Warning: Feminist rant below

It's what I do best!

After talking about why there is no real female equivalent to the bearded male wizard who is more powerful than everyone else and acts as a mentor to the hero of the story, I wanted to find some sort of character archetype that could match. Unfortunately, almost every powerful female magic user in the most famous stories of magic seem to be evil. It’s unfortunate, but I guess it goes back to misogyny (doesn’t everything, really?) and is a reflection of just how far society hasn’t come since the days of accusing random women of being witches. Sorry to go off on a feminist rant, but no, I’m actually not sorry.

I tend to prefer fantasy books, but I’ve unfortunately been disappointed by most fantasy novels intended for adults, because they typically tend to feature male protagonists. No offense to male characters or men in general, but to be honest…God, I am sick of you. I’m not being completely serious but it seems like authors who write fantasy novels with female protagonists are encouraged to write only young adult fiction, not adult fiction, because of the mistaken belief that women don’t read fantasy or science fiction (both of which are, incidentally, my favorite genres. Hmm.). It’s kind of sad that even in fantasy, where magic is an equalizer, when theoretically, anyone can be powerful, even if they lack physical strength, women are still seen as somehow lesser. It’s fantasy, and yet even in fantasy it’s hard to find someone to identify with. I’m not saying I can’t identify with male characters, because I’ve had to my entire life, but it’s because I’ve had to identify with male characters my entire life that it frustrates me so much to be unable to find female representation.

Hermione is great, but she’s not the lead. McGonagall is amazing too, but she’s not Dumbledore. And this is a young adult series. When I do find even young adult series with female protagonists in a fantasy environment, there are almost always stupid love triangles, making the book primarily a romance novel, rather than a book of fantasy. Even my favorite author falls victim to the dreaded love triangle sometimes (although she’s gotten way better about that over the years; there is still romance, yes, but at least the love triangles are gone). Women like romance novels, I guess? Is that all we’re supposed to read? I don’t understand that mindset. Men are expected to have diverse interests and are encouraged to be enthusiastic about “nerdy” things, and women…we like pink. And…romance. I like pink, but there is way more to me than that, and I’m not a fan of romance novels at all. 

This isn’t a problem exclusive to fantasy, but it is a problem with society, that there is a double standard even in novels. Authors are, of course, under no obligation to write something they don’t want to write, but it makes me really sad to think of how easily a male protagonist could be changed to a female, with no distinct differences between them, and how rarely it actually happens. And it seems especially unjust in a genre featuring magic, where all genders should be equal…but they aren’t.

(And if my math is correct, this should finally be 3,000 words)