The Importance of Gender Balance in Fiction

The feminist movement.

I am all for it and support the goals of bringing women into an equal light as men. That’s what most people want, right? But how do we accomplish this? Is there room for women to rise without the fall of men? How much room is really there at the top?

Over the years, literature has reflected the times in a way that nothing else can or has. People write what they know or what they believe. For the most part, women have taken a backseat in the stories many grew up hearing. They have been reduced to the sidekick or the romantic interest that loses all rationality to love or lust. That’s still true today in many genres. Personally, I’m sick of the characters who seem to have nothing but sex on their minds the moment they see an attractive man. Relationships in many stories turn women into nothing more than swooning fools.

There is a new kind of woman that has been on the rise in fiction over the last few years. These women are tough and strong. They lead rebellions. They shoot guns. They are smart and witty and sometimes cruel. It works for them. We root for them. So, everything is great, right?

The answer to that question is a matter of opinion but I’ll share mine with you. There are many books out there that get it right but there are also many bestsellers that get it very, very wrong. I’ll use an example of this and you may never want to read anything from me again. You may want to yell and stomp your feet or throw things at me. I can take it.

The Hunger Games (I’m bracing for impact) gets the strong woman angle wrong. Here’s my disclaimer: I love this series and have read it a million time but, on this issue, it is flawed. Katniss Everdeen is a strong lead (when she’s not crying in closets). But where does her perceived strength come from? It comes from the fact that she is surrounded by weak men. The roles have been reversed as Peeta and Gale spend their time pining for her and waiting to be rescued (Peeta at least). Katniss have many great traits but strong leadership is not one of them. She is a product of the situations she finds herself in.

Here’s where you may not hate me so much: Divergent, another best seller, is the perfect example of this gender balance. Tris is a great character in her own right but so is Tobias and a few others. They act together to lead the rebellion but they also act separately. They love each other but they don’t have to rely on each other to survive.

Gender balance is tricky, but when it is achieved, true feminism comes through the pages. This does not mean that for every female lead, there has to be a male counterpart. But a hero is a hero because of who they are, male or female, not only because there is someone to save. They should pull up the people around them, rather than keeping them down. That’s a true hero.