Young Female Protagonists - Infl uential or Identical?

Young Female Protagonists Influential or Identical?

By Pippa Simcock

Young adult literature - we’ve all read it, we all love it, but why are the girls always the same? Female protagonists aren’t uncommon in young adult novels, often strong and selfassured, they act as role models for teen readers embarking on a new chapter in their own lives. However, whilst reading my newest series, I realised they may not be as empowering as we like to think. It’s no secret that the female protagonists can lack diversity, with many backstories coming from the same cookie-cutter pattern; they are generally “not like other girls”. Although of

course no two girls are the same, it seems strange that all the supposedly divergent characters are extremely similar. Surely, this lack of variety does not inspire young girls to be themselves and instead leads them to conform to a different female stereotype?

I’m sure we all know the kind of protagonist I’m talking about: Katniss Everdeen, Tris Prior, and Tally Youngblood from Uglies are all examples. They tend to have differing interests to everyone else, which is what I love about them, but their dislikes are often the same; Katniss finds that ‘other girls’ her age talk about ‘other girls, or clothes’, but she on the other hand isn’t ‘gossipy’ and clothes ‘bore [her] to tears’. It is clear that in order to make their characters stand out, authors can sometimes make the stereotypical interests of a girl seem negative. Personally, I have to admit I despise it when people assume all I am interested in is chatter and fashion, but I still believe that we should be able to enjoy these things without shame. When reading young adult literature, it is clear that we could be discouraged from pursuing certain things because they are not shown in a positive light by the determined young women we look up to.

It is important to remember that there are still some novels that provide fresh, relatable characters that a wide variety of people can see as role models. Personally, I find Citra Terranova from the Scythe series is a good example of a universal idol. She is powerful, determined, and refuses to give up her morals. She also respects those who have a different way of life from herself. But the main reason that I believe she is a good heroine is her relatability. It is easy for us to compare ourselves to the classic unshakeable female protagonists who, like Tris Prior from Divergent, ‘didn’t know what fear was’. Instead, she feels the fear but does it anyway, making a ‘vow to become the change’, a trait that I think we can all aspire to. On top of this, she is still allowed to have weakness and make mistakes. In other books, the protagonists can be presented as perfect, however Citra Terranova accepts her mistakes and is able to move on. Her dynamic as a scythe is particularly interesting, she is a bringer of death and in order to continue doing her job, Citra has learnt to leave her guilt in the past. She does this by respecting those she has gleaned and continuing her job knowing that she is doing so for the betterment of society, much like her mentor who reminds the main characters that they must ‘never lose [their] humanity’ and the ability to be imperfect.

So, why is it important for us to have a diverse range of characters to look up to? Personally, I have found that the literature I consume has a profound effect on me. From Hermione making me embrace my personal love for books, to Elizabeth Bennett reminding me I am worthy of respect, the women I have looked up to have shaped who I am today. When, as early teens, we begin to read the books I have mentioned, we are impressionable, so it is vital that we have a variation of young women to look up to. If we have this, our young readers will grow up to honour many different values and have a deep sense of self, instead of feeling obliged to be identical to the clichéd portrayals of strong women.

Essentially, I feel that female protagonists in young adult literature tend to lack diversity. Although the regular format of these protagonists is not bad and is intended to empower young readers, it is clear that we need a change. I hope that in the future we will see characters with new personalities, backstories, and lives to inspire readers across the world. What do you think?