may be
much more prevalent in this specific
example, however, it is undeniable that this
trope is scattered all over modern media.

12. 2. Basically Toxic Masculinity but they're Women so it's not Obvious
Toxic masculinity refers to the notion that some
people’s idea of “manliness” perpetuates
domination, homophobia, and aggression.
This idea that men need to act tough and avoid
showing all emotions can be harmful to their
mental health and can have serious consequences
for society, which is how it became known as “toxic
masculinity.”
Let's discuss the meaning of toxic masculinity for a second:

13. Sounds familiar, huh? The main problem
with these is that this shows femininity
as a weakness, as though the only way a
woman can be strong is through being
masculine while that is not true at all. It
portrays that to be a strong woman, you
have to be perfect, or, in other cases,
have overpowered abilities. FEMININITY
IS STRONG. Emotions are a sign of
strength and character. Vulnerability is
being human. Being empatethic is
incredible. To quote one youtuber in
conclusion (Nutsca), "Hollywood put a
wig on toxic masculinity and called it a
day."

14. Is this scenario familiar to you? A girl gets an argument with his boyfriend (or
any guy for that matter), probably because of a misunderstanding, he hits and
slaps him repeatedly as a laugh track plays in the background. Albeit this is
also a problem for characters of all genders, specifically within the romance
genre where abusive guys are romanticized, female characters seem to slip
this one by much easier, especially since people view these toxic traits as
"empowering" or "queen behavior". No matter the gender, abusiveness and
toxicity should NOT be normalized and romanticized.
3. Abusive and Toxicity are Less Visible because they're Women

15. 4. Putting Women on a Pedestal
Let's touch upon why they're
insulting. Most of these films
downplay men in order raise women
up which basically says "Women can
only be above/of equal footing to
men only when the odds are in favor
of them" which is not true. Ironically,
this goes against their message of
empowerment. We are equal and one
does need to downplay the other in
order to be seen and portrayed as
powerful.

16. Here are examples of films/shows that have some of these issues:
Disclaimer: I am not in
any way shape or form
discrediting these shows
and the people who
worked hard on them
nor am I saying that
liking them makes you
sexist/prejudiced. These
shows are flawed and
the problems I
mentioned earlier are
those of which they
harbor.

17. Believe it or not, the answer is to.. write a character (no,
seriously). Ignore all prejudice & gender roles, focus on the
story, not it's message. Don't focus on the fact that the
character is a "woman", focus on the fact that it is a person. A
person with struggles, with vulnerabilities, with a need to call
for help at times, with a personality, with a thing that makes
them, them. These traits of a person aren't unempowering,
rather, realistic, grounded, and relatable. For the final step,
make them a woman if you want to make a good female
character.
IV. How to Write a Good Female
IV. How to Write a Good Female
Character
Character
Yes, it's that simple.
Reminder:
DON'T DOWNPLAY
MALE CHARACTERS
TO UPLIFT FEMALE
ONES

18. V. GOOD FEMALE
REPRESENTATION IN MEDIA
Forgive me, design messiah, for using
the same format thrice.
*internally fangirling*

19. Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan has one of the best female casts
in all of media. Not only are these women
powerful in their own right, they are also a key
part of the narrative, something that a lot of
shows struggle with despite having decent female
characters.
Another thing, they are diverse. Not only racially,
but each have their own personalities apart from
being a woman. These quirks make them unique
and a treat to watch whenever they're on the
screen.

20. The Harry Potter
The Harry Potter
Series
Series
These characters, despite
being in a fictional world with
fictional systems, are able to
be grounded and relatable.
Each one of them are flawed
but that's ok because they're
human. Being emotional isn't
portrayed as a weakness in this
series and it's absolutely
beautiful. Despite all of these
mentioned, they're still strong
and capable.

21. Studio Ghibli Movies
Studio Ghibli Movies
This studio is absolutely incredible in every
aspect. From their worldbuilding, suble
messages to the female characters, it is
brilliant to the core.
Most of these characters are not necessarily
physically strong, which is what "women
empowerment" movies think is the only way
to build power. Rather, they are strong in a
sense that they face their adversities head-
on. We see them grow throughout the film
and work through their flaws. No words I say
could bring the beauty of these characters
justice, thus, I recommend you to watch
these movies from the studio themselves.

22. Cinderella 1950
Cinderella 1950
The Disney Princesses for the most part are
actually really good characters. However, I
would like to focus on Cinderella because of the
fact that Cinderella 2021 exists (and also other
"empowering" movies with Cinderella as its
title).
Cinderella is a strong character, she doesn't
need to be a girl boss to be classified as
powerful. The fact that she managed to remain
positive throughout her life despite being
controlled by abusive family members is a feat
of its own. She still had the courage to find for
happiness after all those melancholy years, and
that's what makes her powerful. She didn't
strive to see the prince, rather, she was striving
to be happy, even for just one night.

23. STOP SETTLING FOR
MEDIOCRE MEDIA FOR THE
SAKE OF WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT
In conclusion...
In conclusion...