8 Female TV And Movie Characters That Were Almost Certainly Written By A Man, And 8 Others That Were Written By A Woman
As "women written by men" and "men written by women" trends have started important conversations on social media platforms, especially TikTok and Twitter, here's a look at how men and women create female leads.
Content warning: There are mentions of sexual assault, rape, and pregnancy below.
1.Dominika in Red Sparrow was clearly written by a man.
Red Sparrow is a 2018 movie written by Justin Haythe based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Jason Matthews. The story is about a Russian spy using sex to obtain secrets and information during a "Cold War" environment in modern times. Supposedly, in order for her to become stronger, she must go through graphic physical and sexual violence โ and this training is supposed to "liberate" her. Sexual violence is not "liberating." It is traumatizing. Male authors should stop glorifying it.
2.While Aimee in Sex Education was clearly written by a woman.
Sex Education, created by Laurie Nunn, has a bunch of lovable, well-written women, especially Aimee. The storyline in seasons 2 and 3 where Aimee processes and deals with her sexual assault is penned realistically.
3.Women from The Big Bang Theory are written very poorly, by men of course.
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Most of the women in the series are written very poorly. To start, Penny's whole storyline in the show was to just bring Leonard out of his shell. Throughout the series, she had made it clear that she didn't want to have children, but in the finale, it is revealed that she is pregnant and happy about it. This resonated with the society that keeps telling child-free women that they will "change their mind." And then, the same happens with Bernadette. And finally, Amy โ an intelligent, independent woman โ is made to be a sex-crazy maverick.
4.Orange Is the New Black was created by a woman, and it shows.
Orange Is the New Black, created by Jenji Kohan, has well-rounded women characters, well-written sapphic relationships, and female friendships. The characters are independent of other characters and have detailed back stories.
5.Bethany in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle proves men are oblivious of women and their relationship with their boobs.
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Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was co-written by Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Scott Rosenberg, and Jeff Pinkner. In the scene where Bethany gets her body back, she grabs her boobs and goes, "I missed you." One thing I would like to tell male writers is that we aren't as obsessed with our boobs as much as men think we are.
6.Room, created by women, has a credible female survival thriller character.
Room, written by Emma Donoghue, tells the story of a woman in captivity and a child born in captivity. The movie realistically progresses with the mother's emotions of responsibility toward her child, trauma from sexual abuse, anticipation for help, and the process of her rehabilitation.
7.Women in Fullmetal Alchemist screams written by a woman.
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Fullmetal Alchemist, based on the manga of the same name written by Hiromu Arakawa, follows the adventures of two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, in their quest for the Philosopher's stone. Even though the central characters are men, this anime has well-developed female characters, like Winry Rockbell and Nina Tucker, who stand alone in the show.
8.On the other hand, Karin Uzumaki in Naruto was written by a man.
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Masashi Kishimoto wrote Karin's entire personality centred around Sasuke. Here is a whole Reddit thread posted by u/Godothedoggo explaining how and why, Karin Uzumaki is a poorly written character.
9.Harley Quinn in The Suicide Squad was written by a man...
Harley Quinn in The Suicide Squad, written and directed by James Gunn, is dressed in really short shorts and stilettos for combat.
10....while her character in Birds of Prey was written by a woman โ and it shows.
While in Birds of Prey, written by Christina Hodson and directed by Cathy Yan, Harley Quinn is dressed in high-rise denim shorts, sports bras, oversized tees, and trainers. Even her hairstyle is more suitable for combat.
11.Women in Spring Breakers, including Candy and Faith, are written so poorly that I feel secondhand embarrassment for the writer.
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Most of the female characters in this movie were poorly written by Harmony Korine. In a scene, Vanessa Hudgen's character Candy says, "Seeing all this money makes my p*ssy wet." Hmm... *eye roll*
12.The women in Jane the Virgin were 100% written by a woman.
Jane the Virgin, created by Jennie Snyder Urman, has lovable and well-developed women characters. The show realistically portrays pregnancy, female friendships, mother-daughter relationships, female jealousy, and sapphic love. All in all, this show is just *chef's kiss*.
13.The labor scene in Nine Months goes without saying that it was written by a man.
14.In contrast, the realistic labor scene in Look Who's Talking is gold.
15.Jenny in Forrest Gump is basically just there in the movie.
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Written by Eric Roth, Jenny in Forrest Gump is the classic "manic pixie dream girl." As first defined by Nathan Rabin, this woman "exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries." In this case, Jenny is there only to make Forrest a better person.
16.Lastly, Iris and Amanda in The Holiday scream written by a woman.
Written and directed by Nancy Meyers, in The Holiday, Iris and Amanda, brought to life by Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz, are well-rounded characters who stand alone from the male protagonists.