The Xena: Warrior Princess Syndrome

Anyone who’s spent any amount of time following science fiction, horror, and fantasy fiction will tell you that since the beginning of the genre, female characters have often ended up with the short end of the stick when it comes to good, intelligent characterization. It wasn’t so long ago that women in the genre were relegated to the roles of love interest and damsel in distress, with little room for upward mobility. These genres also inform RPGs to a large extent, which is perhaps why our hobby suffered (and still suffers) from the same problem. Fortunately for women everywhere, things have improved over the past few decades. Everywhere we look, powerful, sympathetic female characters are cropping up in just the kinds of geeky books and movies we gamers adore, and that in turn spills over into our games. It’s refreshing, and also a lot of fun.

There’s only one problem with all this. The way I see it, the pendulum has swung too far once again. Too often, in our gamerly zeal to keep female characters out of the old feminine stereotypes, we work with a skewed understanding of what a woman has to be in order to be a “good” character, and thus create nothing more than a new box to limit our understanding and definition of “strong women.” I refer to this as the “Xena: Warrior Princess” syndrome. It’s the idea that a “good” or “realistic” female character has to be, in short, a man with breasts. She walks around armed to the teeth, hates men and the patriarchy with a burning passion that easily turns violent, and frequently suffers from a worse case of testosterone poisoning than the male members of their group. And God forbid she should be emotional, get into romantic entanglements (unless they’re with other women!), or have any of the other concerns that real women deal with on a daily basis. (Your average member of Werewolf: The Apocalypse’s Black Fury tribe of “militant lesbian werewolves,” as my old gaming group took to calling them, is a prime example.) It’s a pervasive disease in RPGs (and the media as well, if you ask me), and women are just as likely to succumb to it as men dabbling in transgender roleplaying—if not more so!

This isn’t to say that female RPG characters shouldn’t know how to fight or be able to hold their own with the men in physical contests. However, it is to say that a woman’s personality should extend beyond that. The practice of giving male characters depth with an ailing mother, a patient fiancee back home, or romantic and emotional entanglements has been, in my experience, popular and celebrated. But give a female character the same things and she’s suddenly not fit to be an adventurer. I think that sometimes gamers are afraid that if they give their female characters emotions of any sort, they risk making them a caricature of a weepy, passive, good-for-nothing girl. The exact opposite is true: Realistic characters—men and women alike—should have a life outside their dragon slaying and treasure hunting. Flame me for this if you want, but it seems to me that most women define themselves, at least in part, in terms of their attachments to their family, their lovers, and their friends. It’s not a stereotype if it’s true. And when it comes to writing strong women, this is something that is overlooked far too often in RPGs, movies, and books alike. Writers and gamers expect real female characters to be lone wolves, blowing through the game world without a care for anyone but themselves, and the resultant women are all the weaker for it.

But the situation is far from hopeless. Admirable, believable portrayals of female characters are all around, if you just know where to look for them. Here are a few movies, books, and other sources containing particularly great examples of strong yet realistic female characters. They’re sure to inspire your next campaign, or just give you some great reading and viewing material for your free time. (As always, this list is not meant to be exhaustive and is only my opinion; I welcome any and all suggestions and additions from my readers!):

· Ellen Ripley, from the “Alien” series. It’s true that she’s always been the original Kick-Ass Chick and should be venerated as such, but she didn’t show her true colors until meeting Newt in “Aliens” and proving that maternal protection instincts can be tough, deadly, and sexy. All together now: “Get away from her, you bitch!”

· Leeloo, from “The Fifth Element.” Admittedly a little farther “out there” than some of the other women on this list, but more than anything the Supreme Being is a fun character who strikes an excellent balance between heroic and helpless.

· Sarah Connor, from “The Terminator” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” How would a real woman react if she learned she was meant to give birth to the savior of all humanity? I’d hazard the guess that she’d behave like Sarah Connor. And as much as I hated “T2,” even I have to admit that her metamorphosis from socialite to survivalist, done all in the name of protecting her son (now there’s a real woman’s motivation), is nothing short of amazing and honest.

