Women Adventurer Stories Are Inspirational To Females Of All Ages

By Linda Wallace


It seems that there has been a drought in the telling of positive stories about strong females. Last year, Wonder Woman was a box office hit, followed by many flicks with heroines of all shapes and sizes. However, it was less than a half century ago when the leading TV stations had at least one female led crime drama in their prime time lineup. Now it seems that women adventurer stories are back and better than before.

One may ask why this is important. There are many reasons and most relate to the feminist movements from nearly half a century ago. Women fought for the right to be heard and respected in environments where their input is equal to that of males in a similar role. Although Wonder Woman goes back to the 1940s, she was not very prominent until the early 1970s.

These included, but were not limited to, having a voice in political or social issues, taking nontraditional work, and earning a fair wage. While some matters will probably not be solved any time soon, readers want to hear what their sheroes are going through. Although some of the novels and motion picture shows may have shown a glimpse of a female lead character, these mostly focused on the action scenes.

Although crime shows from the 1970s with one or more female leads may have been more entertaining than substantial, their weekly adventures and wins resonated with viewers. Women and girls began to feel that they could take on the world and could be in control of their own lives.

Although TV has come a long way since the days of three beautiful crime fighters who barely broke a sweat when on duty, there are many inspirational stories to be told. For one, other diverse groups should be considered, like those that are differently abled. Women who not only fight crime or work closely with communities to make them safer also have a story or two to be told.

One reason why characters like these continue to be relevant is their smarts and ability to navigate out of trouble. While some of these storylines are pure fantasy, they can be inspirational to readers of all ages. Most women of today will say that positive female role models, both real and imagined, helped them to develop a fearless disposition.

It was also around this time when the everywoman became the norm both in the media and in real life. In the 1980s, female lead characters had professional careers while raising a family were beginning to emerge and few claimed this was not reality. However, more females have found they could prove the naysayers wrong.

These periods of growth in strong female characters has led us to the present where women hold positions of power or are leaders in their community. Now, storylines have characters with more depth and there is less emphasis on looks. The same way these roles empowered girls of the 1970s and 1980s, young people today only see a person in charge and not gender.

Many of the stories published today do not bash the male gender. Some people, including women, still see this is what feminism is about but the opposite is true. A lot of these stories promote unity within genders and the ideology of the average female living and working without major barriers when it comes to doing better.




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