· Lola, from “Lola rennt (Run Lola Run).” She’s an average twentysomething in a lot of trouble and without much time or many resources to get herself out of it. But somehow she manages, and the result is practically a hymn to one woman’s willpower.

· Clarice Starling, from “The Silence Of The Lambs” and “Hannibal.” Most fictional female law enforcement agents are either shrill, butch, or just plain offensive. Not so with Clarice—both the movies and the books more or less get it right and come up with a strong, multifaceted, fascinating, and (most importantly) believable female character. And any woman who can get kissed by the bad guy, then handcuff him without blinking an eye, all while looking damn good in a little black cocktail dress, gets mad props from me.

· Erin Brockovich, from the movie of the same name. If you think it’s not possible for a strong woman to get through an entire storyline without killing anyone, instead accomplishing her goals with a sharp tongue and a powerful personality, watch this movie and think again. The fact that it’s based on a true story just makes it that much cooler.

· Anita Blake, from the “Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter” series by Laurell K. Hamilton. She worries about looking good, but that’s because her clothes keep getting covered in blood (most of which isn’t her own). She’s got problems with her career, but that’s because she’s trying to juggle raising zombies for a living with investigating supernatural crime and being a licensed vampire executioner. She agonizes over her relationships, but that’s because both an ancient vampire and an alpha werewolf want her for their very own. Anita is an amazing woman, and arguably the best-written female character I’ve seen yet in modern fantasy/horror fiction. Required reading for all gamers, particularly those playing women in the World of Darkness.

· Any number of female characters from “The Wheel Of Time” series by Robert Jordan. True, some are a lot stronger and better drawn than others, but when Jordan gets it right he really gets it right! Elayne, Aviendha, Egwene, and Nynaeve all spring to mind, as do the female Forsaken if you’re looking for some great female villains (another rarity!). And of course, there’s Min, one of the most overlooked characters in the entire series but also one of the best-written and most admirable.

· Kahlan Amnell, from “The Sword Of Truth” series by Terry Goodkind. She can get a little angst-y for my tastes, but most of the time I feel justified in holding her up as a prime example of how a woman with a truly weird supernatural power might adjust.

· Various anime characters. Sure, some of them are whiny or obnoxious or just plain offensive, but overall I’d say Japanese animation hits it on the head when it comes to good female characters much more often than American TV or movies. There are more of them than I can list in just one column, but I’ve been particularly impressed by Major Kusanagi from “Ghost In The Shell,” Lady Eboshi, the women of Iron Town, and the title character from “Princess Mononoke,” any number of characters from “Battle Athletes Victory” (especially Jessie and Ayla), and the protagonist of “Perfect Blue” (whose name, unfortunately, has escaped me).

My last two sources are the ones that I especially want you to keep in mind while creating female characters or NPCs:

· Jen Yu, Jade Fox, and (especially) Shu Lien, from “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” A great movie, with three female characters at its center who are great in different ways. Jen Yu is the quintessential young upstart fighter: strong, stubborn, full of herself, yet also fragile and confused. Jade Fox is a superb villain who became what she was because of the sexism of her teachers and has a lot to say about how a woman might feel in a male-dominated game world. But it’s Shu Lien, the aging warrior who gave up love and stability for battle and adventure, who strikes me as one of the best, truest-to-life specimens of femininity and heroism I’ve ever seen in a movie. If every gamer who wanted to play a female character asked him or herself “what would Shu Lien do?” while playing, I would not have to write articles such as this one. If you want to play a woman, see this movie and watch these three. They have a lot to teach you.

· The women you see around you every day. Corny, I know, but true. We can find amazing, strong women everywhere we look in our lives—our mothers, our female relatives and friends, our significant others—all of whom have a lot to teach us through their example. Their strength may not be as obvious , but it is no less powerful. Think about these people first and foremost when you create a female character. Because in the end, playing a character who closely resembles an average, everyday woman can be the greatest—and most rewarding—roleplaying challenge of all.

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